I. Concept on Basic Literacy Education, Post-Literacy Education and Continuing Education for Ethnic Minority Girls andWomen and Integrating Drug Abuse and HIV / AIDS Prevention Education, Environmental Education and Community Development

1. For many years now, it has been a policy target in Vietnamese education to carry out BasicLiteracy Education for Unreached Population in Highland and Midland Rural Areas aimed at catering to the their basic learning needs. As the society develops, basic learning needs also know their own changes and development. In the subsequent periods, the Disadvantaged Persons were in need of knowledge in common rules of hygiene, common notion of science, the four operations, national history and geography and the ethics of a citizen, as all this helped them to suffer less from disease affection, to get rid to some extent of their superstitions, to have a methodical style of the work, to strengthen their patriotic feelings and to make themselves good citizens. In the period of development of production, each Disadvantaged Persons was in need of a higher enlightenment, an upgrade in multi - dimensional aspects of culture, ethical, technological, productive, e.t.c ...for his/her life preservation and development, improving their quality of life. Basic Literacy Education for Disadvantaged Population living in the highland and midland rural areas, therefore has its own features as below :

2. Everyone has the right to education. Vietnam has scored significant achievements in the fight against illiteracy in order to raise up people's intellect. From a situation in which 95% of the whole population were illiterate in 1945, so far it was reduced to only 8% in 1996. However, illiteracy among young women and girls still remains an acute problem asking for an early and urgent solution. According to the 1989 Population Census, Vietnam had 5, 393,000 illiterate people of whom 3, 969,000 were young women and girls (accounting for above 70.6%). As projected to the year of 2000 illiteracy young women and girls will 2,799,000 but that still remains a high percentage (70.1%).

Illiteracy Women and Girls are mainly living in highland and midland rural areas, especially remote areas with socio-economic loss. According to the survey, among illiteracy young women and girls having 88.7 % of them are living in highland and midland rural areas. Also according to available statistics, 18% of female are illiterate, it means among every 5 young women and girls from the age of 10 upward, there is one illiterate, meanwhile that in urban areas, it is only 6%. Particularly, illiteracy among Ethnic Minority Young Women and Girls is more serious with 93,2% of H'Mong Young Women and Girls, 91,6% of Ha Nhi Young Women and Girls, 86,7% of Dao Young Women and Girls, 82,6% of Gia Rai Young Women and Girls, 82,3% of Ba Na Young Women and Girls are illiterates, can not read and write.. .. The number may become bigger still in recent years.

Illiteracy among women and girls have further aggravated their already disadvantaged situation and further increased their inequality in getting the economic, social, cultural benefits.... It has additionally created serious economic and social consequences since they constitute a principal labour force in the agricultural sector (76%) at the same time, they have to perform a role in the reproduction and up bringing of the future masters of the country. That sources adding more illiterate young women and girls are quite big due to high school drop-out rate. In every 100 female children entering the first grade, there are only 50 of them finishing the fifth grade, in certain disadvantaged areas ( such as mountainous and remote areas.....) that figure is only 10-20 female children. School drop-out rate was increased from 10% in the 1981-1982 school year to 12,3% in the 1988-1989 period. But, in the highland and midland rural areas, the school drop-out female children rate are 18,2%.. ..because it was assumed that girls need less learning in order to get married or girls are somebody else's children and so that education is given to boys. This old thinking is still widespread, especially among ethnic minority people.

In the recent years, the rate of girls going to formal school has been alarmingly decreased. By the 1990 survey, there were only 63,9% of girls in the 5-9 age group and 73,8% of girls in the 10-14 age group went to school. In disadvantaged areas, remote areas, the corresponding rate was only 40% and in the highland areas, only having 10-20% of girls went to school. The rate of female illiterates is high, their number has not been significantly decreased but only the contrary it has even been increased since 1980 up to now. The majority of the illiterates are residing in rural areas ( 88,7% )

Number of Female Illiterates in Urban: 633, 894

Number of Female Illiterates in Rural: 4,976,460

The percentage of women and girls illiterates are higher then men and boys. The number of women and girls illiterates doubles that of men and there is a trend of increase (The number of illiterate females is 2.15 times more than males). Girls and Women of Ethnic Minority Groups living in mountainous and remote areas make up 3/4 of all female illiterates in the country. The status on illiteracy women and girls among ethnic minority groups is much more serious. Rate of illiteracy among people from the age of 10 and above, according sex and area

Rate of illiteracy %

Area Male Female Overall

Urban 3 8 6

Rural 8 18 13

In all areas 7 16 12

The sources to supplement more illiterates are still very great, due to the problem of no schooling among female children and the growing danger of lapsing back into illiteracy among young women and girls. Girls often have to leave school before their brothers if there is not enough money for education. There is a belief that boys have more of a right to education and need it more than girls. Many people believe that women and girls only should grow up, marry and have babies. They think boys to need education so they can get good jobs.

Female children who drop out of school after one or two years will not have mastered reading and writing. Most of them will become female illiterates.

Illiteracy, particularly among women, is a great handicap in the promotion of elementary education and family planning movement in the country. It has been empirically established that women and girls' literacy increased the age at marriage, reduced birth and death rates, created a stronger desire for family planning and promoted female employment. A literacy women and girls can better do the activities of the society and supplement the family's income. Education help their children with school lessons and demonstrate in various ways a values of reading and writing. Women's and girls' education are, therefor impelling need for individual as well as for the socio-economic develop country.

For promoting Women's and Girls' Needs, we believe that literacy and access to education are the first steps towards women's and girls' equality. Literacy is the starting point for women and girls to acquire new skills and greater independence. With greater confidence, women and girls become aware of their own value. The gains from literacy education for women and girls extend beyond the family to the entire community. Women and girls are main producers of food and handicrafts in the highland and midland rural areas of Vietnam. Women and girls are usually responsible also for the marketing of produce and for many of the other cooperative undertaking of the villages, hamlets. The success of their work, particularly through the introduction of new ideas, depends to a large extent on the literacy skills attained by the women and girls involved. The provision of literacy education for women and girls must become a priority if the development process is to gain the momentum so urgently needed. Every literacy effort should foster self-confidence in women and girls. Women's and Girls' literacy is important in itself and for several practical reason too. The first is that women and girls have a major role to play in community development. It is actually the women and men who are responsible for growing the food crops. It is the women and girls who market the surpluses and contribute their labour to producing cash crops. They get that money from the sale they do other useful things. If they are not literate they can not acquire even basic information on different plants, they also have no materials to refer to.

The second practical reason is that women are not only responsible for bearing children usually also (all of the time) rearing them. All the evidence shows that the better educated a women is, the healther and better educated her children. Literacy women play a major role in reducing infant mortality. So it is women who need the access to information on health care, nutrition and family planning which only literacy classes can give them.

These poor women and girls have not only been enriched as individuals, they have also been able to enhance their contribution to the welfare of their families as a whole and to have an impact on society as a whole. One other important aspect of women's literacy is that it enables them to have their say in decisions and take part in the community development process.

Literacy women and girls helping one another in household economy, literacy women who know how to increase their incomes and organize well their family's life. Educating women and girls is a key to development. The all important role of literacy women is in social and national development. Women and girls literacy must be combined with the disadvantaged children primary education. At the same time a favourable cultural environment should be created in order to prevent relapses. Proper motivation for learning is also of great importance. People should be made to realise the great benefits accruing to them from education. Teaching should be interesting and relevant, and assistance from all sources, particularly the mass media, should be turned to account.

Eradication of illiteracy among young women and girls is in fact a practical contribution to the achievement of the objective on " Education for All " and to the exercise of the right to learning by young women and girls in Vietnam.

Helping young women and girls to be literate is one of ways and means to empower them to enhance the quality of their life and community development. So eradication of illiteracy bears not only a humanitarian but also socio-economic significance. For many years, the literacy movement was aimed at helping women and girls acquire a minimal learning skills in reading and writing necessary for everyday activities. As Vietnamese has a Romanised script, many people used to believe that some 40-60 learning periods would be necessary to make a literate. Those people failed to understand that, as such the reading and writing skills could not be fostered and consolidated. Moreover working people in practice have little to improve such skills. They haven't much newspapers, learning materials for reading. They haven't much reading and writing opportunities. That is why a big number of the new literates have relapsed into illiteracy. The fight against illiteracy, however, is far from over. A relapse has occurred and has tended to spread for a decade now, most particularly in remote areas. One reason is that compulsory primary education for children has not been effectively enforced. primary and secondary school enrolment only account for 70 - 80 % of the target age groups and drop-out rate at primary schools is 13%. This has caused the number of young women illiterates to swell year after year. Moreover, relapse into illiteracy has been especially serious in remote areas.

Up to now, young women and girls are not yet identified as a priority target group in these Literacy and Post-literacy Programmes and Projects running by Government Educational Offices and some NGOs for education in Vietnam. So that, establishing A Literacy Resource Center for Girls and Women entitled NOCEAD / ACCU's Literacy Resource Center for Girls and Women - NOCEAD / ACCU LRC (Asia - Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO - ACCU located in Tokyo, Japan) in Vietnam and formulating a separate programme on literacy running by the NOCEAD / ACCU LRC for the most disadvantaged young women and girls living in Highland and Midland Rural Areas are two issues which are very necessary and imperative.

Basic Literacy Education has to meet essential personal and communal needs in terms in the enviroment, for subsistence and complience with the requirements of the current society, thereby contributing to socio-economic development of the locality and the country. At the same time, Basic Literacy Education will help Disadvantaged Target Groups the capability to continue developing themselves in response to the requirements of a fast-changing society. Eradication of illiteracy, stable literacy, general vocational training, sideoccupation vocational training programmes will help Disadvantaged Persons, under priviledged groups...in learning and they have one general job and to live by one's own labour and to increase family's income for the above groups of Disadvantaged Persons.

Basic Literacy Education is provided through special educational modes in society such as classes of love, anternative basic education classes e.t.c

Eradication of illiteracy is to be carried out at two levels:

1. Partial eradication, with 150-200 teaching periods. Finishing this level, a learner can read and write and can understand simple passages about everyday activities.

2. Full eradication, with 300-350 periods. Finishing this level, a learner can have the necessary skills to improve himself and to help develop the community. Learners will be given a chance for post-literacy programmes which are very necessary for those finishing Grade 3 but unable to go on learning. The programmes are designed to consolidate and develop the three R's and provide learners with a knowledge of politics, primary health care, family planning, children's education, HIV / AIDS and Drug Abuse Prevention Education and other matters such as Compulsory primary education is aimed at consolidation of recently acuired knowledge while raising the learners' standards to enable them to deal with problems arising from everyday life. The programme is taught in about 500 periods: 280 periods for Vietnamese Language, 190 periods for arithmetics and geometry, and 30 periods for common notions of science. In Vietnamese, learners are helped to acuire fluency in writing and reading and a rudimentary knowledge of history and geography. Learners are taught percentage, the four sums ( with integrals and decimals ) and measurements to be applied to production. They are provided with rudimentary notions about machines and electricity and their uses in cultivation and other productive activities and are acquainted with new methods of fertilization, irrigation, cultivation and animal husbandry. Hygiene teaches them how to keep themselves health and guard against diseases.

The seriousness of illiteracy and lack of learning among young women and girls is caused by various reasons both objective and subjective, both economic, social and psychological. NOCEAD VIETNAM and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC recommended as follows :

a. There is no point in teaching them to read and write unless they are given the hope of a better life. They also saw literacy as a part an important part of the way to a better quality of life

b. Eradication of illiteracy among young women and girls is both an imperative need and a long-term endeavour. This is a socially broad undertaking requiring special attention from the entire society, each and every Individual, Charity Foundations, INGOs, NGOs and International Organizations....

c. It is quite important that the work on eradication of illiteracy for young women and girls should be practical to them, the communities and teachers as well. Only in this way, can the effort enjoy active spiritual and material support from the their communities and the learners.

d. Practice have shown that these activities are to be successfully accomplished only when they are undertaken in concert with other activities. Eradication of illiteracy among young women and girls will be a success if it is integrated into Community Development Programmes and as well as socio-economic development programmes in each Local Community.

g. The literacy and post-literacy education programmes for young women and girls should be closely linked to other programmes such as those on " Literacy, Employment and Income Generation ", " Literacy and Family Health Care ", " Literacy and Family Planning ", " Literacy, Drug Abuse, Prostitution and HIV / AIDS Prevention in Community ".....

h. These literacy and post-literacy programmes for young women and girls should not stop at the implementation of a basic programme but a programme with a practical nature should be carried out. In other words, young women and girls should be helped not only to be literate but also be provided with a basic knowledge in orde upgrade their status and their role in community and family.

i. Literacy and post-literacy education courses for young women and girls should be flexible and suitable to their conditions, psychology and aspirations. Location of the course is also very important. It should be located in residential area, in village, hamlet or even at each home. This is not only to save time but also to help them overcome psychological barrier. Small groups should be used. It is better to have only young women and girls in these groups. In case of necessity, female learning is also very helpful. Each small group will be effective form for idea exchanges and discussions. Time for learning should be flexible. Learning time should be as short as possible so that they can acquire practical knowledge. Knowing that they have made rapid progress, from being illiteracy to literacy, they would be feeling strongly encouraged to make further effort.

k. To limit the number of female illiterates which is growing, the literacy programme should be closely associated with the programmes on universalization of primary education for girls.The expending of the literacy and post-literacy programmes should not be ended with teaching young women and girls how to read and write but should offer reading opportunities for them with suitable booklets and newspapers to help them consolidate their literacy skills. With this way, literacy and post-literacy programmes for women and girls have many successfully, be strengthened and avoid wastes in terms of human efforts and materials.

l. Through learning together, they have got used to their life and at the same time improved their knowledge and social understanding, thus enhancing their competence in doing the everyday works. Literacy has to be the primary aim of all education. Literacy does not just mean being able to read words and connect them to objects and ideas. It includes the application of reading and writing to everyday life, without it one is lost. These are both young women and girls who have experienced quite short literacy courses.

m. An aim of literacy teachers must be trained well and constantly replenished from many sources. It may or may not use the school buildings, staff and textbooks, but what makes it different is the timetable which is arranged so that young women and girls can attend in the evening, or at quiet times of the agricultural year. What young women and girls need is knowledge to solve the immediate problems of everyday life. The content of lessons must be relevant to their daily needs. If literacy is linked to vocational education, women and girls can learn to read and write at the same time as learning a skill they can use to earn money. If literacy leads to self-reliance and self-employment, so much the better. An important function of increased literacy is that people can play a more active role in changing society for the better. This means that subjects of broad general interest should also be included such as basic knowledge, community history and culture, health and hygiene. Women can be taught how to improve their standard of living and play a role in the community. Nowadays, everyone should also learn about environmental protection, drug abuse and HIV / AIDS..... Women may have little free time after working the home and caring for their children. It may be even harder for them to attend. Providing child-care services and holding classes close to the home will make it easier for women to become literate.

II. Present Situation of NOCEAD's and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC's Basic Literacy Education, Post - Literacy Education and Continuing Education Programmes For Ethnic Minority Girls and Women and integrating Drug Abuse and HIV / AIDS Prevention Education , Environmental Education and Community Development

Literacy and Post-Literacy Education and Continuing Education Programmes for Young Women and Girls implemented in 1995 - 2000 running by the NOCEAD VIETNAM and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC. The Programmes are being implemented in 3 phase

Phase 1 ( 1995 - 1996 )

(a) Identification of target groups through home visits and personal contacts of literacy teachers and young women and girls living in the community.

(b) Identification of the specific education needs, vocational training needs and interests of the target group.

(c) Preparing of the literacy and vocational training materials for women and girls

(d) Developing literacy instructional materials

(e) Printing and distribution the above materials

(g) Building of the equipment and supplies for teaching and vocational practice

(h) Training of facilitators / Instructors

(i) Commencement of literacy and post-literacy classes in two provinces

( Ha Tay and Hoa Binh )

(k) Monitoring and evaluation of the activities of phase 1

Phase 2 ( 1997 - 1998 )

(a) Organizing the National Training Workshops on Developing the Literacy Follow-up Materials for Women and Girls in Highland and Midland Rural Areas

(b) Organizing the Training Courses for Teachers and Local Persons

(c) Field-Testing these literacy programmes in disadvantaged areas

(d) Development of a systematic approach to stimulate income generation among young women

(g) Implementation of these programmes at individual level and group level at the life-long education centres

(h) Commencement of literacy and post-literacy classes in ten provinces (Hoa Binh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Yen Bai, Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Ninh Binh, Ha Tay)

(k) Evaluation of the activities of phase 2

Phase 3 ( 1999 - 2000 )

(a) Field-Testing the literacy and post-literacy programmes for disadvantaged young women and girls (such as opium eater women and girls, prostitution women and girls, street/working female children in many disadvantaged areas

(b) Creation of a learning-environment by the arrangement of a small reading cell/corner in homes of the participants.

(c) Preparation of motivational teaching-learning materials

(d) Integration of literacy class activities with community development works

(e) Modify the literacy materials for women and girls at the life-long education centres

(g) Commencement of literacy and post-literacy classes in eleven provinces (Hoa Binh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Yen Bai, Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Ninh Binh, Ha Tay, Tra Vinh)

( h) Organizing the Evaluation and Review Conferences on Results of literacy and post-literacy programmes for young women and girls living in disadvantaged areas

Investments in Models is to bring into full play of the effectiveness of Projects and to keep the memory of the down and assistance and the support by the various organizations and individuals in the World. At present the NOCEAD's and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC's activities realizing under the following programmes :

2.1 The Program : " Eradication of illiteracy, stable literacy and job training for Ethnic Minority Girls and Women "

2.2 The Program: " Eradication of illiteracy, stable literacyand job training for Handicapped Ethnic Minority Girls and Women "

2.3 The Program: " Information, Education and Communication ( IEC ) for Drug Abuse Prevention "

2.4 The Program: " Integrating Literacy Education,Drug Abuse and HIV / AIDS Prevention Education , Environmental Education and Highland and Midland Rural Community Development "

NOCEADVIETNAM, NOCEAD / ACCU LRC, Continuing Education Centers and Local Communitites are implementing the Literacy Education Projects for disadvantaged person groups in which particularly concerning to young women and girls. These literacy education projects have worked to give women and girls better access to simple vocational training, literacy and knowledge of Health, Nutrition, Environment, Drug Abuse Prevention, HIV/AIDS Prevention, Planning Family, Family's Income Generating, Animals Raising and Child Care and Education...

3.Through the process of illiteracy eradication education for women and girls is running by NOCEAD VIETNAM and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC. We are receiving many value experiences as follows:

3.1 Eradication of illiteracy among young women and girls is both an

imperative need and a long-term endeavour. This is a socially broad undertaking requiring special attention from the entire society, each and every individual, charity foundations and INGOs, NGOs, International Organizations.

3.2 The work on eradicating women and girls illiteracy faces major difficulties as regards the concept, customs and practices as describe above. That's why a Literacy Resource Center for Women and Girls is helping necessary to promote a correct awareness in the society, families and among women and girls of the role and position, rights and interests of women, including the right to learning on the same par with men and boys.

3.3 As regards the illiterate women and girls and those who lack schooling, the encouragement and material incentives given to them are very necessary since many of them are poor and in economically difficult situation. The mobilization and organization of women and girls into literacy courses requires funding sources and investment. Suitable regime to encourage the motivational workers and organizers involved in these activities should be developed.

It is quite important that the work on eradication of illiteracy for young women and girls should be practical to them, the communities and teachers as well. Only in this way, can the effort enjoy active spiritual and material support from the their communities and the learners.

3.4 These literacy and post-literacy programmes for young women and girls should not stop at the implementation of a basic programme but a programme with a practical nature should be carried out. In other words, young women and girls should be helped not only to be literate but also be provided with a basic knowledge in order to their incomes, upgrade their status and their role in community and family.

3.5 Literacy and post-literacy education courses for young women and girls should be flexible and suitable to their conditions, psychology and aspirations. Location of the course is also very important,it should be located in residential area or even at each home. Small groups should be used. It is better to have only young women and girls in these groups. Each small group will be effective form for idea exchanges and discussions.Time for learning should be flexible. Learning time should be as short as possible. This is not only to save time but also to help them overcome psychological barrier. Knowing that they have made rapid progress, from being illiteracy to literacy, they would be feeling strongly encouraged to make further effort.

3.6 To limit the number of female illiterates which is growing, the literacy programme should be closely associated with the programmes on universalization of primary education for girls.

3.7 The expanding of the literacy and post-literacy programmes should not be ended with teaching young women and girls how to read and write but should offer reading opportunities for them with suitable books, booklets and newspapers..... to help them consolidate their literacy skills. So that development of literacy reading materials and literacy materials' utilization for women and girls are very important and useful.

3.8 Implementing of " Separate Literacy Project for Young Women and Girls " is very necessary and an urgent need. After implementing process of the literacy project, NOCEAD VIETNAM and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC will have many more experiences on developing the literacy curriculum and materials for young women and girls, mobilization and movement measures, literacy class organizing measures, teaching-learning method......

Teaching methods

Lessons can be made stimulating and lifely by using active approaches such as small group discussions, acting out real-life situation and excursions. Peer

teaching and self-instruction should also be encouraged. They provide variety, these methods increased the motivation and self-confidence of the learners.

Some of the methods used in eradicating illiteracy in Vietnam are as belows:

1. The " Spilling method " of teaching words and syllables through

enunciation - the traditional method in use for a long time before the existence of the National Language Universalisation Association. By this method, learners have to learn by heart the 29 letters of the alphabet, all non-accented and accented syllables and from them into words.

2. The " Articulation Method " - commonly known as the " i-t " method of desseminating of the national language movement - advocated by Hoang Xuan Han and some members of the National Language Universalisation Association

3. The " 25 session method " - or the " straightforward method " advanced by Nguyen Van Trinh. " Knowing to write and to read through 25 units ". The basic principles of this method are: Newspapers are books. Teaching printed letters before hand-written letters. Teaching texts before teaching letters. Helping learners grasp the 29 letters in the alphabet, then, from them into syllables, words and sentences. This method has gained good results. Based on the merits of many methods, the psychological charateristics of young women and girls in literacy classes and the experience of the teachers involved in the activity. This mothod is a short-time, effective method of teaching reading and writing.The basic contents are :

a) Teaching reading: instead of primers, daily papers are used; printed letters are taught before written letters; the 29 letters of the alphabet are taught, followed by syllable-building; the " sharply accented ", syllables are not to be given in separate lessons; lessons are taught prior to letters; fluent reading comes before spelling

b) Teaching writing: hand-drills; writing drills; teach learners to write dictations as soon as possible to help them write their lessons

c) Teaching numbers

4. To design IPO ( Input-Process-Output ) lessons. The learning materials are divided into smaller units, which provide motivation The merit of the method is that it is a sequence of modules, which is appealing to learners.

III. The situation of production and utilization of literacy materials for Girls and Women

1. Considering the difficulties and characteristics of women and female children, NOCEAD VIETNAM and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC have been determined the ways on " The development of Reading - Learning Materials for new female literates " are follows:

1.1 Targets: to consolidate the results of eradication of illiteracy; to help learners enhance their level of reading as well as intellectual level

1.2 These materials cover three functions: to develop the reading-writing skills; to provide with information; to stimulate an interest for learning, through which, to form a reading habit and self-learning ability to learners.

- To raise the role and enhance the ability of women and girls as working persons (knowledge and professional skills in production / business works. ....for more income)

- To raise the role and enhance the ability of women and girls as wives / mothers ( knowledge on family planning, home arrangement, feeding and educating children, improving life conditions, HIV / AIDS education, environmental education.....)

- To raise the role and enhance the ability of women and girls as citizens ( knowledge on the rights and the role of women and girls in the society....)

1.3 Principles of content orientation: appropriate to learners' level, responding to the interest and needs of learners, instructive in terms of civics. Scientific belief; serving the development of economy, culture and society.

1.4 Forms of materials: Books, Pictures, Photos, Charts, Audio-Visual; Learning Poster - Playing Poster, " Learn-through-Plays " Materials.

1.5 More financial investment for production of learning materials so that, they will be provided free to female learners

2. Through some National Training Workshops on Developing the Literacy and Literacy Follow-up Materials for Women and Girls living in the highland and Midland Rural Areas organized by NOCEAD VIETNAM and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC, through implementing process of Literacy and Post-Literacy Education Programmes for Poor Young Women and Girls with Technical and Financial Assistance from International Non-Governmental Organizations-INGOs, NGOs IGOs, GOs..... From 1991 up to now, over 110 prototype reading-learning materials have been produced in a variaty of formats such as booklet, poster, game.....for girls and women with limited reading and writing skills. The contents cover such areas as drug abuse and HIV / AIDS prevention, environmental protection, income generation, women's empowerment......

These materials are developed and used for the literacy and post-literacy classes for poor young women and girls in the past time. The Instructors and Learners notify that NOCEAD's and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC's Literacy Materials are useful, important and interesting materials on the basis of several field surveys and tests in highlans and midland rural areas. Poor ethnic minority young women and girls are studying easyly these materials and are receiving many scientific and technical knowledges for the productive labour and everyday life. The teachers are teaching effectively these materials. Their suitable teaching methods are exciting the women's and girls' awareness interest.

* At " Third ACCU Prizes for Fully Illustrated Literacy Follow-up Materials " ( 1992 ), NOCEAD's Literacy Material entitled " Prophylactic Hygiene " has been awarded Honourable Mention.

* At " Fourth ACCU Prizes for Fully Illustrated Literacy Follow-up Materials " ( 1994 ), NOCEAD's Literacy Material entitled " Stop AIDS " has been awarded Third Prize.

* At " Fifth ACCU Prizes for Fully Illustrated Literacy Follow-up Materials " ( 1996 ), NOCEAD's and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC's Literacy Material entitled " Learning Women and Girls for High Life Quality " has been awarded Poster Prize.

IV. Conclusion

The results of literacy and post-literacy education and continuing education programmes for young women and girls running by NOCEAD and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC at present are a practical contribution to the effective realization of all literacy education programmes in Vietnam in order to promote equality between the sexs in education, society and economic.

We believe that, with Technical and Financial Assistance from Gos, IGOs, INGOs and NGOs....... NOCEAD VIETNAM and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC have the conditions to plan, expand and conduct New Specific Programmes for Ethnic Minority Young Women and Girls living in the Highland and Midland Rural Areas. In co-operation with local communities to support literacy education, post-literacy education and continuing education, general vocation training for ethnic minority young women and girls, NOCEAD VIETNAM and NOCEAD / ACCU LRC will have made great efforts to maintain, consolidate an the Special Education Programmes for Ethnic Minority Young Women and Girls all over the country and its objectives for 2000.

Contact Info:

M.Sc Ngo Quang Son
Vice Director of NOCEADVIETNAM
Vice Director of NOCEAD / ACCU LRC
Do Thanh
Educator