Barrak said the Kingdom succeeded in making a drastic cut in the level of illiterates because of the encouragement received from the government. The old Qur'an schools and the private schools played a significant role in spreading literacy among all sections of the people until the General Secretariat for Adult Education was established in 1984. The first syllabus for the adult education and illiteracy eradication was laid down in 1956. A major feature of the syllabus was to reduce the period of education to three years and then one more year was added to the plan. The four-year study was followed by a period of follow up and after that the adult was eligible for a primary school certificate. --MORE
