Romanian literacy campaign

The Romanian literacy campaign was started by the Romanian Communist Party government through the Education Law of 1948 and nearly eliminated illiteracy in Romania within six years.[1]

Peasants on a collective farm in Livezeni village, Argeș County being read a newspaper in 1950

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Romania had one of the largest illiteracy rates in Europe. In the 1930s, 43% of the adults were illiterate[2] and in October 1945, Romania still had 4.2 million illiterate adults (1.9 million men and 2.3 million women).[1]

The campaign, which was done "like a military offensive" and within it, participated volunteers, including university professors, members of the academia and scientists, who inaugurated schools in the villages.[1] It was aimed both at the children who abandoned or didn't attend school and at adults (14-55 years old), who, following one or two years of studies, they'd get a diploma equivalent to the 4 years of primary school.[3]

See also

• Literacy in Romania
• Likbez
• Cuban Literacy Campaign
• Nicaraguan Literacy Campaign

References

1. Silviu Brucan, The Wasted Generation: Memoirs of the Romanian Journey from Capitalism to Socialism and Back, Westview Press, 1993, p. 80
2. Matei Cazacu, România Interbelică, ISBN 973-858-817-0, p.46
3. "In doi ani, din analfabet puteai ajunge student", Jurnalul Naţional, September 19, 2007