Not a Joke

This is not joke, but I found out that Sri Lank has a higher literacy rate than Jordan. The difference is less than two percentage points, but still.

Anyway even with a literacy of 89%+, Jordan has a long way to go, because in my own not so humble opinion, at least 25% of those considered "literate" can not do a damn thing with their literacy.

I am not sure who decided on the currently used literacy measures, but I think they need to be tougher by at least another 20 points. The current system, I believe, allows those who are barely literate to pass as literate. The measure does not allow for degrees of differentiation. For example, "barely literate," "Moderately literate," and "Fully literate." In my own opinion at least 25% of the Jordan population does not qualify as literate.

Just like in some other societies, I suggest including computer literacy and basic numeracy under the umbrella of literacy. This of course would be harsh on the Jordanian society, because under these new terms, the literacy would fall down to something like 15-60%. This is fine with me and is much better than deluding our self and being happy with our fake 90% literacy rate.