ADULT EDUCATION AND POVERTY REDUCTION FROM AN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE

1. ADULT EDUCATION AND POVERTY REDUCTIONFROM AN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE BACKGROUND POVERTY REDUCTION APPROACH IN AFRICAN CONTRIES ADULT EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES

2. BACKGROUND AT THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC LEVEL THE SITUATION IN SOUTH SAHARAN AFRICA REMAINS PREOCCUPYING DUE TO THE SEVERE IMPACT OF DROUGHT, FAMINE, AND HEALTH PROBLEMS ON RURAL POPULATIONS POOR RETURNS ON AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS INADEQUATE ECONOMIC POLICIES

3. Background AT THE POLITICAL LEVEL PROGRESS IN DEMOCRATIC REVIVAL IS STILL HAMPERED BY SOME UPS AND DOWNS ON THE WHOLE, DECENTRALIZATION IS IN PROGRESS

4. Background ON THE EDUCATION FRONT ILLITERACY RATES ARE STILL HIGH IN MOST AFRICAN COUNTRIES (an average of 60% in many countries) Two-thirds of Africa’s illiterate population is made up of women

5. POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIC PAPERS (PRSP) Poverty is now a global issue for the international community through The Millennium Development goals which include GOAL 1 : ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER

6. MDGs TARGET 1 : Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day; TARGET 2 : Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

7. POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES (PRS) APPROACH IN AFRICA A common strategy is now applied in Africa: The PRS approach has become widespread in Africa. Currently half of the countries have prepared national poverty reduction strategies

8. A similar proportion are heavily-indebted poor countries (HIPCs). Even countries with substantial oil revenues have a large proportion of very poor populations

9. POVERTY ANALYSIS Poverty is multidimensional But in the countries where the problem is more acute, poverty reduction policies fail to take its different dimensions into account.

10. In developing countries, poverty is usually studied in monetary terms by comparing the level of income or consumption with a given threshold.(people living with less than one dollar a day)

11. In developed countries Recent studies demonstrate that : Well-being is not only based on monetary income or consumption, But also on other factors such as employment and health.

12. POVERTY FACTORS ALSO INCLUDE: IGNORANCE ILLITERACY POOR HEALTH ACCESS Other factors It is acknowledged that many factors determine poverty in various environments.It is acknowledged that many factors determine poverty in various environments.

13. IN MOST AFRICAN COUNTRIES SOUTH OF THE SAHARA, POVERTY IS DETERMINED BY ALL THE ABOVE FACTORS AND MOREOVER, THE POOREST SECTIONS OF POPULATIONS ARE RURAL,

14. THE VAST MAJORITY ARE WOMEN MOST OF THE POOR ARE ILLITERATE THEREFORE, LITERACY AND ADULT EDUCATION ARE IN FOR A CRUCIAL CONTRIBUTION TO POVERTY REDUCTION With regard to the Millenium development goals, and also to the variaous perceptions and dimensions of povertyWith regard to the Millenium development goals, and also to the variaous perceptions and dimensions of poverty

15. ADULT EDUCATION AND POVERTY REDUCTION HOW COULD ADULT EDUCATION CONTRIBUTE TO POVERTY ALLEVIATION? HOW DO WE DEVELOP LITERACY AND ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMMES SO AS TO EQUIP LEARNERS WITH OCCUPATIONAL SKILLS ?

16. HOW DO WE TRANSLATE THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL ROLE OF ADULT EDUCATION AS A POWERFUL INSTRUMENT OF DEMOCRACY AND SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ?

17. RELEVANT LITERACIES AND ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMMMES WHAT WE NEED IS RELEVANT LITERACIES ARE THOSE EMBEDDED WITHIN PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES ; (Alan Rogers, 2005) AND ALSO THOSE TAILORED TO SPECIFIC NEEDS OF TARGET LEARNERS Because adults learn through doing, not in preparation for doing;

18. They should learn through the texts involved in their occupations or some other immediately relevant activity. (Text Pedagogy)

19. The trainees should see this learning as immediately relevant to their own set purpose These literacies should be part of the necessary skills to become a proficient skilled worker; they are not an ‘add on’ to the main task of skills training.

20. There should be no delay between the learning on one hand and the application of the learning to the skill training, on the other.

21. HOW DO WE COMBINE LITERACY AND OCCUPATIONAL OR INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES? SOME STRATEGIES ARE NECESSARY: We need well-trained, well-supported and innovative/ creative trainers who have access to a range of relevant materials relating to the trade or skills which form the basis of the training These trainers will have to :

22. Combine both vocational skills training and literacy learning rather than keep them in parallel (Rogers, 2005) Embed the learning of literacy within the skills training by using the embedded literacies of the craft or trade as the teaching-learning materials

23. This will mean not having, possibly, separate literacy learning classes but simply using these texts in the training programme in exactly the same way as learning to use a chisel or a trowel or sewing machine, etc. The whole learning would be based on experimental approach and reasoning so that knowledge acquisition be basically a scientific approach.

24. SPECIFIC FIELDS OF CONTRIBUTION OF A/E Human capital formation. Adult education through know-how in Health care, sanitation, and nutrition, will improve people’s standard of living This will reduce sickness and mortality rates and increase life expectancy

25. INCREASING LABOR PRODUCTIVITY Adult basic education, by equipping recipients with essential literacy and numeracy skills, yields high rates on investment, thereby enhancing labor productivity.

26. INCREASING ACTIVE PARTICIPATION AT GRASSROOT LEVEL It is now widely admitted that growth will not reduce poverty unless poor people are able to actively participate in it. Such participation can become effective to a large extent through adult education.

27. Adult Education for women Adult education for women is another powerful means to contribute to socio-economic development, because, according to a report of the African Union: “women are the backbone of Africa’s rural economy, accounting for 70 per cent of food production,

28. …Most of the selling of the family produce and half of the animal husbandry in addition to food preparation, gathering firewood, fetching water, childcare and the care of the sick and the elderly.”

29. (i) Fewer women (than men) are enrolled in literacy classes and a smaller proportion of those enrolled ever achieve functional literacy;

30. (ii) a smaller proportion of Africa’s female population is literate (two-thirds of Africa’s illiterate population is made up of women);

31. (iii) Fewer women are engaged in the acquisition of life-skills, among out-of-school youth. Therefore : TRAINING WOMEN AND YOUNG GIRLS WILL PROVIDE 2/3 OF THE ACTIVE POPULATION IN RURAL AFRICA WITH VITAL SKILLS FOR DEVELOPMENT

32. Links between Adult learning and democracy There is a strong link between adult learning and democracy. It is today admitted that the lack of recognition of the need to involve civil society, especially grassroots organizations, by giving them a voice in decision-making and the means to participate effectively in society is one of the major causes of development failure in many African countries. (AU Report)

33. For democracy to be achieved, adult education is needed to educate citizens on the democratic culture To inform them of their rights and responsibilities as democracy also requires people to actively participate at local, national and global levels. The new wave of democracy in Africa therefore needs a strong adult education strategies to prosper

34. Adult education may also prove to be a powerful tool for favoring inclusive development through democracy, thereby ensuring peace and stability, because Prevention (through adult education) is much more effective than intervention.

35. Prevention of political disorders and civil unrest can be made possible through various adult education strategies

36. APPROPRIATE TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES To achieve the above recommendations, appropriate strategies are required including: TOT resources (Higher TOT, Training material) Trainers available at various levels Political will and financial resources (through adequate national policies on adult education) International cooperation in adult education

37. FINAL RECOMMENDATION International cooperation would be strongly needed to support the development of adult education strategies and programmes in Africa