Maseru ___ As the world celebrates International Literacy Day, countries have been urged to continue with collective efforts to promote linguistic and cultural diversity as a foundation of peace.

In her message for today, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Ms. Audrey Azoulay stated that children learn to read and write best in their mother tongue. She however indicated that 40 percent of people lack access to education in a language they speak or understand. She said in Africa children start school in a language different from the one they speak at home.

She pointed out that 3 out of 4 children in developing countries cannot read and understand a simple text by the age of 10. She added that there are 754 million illiterate adults worldwide, two-thirds of whom are women. She emphasised that that is a major barrier to literacy which cannot be accepted.

Ms. Azoulay stated that when children are offered education in their household language, more of them attend school. She added that girls from rural areas stay in education longer. She further added that all children acquire better thinking skills.

She remarked that those struggling to learn in an unfamiliar language are sent the wrong message that the education system does not recognise their language or their culture and that the opportunities made possible by education are not for them.

The Director-General UNESCO indicated that multilingual education supports intercultural dialogue, social cohesion and peace. She pointed out that as language is a passport to communication with others, it connects people across cultures. She added that it opens them to new ways of perceiving and interpreting the world. She further added that it also strengthens understanding within and between peoples.

“This is one of the convictions enshrined in the new UNESCO Recommendation on education for peace, human rights and sustainable development”, she said. She pointed out that this text underlines the importance of multilingualism for social cohesion and mutual understanding as well as the power of education in imparting them.

International Literacy Day has been celebrated annually on September 08 since 1967. The objective is to remind policymakers, practitioners and the public of the critical importance of literacy for creating a more literate, just, peaceful and sustainable society.

This year’s theme is “’Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace”.

Literacy is described by UNESCO as a fundamental human right for all which opens the door to the enjoyment of other human rights, greater freedoms and global citizenship.

AT LEAST 48 KILLED AS FUEL TANKER HITS TRUCK, CAUSING EXPLOSION IN NIGERIA

A fuel tanker has collided with another truck in Nigeria, causing an explosion that killed at least 48 people, according to the country’s emergency response agency.

The fuel tanker was also carrying cattle in the Agaie area in north-central Niger state and at least 50 of them were burned alive, Abdullahi Baba-Arab, director-general of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, said on Sunday.

Baba-Arab said initially that 30 bodies were found. But in a later statement, he said there were an additional 18 bodies of victims who were burned to death in the collision. He said the dead had been given a mass burial.

Mohammed Bago, governor of Niger state, said residents of the affected area should remain calm and asked road users to “always be cautious and abide by road traffic regulations to safeguard lives and property”.

With the absence of an efficient railway system to transport cargo, fatal truck accidents are common along most of the major roads in Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country, with more than 220 million residents.

According to experts, the main causes are reckless driving, poor road conditions and poorly maintained vehicles.

In 2020 alone, there were 1,531 petrol tanker crashes resulting in 535 fatalities and 1,142 injuries, according to Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd last week hiked the price of petrol by at least 39 percent, the second major increase in more than a year. But shortages have continued, forcing motorists to queue for hours in the country’s major cities and towns.