LAGOS, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- At least 160 million adults in Africa, two-thirds of them women, are illiterate, UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura said on Wednesday in Lagos.

    This has posed a lot of challenges to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as well as taking its toll on development on the continent, Matsuura said while delivering the centenary lecture of King's College in Lagos, the News Agency of Nigeria reported Thursday.

    According to Matsuura, part of the major challenges facing UNESCO includes discrimination, gender inequality and the need to improve the quality of education.

    He asked multinational corporations in Nigeria to invest in education through funding of tertiary institutions.

    He also called on donor nations to the UNESCO fund to be more committed to their obligation.

    "UNESCO believes in quality education from early childhood to tertiary institution as well as research," he said

    He applauded the growth of education on the continent, which he said had risen by 42 per cent, but asked the Nigerian government to pursue quality education with political commitment and right policies.

    He congratulated the college on the occasion of the centenary celebrations, describing it as an achievement not only for Nigeria but also for the entire African continent.

    "King's College has educated and inspired many students both in Nigeria and the neighboring countries over the past century.

    "UNESCO is very proud to be associated with this achievement, as education is UNESCO's highest priority because it is a right as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Matsuura said.