The study focuses on the problem that Iraq is approaching an increasing rate of literacy;the available data refers to a rate of (18% -19%). In addition to the fact that the generalcurrent role of the programs directed to literacy is not actually effective enough to limit the expansion of this rate.
The importance of this study highlights the fact that the Iraqi universities are an important tributary among the tributaries of human development, especially in spreading the education of the voluntary work in literacy field and confirming the connection between the students and their society and their role in solving one of the prominent challenges that face the development, i.e., literacy.
The sample of the study is represented by a selection of University Professors, councilors, and decision makers of 20; the researcher has made a small sample as the society is relatively small.
The basic idea of the research is embodied in the contribution of the students of the colleges of Education in general and the students of the department of Holy Quran Sciences and Islamic education in particular in Iraq between (2008 and 2011) except for Kurdistan and its effectiveness in literacy program. This is done through assigning the student to teach 10 literate people as part of their requirements for graduation.
The significance of (10) people is to refer to the first teacher in Islam who is Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) when he asked that any prisoner of the battle of Badder who would help 10 Muslims to learn how to read and write would be sent free. The teaching was for old and young people equally.
Hence, it is possible to achieve the lowering the big number of illiterates and directing Iraq toward literacy and fulfilling the achievement of the goals of 2015 though making education available for all, and highlighting the role of the Universities in social services through investing the large numbers of the students of the colleges of Education and the departments of Holy Quran Sciences and Islamic Education in literacy and adults' education programs; in addition to providing real opportunities for practical training in the profession of teaching.
The researcher presented a set of conclusions, recommendations and proposals including:
- Literacy is the responsibility of all the members of the society and it is a sacred duty as it is a basic condition to achieve the total development and the Universities have the first role in that.
- Making use of the previous experiences of the different countries, especially those that made use of the young people of the Universities in their programs of literacy and adults' education programs.
- The adoption of the current proposal of the study and moving it from the realm of theory to space experimentation (the application), and to evaluate the proposed program from the viewpoint of specialists to literacy and adult education, as well as conducting comprehensive surveys to know numbers of illiterates in Iraq of both sexes
The researcher presents the following strategies for application:
- A political decision that puts literacy on top of the national priorities through the three presidential authorities (the Presidency, the Prime Ministry and the Presidency of the Parliament)
- Accelerating the formation of the Supreme National Council for Literacy that is mentioned in the law of literacy number 23 for 2011.
- Forming a center in each of the colleges of education in Iraq that mainly deals with treating literacy as cooperating with the SNCL that deals with different tasks.
- Including the syllabus of literacy and the methods of teaching in the curriculum of the colleges of education for the four years of study and according to the departmentsincluding the department of Holy Quran Sciences and Islamic Education.
- Improving education and cause dropouts to educate and applying the law of obligatory education with the law of literacy and adults' education
