PT. 1: GRENADA'S EDUCATION REVOLUTION 🇬🇩

On 13 March 1979, the New Jewel Movement (NJM), led by Grenadian President Maurice Bishop, overthrew Western-aligned leader Eric Gairy and established the People's Revolutionary Government (PRM).

In 2024, African Stream's Salifu Mack explained in this video that one of the enduring legacies of the PRM government was a revolutionary literacy campaign that aimed to eradicate adult illiteracy on the island. Volunteer teachers, community involvement and innovative methods drove this initiative, creating a path for individuals in both urban and rural areas to become literate. The campaign symbolised the revolutionary government's commitment to social justice, grassroots empowerment and equality.

Five decades later, its impact can still be felt. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Caribbean island nation has one of the highest literacy rates in the world, with 98.6 of Grenadian adults able to read and write in 2014, the most recent figure available.

Let us know in the comments what you think about Grenada's education-led revolution.

Sources

https://countryeconomy.com/demography/literacy-rate/grenada#:~:text=Grenada%20repeats%20literacy%20rate,information%20about%20Grenada:%20Grenada's%20economy

https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/grenada-revolution

https://jacobin.com/2019/09/grenada-revolution-maurice-bishop-reagan

https://www.marxists.org/history/grenada/1981/education/03.htm#:~:text=When%20the%20first%20stage%20of,seminars%20at%20the%20parish%20level