Venezuela's disposition to help other countries will be announced at the upcoming summits of the Ibero American countries and the Organization of American States, Education Minister Aristóbulo Istúriz announced Saturday.

According to the government official, his country has proven that the Cuban teaching method "Yo si puedo" (Yes, I can) can be easily adapted to any country.

Venezuelan teachers who have participated in the literacy campaign would help with their expertise, the minister added.

By October 28, 1.5 million Venezuelan adults, including native people, would have learned how to read and write via the Yo si puedo method.

As well as Cuba, which eradicated illiteracy in 1961, Venezuela claims that illiteracy can be fully eliminated by 2012, instead of cutting it to half by 2015, as UNESCO has said.

With the Yo si puedo method adults can learn how to read and write in seven weeks.

Talking about the method"s costs, Cuba's Education Minister Luis Ignacio Gomez said here that a 20-student classroom equipped with TV and VCR and other teaching materials costs US$470.

However, costs can be reduced if the same classroom is used several times during the day to teach different students groups, he added.

by: Prensa Latina