Abstract
Comparing literacy statistics in the 1970 and 1980 censuses, the paper analyses the literacy trend in Singapore with the following major findings: (1) There has been a substantial growth in general literacy in the Republic from 1970 to 1980. Concurrently and more significantly, there has also been a distinct trend toward equality in literacy among various ethnic groups and between males and females. (2) The percentage of population with bi-literate or multi-literate ability increased tremendously, testifying to the success of the bilingual educational programme in Singapore. (3) English and Chinese both made parallel growth in literacy during the intercensal years. Literacy in Chinese remained in 1980 the language with the largest number of literates in population. But English is known by large numbers of persons from all ethnic communities. (4) While Malay and Tamil did not make much gain in literacy population-wise, both have made some progress within the Malay and the Indian communities respec tively.
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