Interviewer instructions
P19 Literacy
[The publication states: " Follow the instructions in filling up this item in Section 7.3 (p. 77)." This section is pasted from Common Household Questionnaire instructions, section 7.3]
Data on literacy provide an important indication of the capability of the nation for economic, social and cultural development. Such data serve as guide to planners concerned with the policies for the development of the educational system.
Literacy is the ability to read and write a simple message. A person is literate when he can both read and write a simple message in any language or dialect. A person who cannot both read and write a simple message is illiterate. Also consider a person illiterate if he is capable of reading and writing only his own name or numbers, as well as a person who can read but not write, or vice versa.
A person who knows how to read and write but at the time of the census he/she can no longer read and/or write due to some physical defects or illness is considered literate. Example of this is an aged person who knows how to read and write but can no longer perform these activities due to poor eyesight.
Disabled persons who can read and write through any means such as braille are considered literate.
Ask the question in P19, "Is ____ able to read and write a simple message in any dialect/language?" Encircle code 1, Yes, for those persons who are literate, and code 2, No, for those persons who are illiterate.
