By Ing. Yayah A.B. Conteh
A literate person, by definition, is one who can read and write well and is educated.
An illiterate person is one who does not have the ability to read or write, but might have a good amount of knowledge.
A semi-literate person, on the other hand, is one who lacks the proficiency of a literate person; he is able to read and write on elementary level. He can be considered as somebody literate but poorly skilled or informed with limited knowledge and understanding. Such person is not only semi-educated but possesses peripheral or partial knowledge about various issues in life.
Being semi-literate is synonymous with ill- and poorly educated.
It is often said that a truly educated man should not be underestimated in the least because he can use his education to completely transform his life and even those around him whose livelihood and existence depends on him. The education, at his disposal, makes him think beyond the expected limits.
Experiences gathered, in everyday life, have shown that an illiterate person might have the practical knowledge to unravel or solve the mystery behind an issue with ease in comparison to his literate and educated counterpart.
In as much as there are truly well-trained and educated people inhabiting our world today, there are still many fools in the educated sector who claim to be highly educated because they possess degrees from highly recognized universities both at home and abroad; yet, the fact remains that nowadays money or favours freely rendered can buy degrees.
There are people who have sometimes nursed the erroneous belief that students who hail from backgrounds of literate parents do much better than those from illiterate ones. This is because their parents can help them do their assignments or homework and that most often times there are volumes of good books and magazines in their homes. This has been found to be not always true as there are exceptional students who excel in their academic work as well in spite of their parents’ inability to read and write.
Facts from everyday interaction have been deduced that one can be literate and be extremely foolish or be illiterate and be extremely wise.
This even drifts our discussion to the educated illiterate who is no more than the person supposedly educated but does not behave rationally, nor possess good manners and etiquettes expected of him in any decent society. He claims to be the hero who has an educational degree but that his general demeanour in society is devoid of values and common sense.
Some scholars have even claimed that education, in the true sense of the word, is not only about being literate and illiterate, or even demonstrating some traits of semi-literacy. Rather, it is more about having and positively dispensing common sense, everyday life ideas and equally learning from observations and other life values that go to make all the difference between being wise and foolish.
Moreover, the uneducated and illiterate are still humans like their educated and literate counterparts. They might not know how to read, do machinery construction or deliver high-sounding public speeches in English or its equivalent to the admiration of all. But they too can sing, establish normal relationships, attend events and meetings, get married, tend to livestock and even perform different types of jobs (albeit low-skilled) in order to fend for their families and dependents. Above all, they also grow old and die naturally like everyone else.
The question is often asked as to whether a semi-literate person is more dangerous than a literate or illiterate one?
The answer is always given in the affirmative, meaning, he is more dangerous than the others.
Since a semi-literate is often considered as partly-trained and ill-prepared for most undertakings in several areas of endeavour, such a person almost always nurses the illusion of knowing everything under his supervision or tutelage which, basically, is a myth, as no one truly knows everything.
It is indeed this illusion about semi-literate people knowing everything that is dangerous about them.
A memorable example in the affirmation of such an illusion can be traced to the Chernobyl accident that took place in Ukraine in April, 1986.
The disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, that claimed the lives of so many people, came about as a result of a flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately (semi-literate) trained personnel. It is alleged that it took place during the shift where ill-prepared technicians were in charge. An accident of such magnitude could never have taken place to claim the lives of so many if knowledgeable and fully-trained personnel were manning this nuclear entity.
Let’s endeavour to improve upon our learning and technical skills, move radically from the illiterate and semi-literate to the literate levels in all our educational pursuits. By so doing, we would have broadened our mental horizons in order to combat the numerous setbacks and challenges facing our world today in every conceivable way.
Ing. Yayah A.B. Conteh is the Director of the Mechanical Services Department (MSD) of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA).
Tel. Nos: 076640364/077718805
E-mail: contehyayahab2020@gmail.com