AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPERS SERIES Skills dnd Literdcy rdining for Better LiWelhoods 23957 March 2002 A Review of Approdches dnd Experiences - -- -e-'4wAA ai~~~~~~ji ,.A, -_ Other Titles in This Series Dynamic Risk Management and the Poor-Developing a Social Protection Strategy for Africa Engaging with Adults-The Case for Increased Support to Adult Basic Education in Sub-Saharan Africa Inclure les adultes - Pour un appui a l'education de base des adultes en Afrique subsaharienne Enhancing Human Development in the HIPC/PRSP Context-Progress in the Africa Region during 2000 Early Childhood Development in Africa-Can We Do More for Less? A Look at the Impact and Implications of Preschools in Cape Verde and Guinea AIDS, Poverty Reduction and Debt Relief-A Toolkit for Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS Programs into Development Instruments Systemic Shocks and Social Protection-Role and Effectiveness of Public Works Programs Social Protection of Africa's Orphans and Vulnerable Children-Issues and Good Practice Program Options Can Africa Reach the International Targets for Human Development? An Assessment of Progress towards the Targets of the 1998 Second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD II) Education and Training in Madagascar-Towards a Policy Agenda for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction A Summary Education et Formation a Madagascar - Vers une politique nouvelle pour la croissance 6conomique et la r6duction de la pauvret6 Un r6sum6 Issues in Child Labor in Africa Community Support for Basic Education in Sub-Saharan Africa Le systeme educatif mauritanien - El6ments d'analyse pour instruire des politiques nouvelles Rapid Guidelines for Integrating Health, Nutrition, and Population Issues into the Poverty Reduction Strategies of Low-income Countries Integrer les questions de sante, de nutrition et de population aux strat6gies de r6duction de la pauvret6 dans les pays a faibles revenus: quelques directives rapides Deux 6tudes pour la scolarisation primaire universelle dans les pays du Sahel en 2015 Improving Health for the Poor in Mozambique - The Fight Continues Africa Region Human Development Working Paper Series Skills and Literacy Training for Better Livelihoods A Review of Approaches and Experiences John Oxenham Abdoul Hamid Diallo Anne Ruhweza Katahoire Anna Petkova-Mwangi Oumar Sall Africa Region The World Bank ii AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES © March 2002 Human Development Sector Africa Region The World Bank The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the World Bank or any of its affiliated organizations. Cover photos by Dr. Josef Mueller, Sankt Augustin, Germany. Cover design by Tomoko Hirata. SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS Contents Forewords iv Acknowledgements vii I Executive summary 1 2 Prologue 6 3 Objectives of the study 9 4 Scope and methods of the study 10 5 Literacy training with livelihood components 14 6 Livelihood training with literacy components 24 7 Synthesis of findings 35 8 Conclusions and recommendations 42 Bibliography and references 47 Annex I Persons thanked 54 Annex 2 Cases from Guinea 56 Annex 3 Cases from Kenya 74 Annex 4 Cases from Senegal 88 Annex 5 Cases from Uganda 104 Annex 6 List of programs/projects discussed in detail in the study 118 IV AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES Foreword his study looks at the intersection between adult basic education or about how people make training in livelihood skills and basic educa- ends meet in the informal economy. tion for illiterate and semi-literate youth and The study breaks new ground by finding that adults. Can effective training in livelihood skills be different kinds of staff are needed for teaching voca- developed as an add-on to large scale literacy pro- tional skills for teaching literacy and that livelihood grams? Or, are the effective combinations those that skills training is a better vehicle for teaching literacy add literacy education to (usually small scale) pro- than the other way around. This has the important grams which are set up mainly to teach livelihood practical implication that it is probably best to think skills to begin with? To examine such questions the of combinations of livelihood skills and literacy Institute for International Cooperation of the Ger- teaching as an activity that, like other vocational man Adult Education Association (IIZ/DVV) was training, requires intensive support and is not easily commissioned to conduct the present investigation scaled up quickly. which examines documentation from 18 programs The team conducting this study, led by John -all serving very poor people, mostly women. Spe- Oxenham made extraordinary efforts to assemble cial analysis is also carried out on four country existing documentation on the combined teaching cases-Senegal, Guinea, Uganda and Kenya. of adult literacy and livelihood skills, before under- The study concludes that combinations of liveli- taking their careful analysis. hood skills training and adult literacy education The study is part of an ongoing regional study of help improve poor people's livelihood. Firstly, there vocational skills development conducted by the is a widely noted "empowerment effect"-that Africa Region of the World Bank and its Human leamers acquire enhanced confidence and social re- Development Department. Other publications on sources which help them take initiatives to improve Adult Basic Education are available from the Africa their livelihoods. Second, literacy and numeracy Human Development Department. The Norwegian skills are a clear advantage in market transactions in Education Trust Fund for Africa has generously the informal economy, and thus especially impor- financed the present study and is, along with DfID tant for entrepreneurship. Thirdly, more productive and the Bank itself, financing the ongoing regional agricultural or livestock practices result from leam- study of vocational skills development. This sup- ing new vocational skills. These effects should not be port is very gratefully acknowledged. seen as isolated but as arising from complementary inputs. For example, not only are skills and market Birger J. Fredriksen opportunity needed, but also access to credit. These Senior Education Adviser conclusions also gain support from other reviews on Africa Region, The World Bank SKILLS AND lITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS V Foreword n April 2000, the delegates at the World Educa- and livelihoods, we could not but immediately tion Forum in Senegal collectively drew up the agree on both the importance of the research and Dakar Framework for Action, in which they our readiness to support it. We considered it a great committed themselves to do everything possible to: opportunity to inject fresh information and ideas into discussions on approaches to improving liter- * achieve a 50 percent improvement in levels of acy interventions in practice and theory, whether adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and from our own many projects and publications or equitable access to basic and continuing educa- from the programs and documents of others. Over tion for all adults; the years, our partners have again and again debated with us questions like, "Does literacy come * improve and ensure excellence in all aspects of first and development follow?" or "How much lit- the quality of education, so that recognized and eracy is needed as a prerequisite to development?" measurable learning outcomes are achieved by or "How can both be integrated?" The issues of the all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential relationships between literacy, skills training, and life skills. livelihoods widen this quest for improved develop- mental outcomes. We think that the title "Skills and The World Bank was one of the key players in the Literacy for Better Livelihoods", adequately reflects preparation and implementation of the Forum, the findings of the study. It is at the same time a pro- along with UNESCO, UNICEF, and ILO, among grammatic title for future literacy endeavors by other concerned UN organizations. Our Institute governments, NGOs, co-operating agencies, and was involved in the preparatory process in Ger- the participants themselves. many and participated in Dakar as a member of the It is our feeling that the study team has done an nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working excellent job. At the beginning of the study, a work- in education and development. For us, this marked shop including the four authors of the country another milestone in our almost four decades of cases, the lead researcher and members of our staff, continuous support for adult literacy with partners created a clear common understanding of the ques- in Africa, Asia and Latin America. tions and a plan of work. At another workshop at When the Human Development Sector of the the end, the five draft reports were reviewed and a Africa Region of the World Bank asked whether we set of common conclusions was formulated. What would be interested in managing a study of literacv you have in front of you is the team's product. Vi AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES We would like to thank the study team and all those who supported their work. There were indeed many, especially Jon Lauglo from the World Bank who was at the heart of the matter and associated with the study from its very beginning. We appreci- ated his sound professional input throughout. We see the study as an important contribution toward fulfilling our commitment to literacy learners and their providers and to high quality education for all. Prof.(H) Dr. Heribert Hinzen Henner Hildebrand Director, Task Manager, IIZ/DVV IIZ/DVV SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS Vii Acknowledgements he first acknowledgements must go to the The study is indebted also to 13 friends who, Africa Region of the World Bank and to the despite heavy work programs of their own, troubled Government of Norway. By initiating and to comment rapidly and extensively on the first financing this study, they are helping to enrich a draft of this paper: Terry Allsop, Julia Betts, Dipta field that has not generated the attention and high Bhog, Harbans Bhola, Michael Brophy, Johnii Comiings, qualitv evaluation and research that the rhetoric of Pat Davis, Heribert Hinzen, Richard Johanson, Jon poverty reduction, education for all, and lifelong Lauglo, Josef Mueller, Helen Sherpa and Chij Shrestha. education might have led the world to expect. The We hope that they judge their advice has been satis- next salute goes to Dr. Josef Mueller, formerly of the factorily taken in this revised text. German Foundation for International Develop- The study team expresses its deep gratitude to all ment, now an independent consultant, for his its helpers and supporters and hopes that this prod- Trojan work in collecting and annotating materials uct will help them feel that their time and effort from a number of organizations in Germany and were well spent. All responsibility for any misre- elsewhere. porting, misunderstanding or misinterpretation The study itself depended to a large extent on doc- that appears in the report lies with the team. uments that are not in the public domain. Most of them had to be identified, located, and retrieved In Guinea from the files and archives of many organizations in Aide et Action many countries. That meant that many people had to CAOPA La Mission Francaise de Cooperation make the time and take the trouble to suggest what en Guinee a travers le Centre work might repay attention, what documentation d'Appui aux Organisations might be available, and where it might be found. Professionnelles Agricoles de Kankan Many also assisted in obtaining the documents, CENAFOD Le Centre Africain de Formation pour although laying hands on them was not always easy le Developpement or always successful. The study team is heavily Les centres alpha avec leurs auditeurs indebted to them all in the four countries of intensive nous ont permis d'enrichir le present study, Guinea, Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda, and in document the headquarters of many bilateral, multilateral, and CLUSA La Ligue des Coop6ratives des Etats non-governmental agencies in Europe and North Unis d'Am6rique en Guin6e America. The full list of them is so lengthy, that it is EUPD L'Entraide Universitaire pour le given as Annex 1 to this report. Here, only the names Developpement of their organizations will appear. Le Forum des ONG de Guin6e Viii AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES IIZ/DVV Institute for International Cooperation In Uganda of the German Adult Education ActionAid Bundibugyo and Buwekula Projects Association and REFLECT Coordination Unit PAPE-BGN Le Projet d'Appui aux Petits ADRA Adventist Development and Relief Exploitants en Basse Guinee Nord Agency SNA Le Service National de IACE Institute of Adult and Continuing d'alphabetisation en Guinee Education, Makerere University UNICEF- Le Fonds des Nations Unies pour LABE Literacy and Adult Basic Education GUINEE l'Enfance en Guin6e LITNET Literacy Network In Kenya In Europe BTL Bible Translation and Literacy ActionAid London DAE Department of Adult Education ADEA Association for the Development of FAO Food & Agricultural Organization of Education in Africa, Bem the United Nations DFID Department for International GTZ German Agency for Technical Development, London Co-operation DSE German Foundation for International IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development, Bonn Development EED Church Development Service-An KAEA Kenya Adult Education Association Association of the Protestant KALA Kenya Adult Literacy Association Churches in Germany, Bonn KARI Kenya Agriculture Research Institute FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of KIE Kenya Institute of Education the United Nations, Rome MLHRD Ministry of Labour and Human GTZ German Agency for Technical Resource Development Cooperation, Eschborn OXFAM-UK OXFAM, United Kingdom Branch IFAD International Fund for Agricultural UNDP United Nations Development Program Development, Rome UNICEF United Nations International IIEP International Institute for Education Children's Emergency Fund Planning, Paris University of Nairobi, Faculty of IIZ/DVV Institute for International Cooperation External Studies of the German Adult Education USK Undugu Society of Kenya Association, Bonn ILO International Labor Organization, In Senegal Geneva ANAFA Association nationale pour l'Alphab& MISEREOR The German Catholic Bishops' tisation et la formation des Adultes Organization for Development CONGAD Conseil des ONG d'appui au Cooperation, Aachen Developpement NCA Norwegian Church Aid, Oslo DAEB Direction de l'Alphabetisation et de NOVIB Netherlands Organization for l'Alphabetisation de Base International Development, The Direction G6n6rale de la SODEFITEX Hague (Societe de Developpement des SCF-UK Save the Children Fund, UK, London Fibres Textiles) SDC Swiss Development Cooperation, Bern La Direction de l'Enseignement SIDA Swedish International Development Technique et de la Formation Agency, Stockholm Technique SIL-UK Summer Institute of Linguistics, UK, PAPF Projet d'Alphabetisation Priorite High Wycombe Femmes SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS iX UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific SIL Summer Institute of Linguistics, Dallas and Cultural Organization, Paris and Mexico UIE UNESCO Institute for Education, UNICEF United Nations International Hamburg Children's Emergency Fund, New York In North America USAID United States Agency for International CAII Creative Associates International Inc., Development, Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. WEI World Education Inc., Boston CIDA Canadian Agency for International Development, Ottawa/Hull GroundWork, Washington, D.C. Skills and Literacy Training for Better Livelihoods A Review of Approaches and Experiences Africa Region Human Development Working Paper Series I Executive summary F rom the perspective of vocational education Guinea, Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda, brief field F within the purview of lifelong education for observations and interviews with interested parties all, this report aims to use available docu- have supplemented the documentation. mentary accounts to compare and assess the effec- Much of the helpful documentation came from tiveness of two types of education and training pro- organizations that are in principle more concerned grams for poor adults: (a) programs that have with employment and livelihoods than with educa- attempted to incorporate training for livelihood tion, but that find training in literacy and numeracy skills into mainly literacy instruction, and (b) pro- to be essential for their own purposes. Examples are grams that have incorporated literacy instruction FAO, IFAD, ILO and nongovernmental organiza- into training for mainly livelihood skills. The com- tions (NGOs) that strive for holistic development. parison should help answer four questions about Unfortunately, we must emphasize that the nature such efforts: of the available evidence makes the conclusions and recommendations of the study only tentative. They 1. What approaches have been used? are more in the nature of reasonable hypotheses than incontrovertible facts. 2. What are the documented outcomes and impacts Also, it is the case that the documentation did not of these approaches? yield satisfactory responses to Question 3 on man- agement, implementation, and resource require- 3. What are the lessons regarding management, ments. Neither did it further any discussion of the implementation, and resource requirements? crucial issues of organizational and institutional development. The report shows that, without the 4. What approaches are likely to be most effective construction of effective organizations and sound under conditions prevailing in Sub-74 Africa, institutional norms, very poor people will not be and what are the pitfalls to avoid? enabled to use literacy to make their livelihoods more productive. Sources of information Approach to study Because there is little published literature on the four questions, this report has had to rely largely on The study's basic task was to examine two broad documentation internal to many organizations approaches to combining livelihood training with located in four countries of Africa, as well as in literacy instruction. One approach is to enrich a Western Europe and North America. However, in livelihood-led program with components in calcu- 1 2 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES lating, writing, and reading. The other is to enrich a The first two sub-categories fall within literacy- literacy-led program with training for one or more led programs, the third and fourth fall within liveli- livelihoods. Within these two approaches, a frame- hood-led programs, while the type of programs of work developed by Rogers (1997) that distinguishes the fifth sub-category would depend on their ori- five sub-categories, proved useful to the study. gins and emphasis. They are: Findings in summary 1. Literacy as a prerequisite or in preparation for training in livelihood or income-generation The report yielded 17 findings. activities. That is, training in a livelihood is the longer term aim, but people are encouraged not 1. In all the countries studied, the diversity of pos- to start training in a livelihood, until they have sibilities for improving established livelihoods first mastered reading, writing, and calculating and developing new ones appears so wide as to sufficiently to cope with the livelihood's operat- demand extreme flexibility, imagination, and ing and development requirements. There is a resourcefulness. planned progression between the two. 2. All the programs examined dealt with very 2. Literacy followed by separate livelihood or in- poor people, mostly rural and mostly women. come-generation activities. Here, learning literacy is regarded as a self-standing and worthwhile aim 3. Examples of effective efforts were found in in itself and is undertaken first. Thereafter, train- each of the five program sub-categories. Suc- ing is offered in either livelihoods or some form of cess in both sets of immediate objectives is income-generating activity. There are no system- likely if two conditions are satisfied: first, the atic connections between the two components. program is well run with competent, reliable, and adequately supported instructors and, 3. Livelihood training or income-generation activi- second, the program is well adapted to the ties leading to literacy. In this sub-category, interests and conditions of its participants. groups start out learning to develop a business Data were not available on the impacts of but come to recognize that their progress will be livelihood training on production, productiv- frustrated, unless they learn to calculate more ity, and standards of living. However, there comprehensively, record their incomes and out- was virtual unanimity in both individual and goings and read their records. The content of the focus group discussions that people who had literacy and numeracy grows out of the liveli- completed literacy courses tended to be more hood and income generation. confident and more willing to take initiatives in developing their livelihoods or in taking an 4. Livelihood and income-generation activities and active interest in the operations of their coop- literacy integrated. In this sub-category, training eratives. Claims by successful learners that in a livelihood and instruction in literacy and they were now following more productive numeracy begin simultaneously, often with the agricultural or livestock practices were content of the literacy derived from or influenced common, as were claims that people felt they by the livelihood. could no longer be easily cheated, when they bought inputs or sold produce. These psy- 5. Literacy and livelihood and income-generation chosocial aspects are not normally considered activities taking place in parallel but separately. in designing vocational education policies. Programs in this sub-category recognize the Nonetheless, as they do impinge on the pro- importance of both components, start both ductivity of current livelihoods and on the simultaneously, but omit to develop any system- willingness to seek opportunities to develop atic comnections between them. new livelihoods, they should be taken into SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 3 account as desirable and likely effects of liter- business management, along with actual access acy training. to credit. 4. Education and training programs for very poor 10. Chances of success are even greater in a pro- adults need to offer very clear, concrete and gram that works with established groups of immediate reasons to justify enrollment and people who share a common purpose, rather ensure perseverance. than with individual applicants. In the absence of such groups, it would probably still be better 5. Programs that start from livelihood skills seem to take the time to identify promising common to stand a stronger chance of success. They can, purposes and to work on forming new pur- after all, demonstrate an immediate reason for pose-driven groups than to resign the program learning. to unconnected individuals. 6. Organizations, that are more concerned with 11. Early evaluations of the Somaliland Education livelihoods and other aspects of development Initiative for Girls and Young Men (SEIGYM) seem to be better at designing and delivering use of vouchers to buy their training are very effective combinations of livelihoods and liter- favorable. Further observation of the initiative acy than organizations that are more focused on seems desirable, particularly regarding its suit- education. Projects run by NGOs that integrate ability for established groups. development and literacy appear most effec- tive. The implication is that policy for voca- 12. Experience seems to have produced a strength- tional/livelihood education with literacy ening consensus that programs that are well should consider operating through agencies, negotiated with their prospective learners in both governmental and non-governmental, that association with local authorities and leaders work with people in their actual livelihoods are likely to be more effective than programs and employment. that are simply put on offer. 7. NGOs seem to be more flexible than govern- 13. While differing levels of proficiency in different mental agencies in responding to local and livelihoods required different periods of learn- changing needs. Policy makers for vocational/ ing, the minimum period needed by a really livelihood education should consider both illiterate person with normal learning abilities (a) stronger alliances with NGOs and (b) forms to attain a degree of literacy and numeracy suf- of governmental organization that would allow ficient to support advancement in a livelihood local offices the kind of wide but accountable seemed to be some 360 hours of instruction and discretion that would enable them to develop practice. the required flexibility. 14. The broad experience of income-generating proj- 8. Deriving literacy/numeracy content from live- ects suggests that arranging for both livelihood lihood skills and integrating it with the liveli- specialists and literacy instructors is more pru- hood training from the very start seems more dent than relying on literacy instructors to promising than either running the two compo- undertake livelihood instruction or income-gen- nents parallel with each other or using standard erating activities in addition to teaching literacy literacy materials to prepare people to train for and numeracy. The broad trend appears to treat livelihoods. literacy instructors on a similar basis to liveli- hood specialists and to pay them for their efforts. 9. Livelihood-plus-literacy/numeracy programs can greatly improve their chances of success, if 15. On the important issue of financial resources, they incorporate training in savings, credit, and data on costs were largely absent, so that the 4 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES study can offer no guidance on the issue. The eracy/numeracy content derived from, but not only observations possible are that (a) the costs limited to, the vocabulary of the livelihood. As of programs that combine livelihood, business, a tool to strengthen the negotiating power of and literacy skills are likely to be higher than prospective learners, the experience of SEIGYM those of simple literacy programs; and (b) even (the Somaliland Education Initiative for Girls so, the costs would not be inordinate. and Young Men) warrants monitoring (see Chapter 5). 16. To achieve financial sustainability, poor coun- tries would need an alliance of government, 4. The fourth recommendation is twofold. First, to non-governmental and community organiza- ensure that the "average" adult learner masters tions, and people of goodwill and energy to set literacy and numeracy well enough to use them up (a) a mechanism to mobilize local voluntary in support and development of a livelihood, the supplements to fiscal provisions, (b) long-term literacy component of a livelihood course consortiums with external donors, and (c) sup- should offer at least 360 hours of instruction port from international lenders. and practice (the livelihood and business com- ponents will of course require additional 17. Going to scale would require capacity building, appropriate time). Second, to help optimize decentralization, gradualism and underpinning perseverance, completion, and retention of by local infrastructure, natural and other learning, the course should be offered in a resources, norms, and institutions. single session or term, if at all practicable. Recommendations in summary 5. The fifth recommendation is again twofold. First, vocational education policy should pro- Overall, the evidence suggests that it would be vide for two cadres of instructors-livelihood worthwhile for vocational or livelihood education instructors and literacy instructors. While nei- policy makers to develop livelihood training with ther should be a permanent cadre, their patterns literacy/numeracy instruction for very poor, non- of recruitment, training and support can differ literate people, who tend to be mostly women, and, from each other. Second, both cadres should be in Sub-74 Africa, mostly rural. The ten recommen- remunerated for the instruction they give. dations below give guidance on how this could be done. Justifications and further discussion are given 6. Vocational education policy for non-literate in Chapter 8. poor adults should promote active, participa- tory, and interactive forms of instruction and 1. Vocational education policy should provide for learning in both livelihood and literacy compo- assessments of what would be needed in partic- nents of training. ular localities to ensure an environment that would enable training in particular livelihoods 7. Vocational education policy makers should actually to result in higher productivity, support further research on the issue of costs. incomes and well being. 8. Countries should form local alliances of govern- 2. Vocational education policy should pursue a ment, non-governmental and community agen- strategy of decentralization and capacity-nur- cies and energetic people of good will to (a) raise turing that will permit resourceful responses to local fiscal and voluntary financing, (b) form ap- local actual and potential patterns of livelihood. propriate consortiums with external donors and (c) attract resources from international lenders. 3. Vocational education policy should provide for courses that combine savings and credit train- 9. Strategies of capacity-building, decentralization ing with negotiated livelihood content and lit- and gradualism should govern the process of SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 5 going to scale, with due attention to local infra- talize on the empirical experience and expertise structure, natural and other resources, norms, that those organizations have accumulated, and and institutions. make it more readily accessible than this study has found it. 10. Any review of vocational educational policy should exert itself to identify, locate, and capi- 2 Prologue * efore discussing the main study, a simple closely entwined, that it is no longer realistic to * background note is desirable to clarify three speak of two approaches there (Diallo 2001). points: the current linking of livelihoods Uganda's national program is known simply as FAL, with literacy, what is meant by livelihoods, and Functional Adult Literacy Program, while Ghana's is what is meant by literacy. the Literacy and Functional Skills Program. For their part, vocational educators have long Livelihoods and literacy accepted that, without a sufficient mastery of read- ing, writing, and calculation, learners cannot take This section offers a historical or evolutionary per- more than limited advantage of possibilities to spective on the relationships between livelihoods enhance their knowledge, skills, and capacities. For and literacy. Adult educators have accepted for at example, FAO (1980) had this to say "Thus, the con- least the past half century that the skills of literacy cept that the stepping up of farm production by are not ends in themselves but need to serve some new technology must have training and literacy as purpose and practice that is important to their users. part and parcel of the development process, and The attempts to tie them closely to and even derive conversely, that training and literacy as an isolated them from livelihoods began at least three decades process are of little avail in a developing society, is ago with UNESCO's pioneering attempt to integrate now well established." More recently, ILO, working literacy and livelihoods in its Experimental World in Nigeria on income-generating activities for Literacy Program, after the Teheran Conference in women in health development, reported, "func- 1965. That is when the term "functional literacy" tional literacy should be included... to increase the came into currency. So successful was the idea of impact of training in new skills and technologies" such integration, that, even with the rise and rapid (ILO 1994b: iii) and "In parallel... training in spread of Paolo Freire's "conscientization" a few record/book-keeping, accounting, costing, pricing years later, it would be difficult to locate a contem- ..." (ILO 1994b: 5). Similarly, a multi-country study porary or recent literacy course, that did not claim to on the benefits of training for women observed, be functional, even if it did not claim to prepare its "While many of the women showed a great capac- participants for a livelihood. In Kenya (Mwangi ity for mental calculations and some an astute busi- 2001) as early as 1969, literacy instructors were ness sense, they remain relatively powerless in the expected to assist their classes set up income gener- world of business if they have no written records" ating projects and to invite technical officers in to (Leach et al. 2000: 109). help deepen knowledge, understanding, and skills. From a somewhat wider perspective, some quotes In Guinea, livelihoods and literacy are now so from Easton (1998) are pertinent and reinforcing: 6 SKILLS AND lIlTFRACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 7 "Without introducing the technology of writing and water, clothing and shelter necessary for survival effective literacy-in whatever language or script it and well-being, whether the economy is subsis- may be, and acquired by any available type of edu- tence, monetized, or a mixture of both. "Liveli- cation-training and assumption of new development hood" seems more appropriate than either functions both tend to remain stuck at the most rudi- "employment" or "income-generating activities," mentary level of technical skill and the most incom- because the majority of people in Africa who par- plete forms of participation" (1998: xix). "The train- ticipate in programs with literacy components ing necessary to support self-governance initiatives derive their living mainly from subsistence agri- is not, of course, limited to literacy instruction -far culture, and often from the exchange of goods and from it. But if the "tool of writing" constitutes a services, rather than from earning wages or threshold of effectiveness in the management of local salaries. A livelihood can include more than one institutions, mastery of this code is equally important set of knowledge, skills, and methods. For as a means of magnifying the scope and the impact instance, in an agrarian economy, a woman may of the training" (1998: xxiii). earn her family's livelihood by combining subsis- In a balanced review of educational research in tence agriculture and horticulture on a small plot West and Central Africa, Maclure (1997: 86-87) of land with remunerated labor on a neighbor's points, on the one hand, to the evidence that non- land and with selling some of her produce as formal literacy training is strongly linked to processed food in a local market. improvements in several domains, including agri- Incomne-generating activities: Because most cultural production and other revenue-generating economies are now monetized, the terms "income- skills, as well as enhanced managerial skills among generating activities" and "income-generating proj- members of agricultural cooperatives. On the other ects" occur frequently in discussions of literacy hand, he notes the frequency with which literacy projects and programs. They are not synonymous and other training for poor, unschooled adults dis- with "livelihood," for the available literature sug- appoint their sponsors and beneficiaries through gests that they often-but do not always-generate poor implementation. only small incomes to supplement main liveli- What has prompted the current study is the need hoods. Further, the literature gives the impression to assess what seem to be the most effective strate- that, in most instances, income-generating activities gies and methods for ensuring that the skills of lit- do not involve much systematic training, in ways eracy and numeracy do support the struggles of the that courses of vocational and technical education very poor to develop livelihoods sufficient to lift would. Instead, a learning group usually seems to themselves out of poverty. undertake an activity that is common, well known and established in the neighborhood and for which Defining livelihoods and income-generating little additional instruction is given. activities In the main, then, this report will prefer the term "livelihood" rather than" "income-generating Liveliliood: Because this report is contributing in activities." the first instance to a review of vocational and A report on a project in Egypt makes this technical education, it treats the term "livelihood" important distinction: "Quite often the needs more in its traditional, restricted sense of simply assessment identified the need for income-genera- making a living, rather than in the recently tion opportunities of which vocational training expanded senses initiated by researchers at the might be a part... An additional challenge is not to Institute of Development Studies, University of confuse income-generation with vocational train- Sussex,I and adapted by some bilateral and multi- ing. Both are often important, but people develop- lateral agencies and international non-governmen- ing vocational skills often need further support tal organizations. NMore specifically, "livelihood" in (such as with credit schemes and marketing) to be this report restricts itself to the knowledge, skills, able to generate income" (UKDFID 1999b: para. and methods used to produce or obtain the food, 8.4.3 and 8.4.8). 8 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES In short, livelihoods and livelihood/occupa- operationally as the equivalent of four years of pri- tional training are not quite synonymous with mary schooling. The tendency to use schooling as income-generating activities, even if the latter do the standard against which to measure attainments require some training. in literacy persisted for some while, despite its increasing inadequacy in the face of shifting aver- Clarifying literacy and numeracy age attainments at different levels of schooling in different countries. At the most basic level, literacy entails simply the In the light of the flux and because it examines skills of (a) recording information of some kind in situations in a variety of countries and cultures, this some code understood by the person making the study uses no definition of literacy or numeracy. It record and possibly by other persons in some more simply uses the words in whatever sense was used or less permanent form and (b) decoding the infor- by the program under study. However, as will be mation so recorded. That is the essence of writing seen in Chapter 7 under "Synthesis of findings from and reading. Similarly, numeracy is the skill of the two strategies," the study does attempt to esti- using and recording numbers and numerical opera- mate the minimum amount of instruction and prac- tions for a variety of purposes. During the past tice a person needs to acquire sufficient skill in writ- 5,000 years or so, the human race has developed ing, reading, and calculating to be able to go on to these skills into systems that reach far beyond the obtaining and exchanging new and possibly com- simple recording of information. The systems now plex information to improve the productivity of her range from personal signatures through to the or his livelihood. The discussion makes it clear that mazes of legal documents and higher mathematics. no hard and fast rule can be laid down. All that is In this, they entail ranges of skills, usages, customs, offered is what might be a safe minimum. and conventions in both recording and decoding information, which are conditioned by the particu- lar contexts where they occur. These ranges and 1. "A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (stores, resources, claims, and access) and activities required for a varieties have made defining literacy and numeracy means of living: a livelihood is sustainable which can cope in operational terms more than just difficult: with and recover from stress and shocks, maintain or UNESCO has been struggling with the task for half enhance its capabilities and assets, and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next generation; and which a century and has still not been able to bring its contributes net benefits to other livelihoods at the local and member states to a consensus. Each member oper- global levels and in the long and short term," Chambers R. ates its own definition for its own purposes. and G. Conway, 1992, Sustainable rural livelihoods: Practical concepts for the 21st century, IDS Discussion Paper 296, The attainment of virtually universal primary Brighton, Institute of Development Studies at the University schooling in the industrialized countries initially of Sussex. led to defining permanent or sufficient literacy Objectives of the study ccording to this study's Terms of Reference, * What are the lessons regarding management, its main objective is "to derive lessons from implementation and resource requirements? programs that have included livelihood skills as part of literacy education and programs * What approaches are likely to be most effective that have included literacy skills as part of liveli- under conditions prevailing in sub-74 Africa, hood training." The final report should provide and what are the pitfalls to avoid? answers to the follou7ing questions: The fourth question makes clear that the study * What approaches have been used? aims to contribute to policy and practice mainly in Sub-74 Africa. * What are the documented outcomes and impacts of these approaches? 4 Scope and methods of the study Scope 5. Literacy and income-generation activities in parallel but separate (most common)." his study focuses on efforts to combine liveli- hood training with literacy instruction either This report will adapt Rogers' framework to by incorporating livelihoods into primarily include livelihoods along with income generation. literacy programs or incorporating literacy into pri- Thus the report examines the following five cate- marily livelihood training. Rogers (1997: 47) pro- gories or approaches: vides a convenient sub-categorization of these two broad groups, although he uses the term "income- 1. Literacy as a prerequisite or in preparation for generation activities," not "livelihood." Each of training in livelihood or income-generation these sub-categories constitutes an approach to the activities. That is, training in a livelihood is the combination. Also, while Rogers speaks only of longer-term aim, but people are encouraged not "adult literacy programmes," he does in his third to start training in a livelihood, until they have and fourth categories below intimate that the first mastered reading, writing, and calculating income or livelihood concerns may well lead and sufficiently to cope with the operating require- determine the literacy content. ments of a livelihood, as well as with manuals and other literature. There is a connection and "There are five possible relationships between the planned progression between the two, even if the teaching of literacy and income-generation activi- literacy curriculum is independent of the liveli- ties in adult literacy programmes: hood training (for example, Women in Enterprise Development (Lim 1999)). 1. Literacy in preparation for income-generation activities (rare); 2. Literacy followed by separate livelihood or income-generation activities. Here, learning liter- 2. Literacy followed by separate income-generation acy is regarded as a self-standing and worth- activities (more common); while aim in itself and is undertaken first. There- after, training is offered in either livelihoods or 3. Income-generation activities leading to literacy some form of income-generating activity. There (very rare); are no systematic connections between the two components (for example, income-generating 4. Income-generation activities and literacy inte- and livelihood projects for individuals in grated (very, very rare); Botswana (Legwaila 1996, 1997)). 10 SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 11 3. Livelihood training or income-generation activi- and Uganda studies show below, these programs ties leading to literacy. In this sub-category, can offer instances where, even with standard cur- groups start out learning to develop a business, ricula for an entire country, with only tinctures of but come to recognize that their progress will be livelihood training, their learners have learned and frustrated, unless they learn to calculate more applied useful ideas and appreciated the outcomes. comprehensively, record their incomes and out- For that reason, they feature in this study. goings and read their records. The content of the In terms of geographical scope, the study literacy and numeracy grows out of the liveli- included four intensive investigations in Africa in hood and income generation (for example, Guinea, Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda. In addition, it Mahila Samakhya in India (Nirantar 1997)). attempted to benefit from experiences in a larger number of countries through a more general search 4. Livelihood and income-generation activities among bilateral, multilateral, and non-governmen- integrated with literacy. In this sub-category, tal agencies known to support adult education and training in a livelihood and instruction in literacy training, both generally in terms of basic literacy and numeracy begin simultaneously, with the and numeracy and more specifically, in terms of content of the literacy derived from or influenced training for very poor people to enhance their pro- by the livelihood (for example, WEP-Nepal ductivity, production and incomes and to expand (Thomas & Shrestha 2000); ACOPAM-West their repertoires of productive skills. Africa (ILO 1999)). Methods and sources of information 5. Literacy and livelihood and income-generation activities in parallel but separate. Programs in The study had to be documentary because the this sub-category recognize the importance of period and budget within which the study had to be both components, start both simultaneously, but completed ruled out any substantial original or omit to develop any systematic connections field research. The published literature on experi- between them (for example, Farmers' Field ences in combining livelihoods training with liter- Schools (World Education 2000a)). acy instruction is small, and what there is tends to be insufficiently analytical to help policy makers The study includes what are broadly known as assess the relative merits of different strategies and "Functional Adult Literacy Programs," even though methods. This study therefore sought information they do not offer what could be called systematic from the "grey literature" of project documentation: training in the many topics contained in their curric- proposals, designs, periodic monitoring reports, ula. In many such programs such as the practice in mid-term reviews, project completion reports, end- Kenya, mentioned above, literacy instructors are of-project evaluations, and impact evaluations. advised to invite specialists to discuss particular Agencies helped identify programs that fitted the technical issues. Most experiences with this expedi- study's focus and agreed to grant access to mem- ent can scarcely be classed as training, however bers of the study team to review what files and informal. An excerpt from the Kenya portion of the archives could be retrieved. current study (Mwangi 2001) supports this view. It is important to note that one reason for the The observer, an adult education officer surveying dearth of published material could well be the literacy classes in the Nyanza province, noted, dearth of "grey documentation" and the poor qual- "Functional literacy is practised without designing ity of much of the documentation that is retrievable. and conducting lessons in relation to the develop- The Guinea study found so little documentation ment they are required to encourage." In Kenya's available that it depended much more on interviews Western province, another adult education officer and observations. Further, theoretical advances in found that the Vihiga district had a total of 110 liter- methods of evaluating outcomes and impact do not acy centers, only 10 of which had income-generating seem to have made headway in programs of adult projects.1 Nevertheless, as both the present Kenya basic education. In the mid-1970s, the overall eval- 12 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES uation of UNESCO's Experimental World Literacy to undermine the perception of the value of partici- Programme noted, "Some of the most important patory communication and learning." and crucial indicators such as production, produc- Where NGOs are concerned, the situation seems tivity and income were not measured because they no better. Riddell (2001) notes for example that of 13 were found to be of enormous complexity," and evaluations of REFLECT projects, only one offered because "The (experimental) programme's imple- conclusions based on empirical and measured menters were understandably more concerned with evidence. doing than with recording" (UNDP/UNESCO Therefore, those reports that did yield at least 1976: 13). This helped explain why the critical some of the information needed to answer the four assessment had to be more qualitative than quanti- questions in the terms of reference are all the more tative and more in the form of hypotheses to be fur- valuable. We must frankly state that the documen- ther tested than insights to be confidently shared. tation available did not permit satisfactory Much the same was the case with the IIEP's effort to responses to the third question of the terms of evaluate the literacy programs of Kenya and Tanza- reference on management, implementation, and nia more than a decade later (Carron et al. 1989; resource requirements. Neither did it enable any Carr-Hill et al. 1991). The unfortunate situation per- discussion of the crucial issues of organizational sists. This study encountered only two efforts that and institutional development. Without the con- have planned for both baseline and impact evalua- struction of effective organizations and sound insti- tions. Both are programs in Nepal (Thomas and tutional norms, it is not possible to assist very poor Shrestha 2000; World Education 2001a), which fea- people to use literacy to make their livelihoods ture in the following discussion. more productive. Today's implementers also seem to be too preoc- In Guinea, the study found little documentation cupied with doing to have time for recording. How- available (Diallo 2001). It had to rely instead on ever, this excerpt from a World Bank report sug- interviews and studies of the government's gests that adult educators may not be alone in National Literacy Service and 23 NGOs involved in deficiencies of data and analysis: "After 30 years of combinations of literacy and development training. lending, the Bank still knows little about the impact All these programs link literacy so closely with of its education projects on output measures such as livelihood and other development skills that distin- quality, access, and internal efficiency, let alone guishing between two strategies-literacy with development. The main problem is at the project livelihood or livelihood with literacy-makes little level. Staff appraisal reports seldom make adequate sense. In addition, the study observed a number of provision for gathering and using such information, learning groups and interviewed a large number of and frequently project goals are not stated in clear, farmers and craftsmen who had previously partici- monitorable terms" (IBRD-OED 1993). Indeed the pated in learning groups. observation applies even more strongly to the liter- In Kenya, the sources were essentially literacy acy programs supported by the World Bank since efforts that had always incorporated, at least in prin- 1977. An example is the Ghana National Literacy ciple, some elements of knowledge for livelihoods and Functional Skills Program, where Crapper's and some form of income-generating activity team found "... there are no reliable data on which (Mwangi 2001). They provided accounts from a to assess cost-effectiveness" (for a pilot project number of non-governmental organizations in- started in 1989-90 and evaluated in late 1995) volved in literacy, along with 10 vignettes of how the (1996: 33). government's national program operates in different Even more recently, ILO (2001a: 11.56) noted, parts of the country. The search located no instances "Very few of the projects under review undertook of programs that were primarily interested in train- the baseline studies that would ensure the reliabil- ing for livelihoods and that had incorporated liter- ity of impact assessment. The monitoring systems acy/numeracy components as supplementary were also not very effective." At FAO, Coldevin means towards their main objectives. Yet many of its (2001: 18) remarks, "...lack of evaluation continues vignettes stress that, without elements of income- SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 13 generation, literacy programs tend to suffer from In addition to collecting recent and contempo- poor rates of attendance and high dropout. rary documentation, the study tried to glean the les- In Senegal, the major source of information was sons from some of the earlier efforts to combine the livelihood-led literacy program offered to cotton livelihood with literacy training. The first of these, farmers by SODEFITEX (Sall 2001). and the first major initiative in this direction, was In Uganda, the study examined eight programs. the Experimental World Literacy Programme, led Six were literacy efforts that incorporated "func- by UNESCO and supported by a number of agen- tional" knowledge from a range of topics, including cies, as well as the dozen or so countries that partic- items on agriculture, wvhile the other two took up ipated in the program (UNDP/UNESCO 1976:162). literacy, as they felt that the lack of it hampered Its potential relevance to this study is clear: "Voca- their main efforts at development (Katahoire 2001). tionally oriented programs (chiefly agriculture, but In Europe and North America, multilateral and also including industry and artisanry) were organ- bilateral agencies as well as NGOs provided what ized for 91 percent of EWLP enrollees, while only 9 internal documentation they could, as well as percent were involved in non-vocational (social and lesser-known publications. women's) programmes." Most of the documentation retrieved was in the This current report constitutes a synthesis of the form of proposals, plans, and descriptions. Very few investigations in G(uinea, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, project completion reports were available, nor were and documentation obtained from the bilateral, there many evaluations, much less impact evalua- multilateral and non-governmental agencies. tions. Unfortunately, what was available does not allow thorough-going comparisons between differ- ent approaches, so our answers to the four main 1. Worth noting is that the 10 centers with income-generating projects had 80 percen-t attendance rates, while those without questions-rather in the manner of the UNDP/ had on average attendance rates of only 20 percent. UNESCO critical assessment of the Experimental World Literacy Programme 25 years ago-will be more tentative than firm. 5 Literacy training with livelihood components T his chapter considers work that falls in the health practice and to Group I in both literacy and T first two of Rogers' categories, namely, "lit- health practice (ICAE 1979: 42 et seq.). eracy as a prerequisite or in preparation for At first glance, teaching wholly by demonstra- training in livelihood or income-generation activi- tion and practice seems to be the most effective way ties" and "literacy followed by separate livelihood to bring about changes in behavior. However, given or income-generation activities." that all three experimental groups had the same Before we examine particular projects, it is worth amount of time to learn non-identical curricula, it is noting the widespread mistake of expecting too clear that Group 3 was asked to learn much more much from education and training programs. This than either Group 1 or Group 2 and that Group 1 is clear from an experiment in the Andhra Pradesh was asked to learn more than Group 2. Put another state of India in 1972. way, too much was expected of both Groups 1 and Participants in the experiment were divided 3 compared to what was expected of Group 2. into four separate groups. Each group took The implication is that, for every component of a instruction for one to two hours a day, six days a course of learning, an appropriate time needs to be week for 26 weeks, a total of 300 hours of tuition built in for learning it. In the present context, that and practice. Group 1 learned literacy and numer- means that courses in livelihood and literacy must acy from a curriculum derived from topics of allow enough time for the livelihood skills, plus health, nutrition, childcare and family planning, enough time for the literacy skills, If the experiment that is, functional literacy. Group 2 had the same above is accurate in suggesting that 300 hours of subject matter taught only through lectures, instruction and practice suffice to attain sustainable demonstrations, and practice. Group 3 learned lit- literacy, then a course of livelihood skills and liter- eracy from a standard primer and the health topics acy would need to plan for at least 300 hours for the through conventional instruction and services. literacy and then add an appropriate number for Group 4 was the control group, who received no the livelihood skills. If it does not, it risks overload- instruction or services at all. ing its curriculum and disappointing its learners, as At the end of the experimental period, the con- well as its operators. trol group, Group 4, showed little change on any indicator. Group 1 (functional literacy) had attained Literacy as a prerequisite to livelihood training a level of sustainable literacy, but was inferior to Group 2 in actually putting their health learning In Guinea, Kenya, and Senegal, none of the pro- into practice. Group 3 (traditional literacy plus grams studied required its participants to learn how health instruction) proved inferior to Group 2 in to read, write, and calculate, before permitting them 14 SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 15 to enter training in livelihood skills. However, the atic and widely drawn study appears to have yet Uganda study encountered one called FAL, con- been done on its attainments and outcomes. How- ducted by the NGO, the Adventist Development ever, using literacy/numeracy explicitly to pave the and Relief Agency (ADRA). way to loans and businesses seems to sustain perse- verance in attending and completing the course, for ADRA, Uganda ADRA reports a retention rate of around 80 percent in its classes. As for longer-term effectiveness, The program takes its acronym from the national ADRA reports loan repayment rates of close to 100 Functional Adult Literacy Program-FAL-but percent within the stipulated time frame. uses the L to stand for "Learning" rather than Further, a modest surveyl of eight ADRA groups "Literacy." The reason is that ADRA has adopted a in three sub-counties found that six had qualified curriculum that goes well beyond literacy and aims for micro loans and had maintained their repay- to enable poor women to develop better and sus- ment schedules. A couple of micro-enterprises had tainable livelihoods. It had originally taught only failed, but the majority had made small profits, livelihood skills, but, as other organizations have which they were investing in expansion. Interviews done, ADRA came to recognize that without liter- with the members found that almost all of them acy and numeracy, the development of such skills is claimed that they were managing their farms and very restricted. livestock more productively and were becoming ADRA offers a course of three stages. The first more successful at starting and managing small stage, which is obligatory, involves learning to read, businesses. They felt more confident and more write, and calculate, with a particular emphasis on independent. calculating accurately. For this stage, ADRA uses ADRA asks the learning groups, which may the standard literacy texts provided by the govern- number between 40 and 70 members, to recruit ment's program, but it adds exercises to help learn- their own instructors within some simple guide- ers to understand more thoroughly what is lines. No minimum standard of schooling is set, but involved in the processes of buying and selling as a persons invited to act as instructors should be at business. The second stage instructs the learners in least 18 years old, more literate than their prospec- how to assess the feasibility of a project. It also tive learners, fluent in the language used for requires each of them to save a small amount of instruction, respectable, and acceptable both to all money and, without financial assistance, start a the learners and to the local community leaders. modest income-generating activity. The final stage Once selected, the instructors are trained to teach requires the learners to form "solidarity groups" of not only literacy and numeracy but also livelihood five members each, who trust each other enough to and business skills. Their initial training is followed open a joint bank account, into which they pool at intervals with refresher and further training. This their savings and from which they will manage any is a notable instance of systematically forming loans they take or make to each other. The three instructors competent in two sets of skills.2 stages take up between nine and 12 months at the Remuneration of the instructors is an important rate of six hours a week, or 250 to 300 hours in all. issue. Although the instructors are selected by their Once the stages are completed, ADRA is pre- learners and serve voluntarily, they are not pared to make micro loans of about US$30-60, expected to give their services for nothing; they repayable in installments over 16 weeks with an receive an honorarium from ADRA itself. Their interest rate of four percent per quarter. It reports learners, being poor women, are not asked to con- that these smaller loans and short periods of repay- tribute to this honorarium. ment help sustain commitment and accountability A crucial component of ADRA's strategy is orga- and ensure success. nizational and institutional development. Its policy The national FAL program, under which ADRA is eventually to withdraw from a locality. To ensure also falls, now enrolls more than 100,000 people the sustainability of its attainments, it works not annually-90 percent of them women. No system- only to help the women's groups to operate compe- 16 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES tently, but also-and equally important-to help education levels compared to the control groups" the community develop sufficient organizational (partly perhaps because of the literacy classes). It capacity to support the groups and take fresh initia- also noted, "Village women in El Minya opened tives. This ADRA does through fostering associa- their own houses for literacy classes because a large tions that are registered as Community Based Orga- number of women applied and distances to the nizations with legal rights and powers. ADRAhelps Project site were excessive" (1993a: 23). The communities elect officers for these organizations absence of more detail on the project and its small and then trains the officers in managing the local scale-it enrolled only 51 women for training in project and its finances and in raising finance for 1991-92 (1993a: 53)-make it unsuitable for further new initiatives. ADRA reports that most officers are consideration in this report. graduates of the literacy and livelihoods program. In the other five countries-Bangladesh, the Reports from a number of project areas note Philippines, Nepal, Ethiopia, and Somaliland-the enthusiastic response to ADRA's pattern of opera- programs examined are all conceived and imple- tion from learners, local authorities, political lead- mented by local and international NGOs. While ers, and opinion leaders. Support in the form of they may have the moral support of the govern- money, materials, and moral encouragement seems ments, all of them, like ADRA, rely on private fund- common. Overall, then, on the restricted evidence ing, much of it from international sources. available, ADRA's strategy to work for a form of In Bangladesh, the Saptagram organization aims holistic development, using literacy as an obliga- to improve the status of women through enabling tory first step, appears effective and successful. them to develop non-traditional forms of livelihood Unfortunately, information on the costs of this suc- and income generation (Guttman 1994). cess, either gross or unit, is not available. In the Philippines, the Notre Dame Foundation For the purposes of planning and budgeting, it is for Charitable Activities runs many programs worth noting that ADRA reports a dropout rate of through a network of branches. The program dis- 20 percent. This indicates, as does the case of SOD- cussed here is its Women's Enterprise Development EFITEX below, that adult education and training Program, which offers both livelihood and literacy programs, however well conceived and imple- training (Lim 1999). mented, may have to accept that some attrition is In Nepal, World Education Inc., an international unavoidable. Planning needs to devise measures to non-governmental organization based in the U.S.A., minimize it. works in partnership with 25 local non-governmen- tal organizations on "Women's Economic Empow- Five more examples erment and Literacy," which aims to equip women with sufficient literacy to manage savings, credits, Outside the four African countries intensively and loans to develop new businesses (World Edu- studied, three contemporary programs that insist cation 2001). on literacy as a prerequisite for livelihood training The WISE (Women in Self-Employment) pro- are found in Bangladesh, the Philippines and gram in Ethiopia (Berhanu 2001) and the SEIGYM Nepal, while two others, in Ethiopia and Soma- (Somali Education Initiative for Girls and Young liland, do not quite fit the description but are close Men) in Somaliland (AET 2000 and Tomlinson 2001) to it. A sixth was in Egypt, but no information later are additional instances of programs that use liter- than 1993 is available about it, and there appears to acy as a preparation for livelihood training. have been no evaluation of its impact on its benefi- ciaries. The ILO report on it, "Training Rural Saptagram and Women's Enterprise Women in Income Generating and Basic Life Skills" Development (1993a: 28), notes that "Literacy training is compul- sory for the loan beneficiaries and enrollment is The Bangladesh Saptagram and the Philippine part of the application procedure." In addition, Women's Enterprise Development Program offer "The Project beneficiaries had significantly better training in a range of skills that enable women to SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 17 enhance their livelihoods and incomes. However, WEEL, Nepal since these skills involve the use of literacy and numeracy, both organizations require applicants to In Nepal, the Women's Economic Empowerment show that they can handle the course materials and Literacy program (WEEL) uses the curriculum before admitting them to the course. If applicants of the National Literacy Programme4-also "func- cannot do so, they must take a six-month course in tional"-or other existing curricula, as preparation basic literacy and numeracy to qualify for entry.3 for training in savings, credit, business develop- In both organizations, the literacy course is ment, and management (but not in specific occupa- "functional" in that its content and vocabulary tions). However, in order to emphasize the connec- focus on topics of everyday importance, like health, tion with livelihoods and thus maintain interest and nutrition, child care, hygiene, and sanitation; and it motivation, WEEL supplements the content with 12 is said to derive from surveys of local situations, as poster and discussion sessions on women's roles, are the occupations in which training is offered. In benefits of being in a group, and benefits of savings fact, Saptagram and its participants, after trying out and credit. Its whole course takes 21 months in materials developed by other organizations, three phases. The first is preparatory literacy and decided that they must produce their own. In this numeracy. The second focuses on savings, credit, sense, both organizations ensure that their offerings and business management. The third requires only are led by interest and demand. Even though the one group meeting per month to advance business two literacy courses are not derived from a specific and literacy skills. livelihood-as understood in this report-both Initiated in 1994 and moving through careful organizations report that more than 90 percent of preparatory phases, WEEL now combines income, their enrollees complete the course, after which food security, credit, micro-enterprise, and literacy- nearly all of them then register for training in an numeracy in its curriculum. Its 3,000 initial enrollees income-earning occupation. have now graduated (a study of what they have Saptagram takes rigorous measures to prepare its done with their learning is in process and should be participants to develop their livelihoods: "This year available later in 2001). They have formed over 300 (1994) Saptagram plans to give its first individual savings and credit groups and helped 100 already loans to women actively involved in the organiza- existing groups to learn literacy, numeracy, and tion for at least five years. Women can apply for an more advanced topics like marketing. Its current individual loan if they have shown leadership and enrollment has 10,000 women. Most are illiterate, management skills in social actions and income- but some are partly literate either from earlier liter- generating projects. They must also be graduates of acy programs or from some years in primary school the adult literacy course and have sound account- (Sherpa et al. 2001). WEEL has also entered under- ing skills" (Guttman 1994: 11). served areas and formed new women's groups. It Guttman adds, "Part of the adult education pro- requires only that a core number of women in a gramme's success comes from women's perception group master the literacy/numeracy skills, so that that it can improve their living standards. This they can independently manage group accounts and underlines the importance of tying education to records and lead group learning. The other members broader rural development, specifically income- are welcome to learn if they wish, but WEEL does generating projects" (1994: 23). not demand that they do so. Both Saptagram and the Notre Dame Foundation WEEL recognizes that this partial literacy makes use trained and paid instructors for their courses. some women reluctant to start from the beginning Both organizations deal with learners as individu- again. In response, it has developed a "bridging" als and not as groups. Therefore, although both or- course that helps women revive their skills and ganizations take care to consult local communities and qualify themselves for training in savings and authorities before they open new operations, they do credit.5 not extend their reach to community, organizational, Like ADRA, WEEL encourages its learners or institutional development, as ADRA does. to select their own literacy instructors according 18 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES to a few personal and educational criteria. It then community groups, select the disadvantaged girls trains and pays an honorarium to the people and young men to receive vouchers. selected. Two systems operated: In the first system, stu- Unlike ADRA, WEEL does not train its literacy dents could receive a voucher, which they could use instructors as trainers either in particular liveli- to purchase education or training of their choice. hoods or in business identification and manage- The voucher was redeemable only through the ment. Instead, it trains personnel of the 25 partici- Africa Educational Trust (AET) and only if AET pating NGOs to be the trainers in those skills. At inspected the training provider and certified its stan- the same time, it works to reduce the groups' dards. AET also provided training courses for alter- dependency on the NGOs in tasks that can be native trainers, craftsmen, and women who wanted managed with adequate skills in literacy and to run small training courses (such as carpenters, numeracy. driving instructors, painters, tailors, nurses). Like ADRA and unlike Saptagram and the Notre This system worked best in the larger towns Dame Foundation, WEEL prefers to work with where there were craftsmen and women who groups rather than individuals. Unlike ADRA, wanted to provide the training and where there however, it does not attempt to develop community were enough students with vouchers to make it institutions to support the groups, even though it worth their while to run a course-usually 10 to 15 takes care to consult the local authorities. Instead, students for one particular subject. its component of institutional development con- The second system, in effect outside the larger cerns the non-governmental organizations that are urban areas, also offered vouchers, but in addition, working on the program. It is they who are there were meetings and discussions with the stu- strengthening their own capacities to organize and dents to ask what they wanted to purchase with expand programs for very poor women. them. Based on this, AET then recruited local train- ers to provide the course, paying them against the SEIGYM, Somaliland value of the vouchers. This worked best in the smaller towns and was also important when the The Somaliland Education Initiative for Girls and majority of students wanted literacy and numeracy. Young Men (SEIGYM), supported by the Africa In a number of cases, a local committee agreed to Educational Trust, has adopted an unusual, possi- support a project in which a local trainer was setting bly unique, approach for its urban participants. It up a course for a specific group, e.g. a literacy class gives them vouchers they can use to obtain the for 40 disabled people or a basic education class for training they want. As all the vocational and tech- the children of outcastes, to allow them to gain nical training on offer requires some school quali- access to normal schools. fication, non-literate participants can locate and To identify the people who could apply for pay for instruction in literacy and numeracy vouchers, AET worked with each local committee to before moving on to specifically livelihood train- reach agreement on definitions on who was eligible. ing. Over three years, 5,000 disadvantaged girls, Then AET and the committee worked on fair and young women, and young ex-militia men have transparent selection procedures in that locality. received literacy/numeracy and/or vocational The AET worked with different committees skills training. because, given the fractured nature of the local soci- The scheme took care to win the support of the ety, AET aimed to cover different clan areas, so that local authorities and leadership and indeed works the central committees would not be accused of bias partially through them. Two main committees were towards their own clans. Based on the agreed pro- formed with representatives from the Ministry of cedures, the committees take responsibility for Education, women's groups, youth groups, local working with the local community groups, NGOs, international NGOs, and UN agencies. women's groups, local authorities, Imams, and clan Later, there were also four "district" committees. elders to select the young people who would These committees, working with tribal elders and receive vouchers. SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 19 The vouchers are redeemed through a system of Literacy as a prerequisite-reflections supervision and accountability. A local AET staff member monitors each "class" monthly In the more All six programs discussed above address mainly remote areas, a local teacher or community worker very poor women in very poor, mostly rural com- is paid to do the monitoring, using an agreed pro- munities. One difference between them is that Sap- ceduire and reporting form. Voucher payments are tagram, the Notre Dame Foundation, WISE and then made against satisfactory performance. At SEIGYM deal with individual applicants, each on present, this is measured very simply-attendance her own account, whereas ADRA and WEEL prefer record of students and teacher over the month, to deal with groups of women who cooperate with teacher's written lesson plans over the month, com- each other in securing, managing, and enlarging the parison of work in a random sample of students' finances needed to develop businesses, as well as to exercise books with objectives and work set out in meet other exigencies of life. Except for WISE, they lesson plans, and the actual ability of students to are satisfied that their approaches serve their aims complete exercises studied over the past month, as adequately. The scanty information available does shown in their books and lesson plans. not allow any study of comparative effectiveness on In many cases, local classes are organized and any level. run by women's groups, community groups, and A second difference is that ADRA, WEEL, and youth groups in an area. In such cases, payment is SEIGYM contribute to some form of local commu- made to the management of the group. For voca- nity capacity-building, which may in turn serve to tional courses, individual local trainers or crafts- promote the development and diversification of people train small groups. Again, these are moni- available livelihoods. Again, the available documen- tored and payment made against delivery. tation does not allow any conclusion on that score. Although SEIGYM does not aim directly at insti- The experience of Ethiopia's WISE raises the tution or capacity-building beyond the skills and question of whether requiring literacy and numer- livelihoods of its learners, it is in effect forming new acy for livelihood training discourages demand for institutional norms, capacities, and skills. that training. Verbally reported experience of WEEL suggests that it does. A proportion of women "sus- WISE, Ethiopia pend" their enrollment in the preparatory liter- acy/numeracy classes, despite the supplementary The Ethiopian Women In Self-Employment (WISE) materials on group development, savings and program also focuses on training women to credit, but they rejoin, when the course moves on to develop and manage businesses. It found that business development proper. Indeed, additional keeping proper track of orders, stock, and sales women enroll, so that the final registration is higher requires the abilities to read, write, and count. than the initial. Women in Ethiopia and Nepal seem Therefore, WISE introduced a course to assist its then to resist literacy/numeracy that is not directly members develop those skills. However, Berhanu connected with livelihood training. (2001: 29) reports: "The Record Keeping module of On the other hand, Saptagram in Bangladesh the Business training requires that participants are and the Notre Dame Foundation in the Philippines able to read and write. In this regard the illiterate report that the dropout rate from their preparatory status of most of the women posed a problem. To literacy/numeracy classes is less than 10 percent. solve the problem WISE launched a Literacy and Similarly, SEIGYM's figures for completion and Numeracy Skills improvement program scheduled success are high: completion rates of close to 90 during late afternoons. However, the program percent-and successful attainment rates of over 70 failed because of dropouts for various reasons, percent. among which are, as stated by women themselves, These inconsistencies in experiences could result lack of time, lack of interest, seeking allowance, from at least six factors: sight problems and inability to see the advantages of being literate." * the composition of the learning groups; 20 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES • the content of the preparatory courses; These instances have all been the work of NGOs, both local and international. This characteristic has * the way the program is run; relieved them of obligations to reach mass audi- ences rapidly and has enabled them to pay attention * the adequacy of instructor training; to local contexts and interests. The Philippine Notre Dame Foundation and the Bangladesh Saptagram * the quality of the actual teaching; do not open operations in a locality until they have surveyed the communities likely to be involved and * the possibility of cultural differences between the ascertained what sorts of training programs are countries observed. Unfortunately, the documen- likely to appeal to them. They also take care to gain tation available does not permit any assessment the support of the local authorities. The Nepal either of the weight of each factor or of how each WEEL aims to work with groups of women who are factor might vary according to context. already clear on what they would like to achieve together, so that WEEL is confident it is responding The composition of the learning groups: The Nepal to demand. WEEL program recognized that a proportion of its From a slightly different angle, the Somaliland learners felt that they were already sufficiently liter- women and young men who participate in SEIGYM ate and numerate and did not need to go through know that they can purchase what they seek and further literacy instruction. The Philippine Notre have some control over the supplier. By and large Dame Foundation, on the other hand, requires liter- then, it appears that founding literacy-cum-liveli- acy instruction only after ascertaining that its appli- hood programs on identified interests and using cants really cannot cope with the vocational course them as bases for expanding into new interests is materials. sound strategy. Thte content of the preparatory course: Both the Instructors for the literacy courses: There is some Philippine Notre Dame Foundation and the encouragement for participants to recruit their own Bangladesh Saptagram found existing courses instructors from among their schooled friends. The unsatisfactory and designed their own to fit the programs hope for people who have completed full interests and needs of their participants. They also secondary school or at least eight or nine grades, appear to be successful in implementing very active but are prepared to train people with less schooling, and interactive forms of instruction. The Ethiopia if they exhibit the right attitudes and aptitudes for WISE program does not report having done so. assisting their neighbors to learn new skills. The programs accept that a single preparatory session of The way the program is run: Both the Philippine and training is insufficient to make these lay persons Bangladesh programs have existed for many years fully effective literacy instructors and that these and have doubtless developed expertise in helping non-specialists need regular support and periodic participants to sustain their interest and motivation refresher training. They also accept that the literacy and to persevere until completion. While the Soma- instructors are non-specialists, part-time workers liland SEIGYM is a relatively new program, the fact doing work that has often been the realm of volun- that its participants have vouchers to purchase their teers. Most come from relatively poor households instruction may create a dynamic of power and and tend to do better in terms of commitment, reg- accountability between them and their instructors ularity, reliability, and general effectiveness, if they that buoys their interest and perseverance. earn some cash remuneration. Some of the pro- Although this report can venture no assessment grams tend to expect the beneficiary participants to of these factors, clearly curriculum designers must make some contribution towards the remuneration bear them in mind when contemplating similar of their instructors. courses of literacy and numeracy as preparation While the literacy instructors are non-specialists, and prerequisites for training in livelihoods. the instructors for the livelihood skills are more for- SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 21 mally qualified and remunerated as such. Although On the basis of what is reported, the concluding they can come from the localities where the courses impression is that making literacy a prerequisite for are offered, as in ADRA, the nature of the training livelihood training can be effective if (a) the agency required generally means that these instructors is, as ADRA, Saptagram and the Notre Dame Foun- cannot be selected by their learners. dation seem to be, well experienced, well known In terms of impact, the Uganda ADRA could and trusted and (b) the passage from the qualifying offer a small sample of learners who felt their liveli- literacy to the desired livelihood training is clear, as hoods had benefited materially from the linked lit- these three organizations, WEEL and SEIGYM seem eracy and livelihood programs. Both the Bangla- to substantiate. desh Saptagram and Philippine Notre Dame Organizing the kind of work that is described Foundation can offer a good many instances of suc- above is not easy; there have been failures, as WISE cess stories of women, who learned much and have illustrates. Another example is a project in India to turned their learning in both literacy and liveli- improve literacy, agricultural production, and eco- hoods to good account in their livelihoods, incomes, nomic opportunities for the poorest villagers in its family well-being, and education, and also in their target area. It formed development units, provided social roles and status. However, it is not possible to literacy training for its members, and after they sat- assess how representative these success stories are isfied the literacy prerequisites, arranged interest- in proportion to the total populations that have ben- free loans for them, repayable over 12 months. efited from the two programs. Despite these good features, the faulty implementa- In its four to five years of operation, the Nepal tion of other aspects led to its premature closing WEEL reports considerable reach and has experi- (CIDA 1985). enced sufficient empirical, if not as yet documented, Other projects combining literacy and liveli- success to encourage World Education Inc. to adapt hoods and requiring literacy as a prerequisite are the approach for the states of Andhra and Madhya reported from Senegal (PNVA and the Senegal Fed- Pradesh in India. Its impact evaluation, comparing eration of Village Associations of Fouta) and Burk- conditions in 2001 with those of the 1998 baseline ina Faso (MARA-INADES, TINTUA), but in too study, should make a rare and significant contribu- little detail to be discussed here (Closson et al. 1997; tion to knowledge and understanding, when it and UNESCO, n.d.: 17-18). Closson makes an all appears. The impact evaluation will also provide a too familiar observation, "Monitoring and evalua- clearer estimate of the costs of the program, both tion is falling through the cracks" (Closson et al. those borne by the international and national organ- 1997: 22). There is little information on costs and izations, and those borne by the participants. cost-benefit. The Ethiopia WISE and Somaliland SEIGYM pro- grams have not yet had time to generate long-term Literacy followed by separate livelihood training impacts. However, an evaluation by Tomlinson or income-generation activities (2001) of the first two years of SEIGYM concluded that there was ample evidence that the intended Organizations discussed in the preceding section aims of the SEIGYM project had been realized, and used literacy specifically as a preparation for liveli- that it was also clear that the program had hood training they conducted themselves. This sec- unleashed a widespread desire for more courses to tion considers instances where the literacy course is be provided. conducted by one organization, which then leaves In short, the evidence on impact, particularly on the livelihood training to another or moves into the productivity and diversity of livelihoods is income-generating activities unconnected to previ- meager, but what there is, is positive. ous learning. Current observation in Kenya Unfortunately, the documentation on costs is (Mwangi 2001) echoes the findings of Carron's team even more meager. No assessment is possible of the (1989) and suggests that, while participants do overall and unit costs of any of the programs dis- indeed appreciate and come for such activities, a cussed above. majority of instructors either implement them 22 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES defectively or not at all. A substantial body of expe- * lack of expertise in issues of gender (ELIMU rience from many coumtries supports this percep- 2000: 16). tion. Observations by Lind (1986) in Zimbabwe; Rogers (1997) in Bangladesh, Egypt, India, and From Ghana: "The success of this component Kenya; Korboe (1998) in Ghana; and Okech and his (income generating activities) has been varied and team in Uganda (1999) all tend to the conclusion is difficult to assess. Some initiatives have suffered that the training and support available for liveli- from lack of proper technical advice" (Crapper et al. hoods tends to be rudimentary and unsupported by 1996: 35). services in business development and management. From Ghana: "It has been identified through Although the training and income-generating activ- group discussions that the projects need large scale ities may lead to slightly improved incomes for Income Generating Projects in order to realize a some of the participants, the outcomes seem to be greater impact. The small profits made by the IGPs generally disappointing. The present companion are not adequate to meet the objectives for which studies in Guinea, Senegal, and Uganda found they were instituted. The small scale IGP also does nothing counter to this broad finding. In fact, the not make it possible for the women's groups to be following excerpts tend to confirm it. able to use the money on an individual basis as From the present study in Kenya: "Vihiga dis- loans to improve their living standards" (GILLBT trict .. only 10 centers of 110 have income-generat- 1998: 10). ing projects. Moyale district ... Out of 29 projects, From Lesotho: " . . the income-generating activi- only 9 are functioning." ties are operating such that their assumed or even From Bangladesh: "Annual income from most of known income-generating qualities are highly ques- the Income Generating Activities as reported by the tionable. There was poor communication between Women's Small Local Organizations (if not under the management and the participants; as a result, the reported) is considerably low to meet the cost of the expectations of the participants did not coincide WSLOs (even to supplement family income). with the project's intended outputs" (UNDP 1990). Advice is needed on making IGAs viable and prof- From Namibia: "The strong bias on sewing/ itable" (CCDB 2000: 29). needle work training seems to be based on popular From Botswana: Of 27 income-generating proj- demand and is not backed up by income genera- ects, 13 not doing well, 1 doing very well, 2 doing tion/market possibilities and business manage- well, 1 doing fairly well, 3 are new, 5 need more ment support... [A] direct relationship between training in skills and business management, 2 have income generating options in the program areas no information (Legwaila 1996: 13). and related vocational training could not be estab- From Congo (formerly Zaire): The Evaluation of lished" (Jansen et al. 1994: 15). October 2000 found: From Uganda: "Here skills training was a feature that was arranged by project staff as an add-on activ- * the collective development activities in which ity, responding to demand from REFLECT partici- the women are engaged do not generate sub- pants as and if means were available. Usually, these stantial and stable incomes for the women and were one-day sessions on agricultural or small-scale their families; enterprise themes. Though they were not systemati- cally integrated with the programs, participants were * fundamental structural problems confront the clearly keen on such events and I saw on several women, which limit their productivity, e.g., re- occasions that people tried to work with the agricul- stricted access to land, no access to technology, tural advice they had been given" (Fiedrich 2001). difficulties in conserving and marketing their These largely negative perceptions do not dimin- production; ish the fact that successful instances can be found, even if in a very small minority. It is clear that, if this * the system of follow up of credits is insufficiently option is considered, great care must be taken to systematized and formalized; ensure that the factors that produced the successes SKILLS AND LI TERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 23 are operating. Despite the lack of information, some In sum, literacy programs that lead on to training speculation on the factors that produced the disap- in livelihoods offer a worthwhile option for policy pointing results may be helpful. makers, only when two conditions can be satisfied. An obvious immediate point concerns the liter- First, the link between the literacy content and the acy instructors. Large proportions of them, whether livelihoods in view must be explicit and clear (pos- paid or volunteer, lack either much schooling or sibly some skills in reading, writing, and calculating much grounding in the livelihoods they are are required as conditions for entry to livelihood expected to teach. While they may have some ele- training). Second, the subsequent livelihood train- mentary knowledge, they are usually not equipped ing or income generating activity must be of good to deal with more complicated technical questions. quality with fully competent instruction. Also Nor have they normally had any training in identi- needed are the usual requisites of good materials, fying market niches, feasibilitv studies, business good support, and good administration. management, accounting, or marketing. They are As for organization, it is worth noting that simply not qualified for the complex set of tasks ADRA, the Notre Dame Foundation, Saptagram, they are urged to undertake. Consequently, their WEEL, and SEIGYM have evidently used accumu- efforts, while often gallant and admirable, too often lated experience to put these requisites in place. tend to lead to meager effects and disappointment. Further, these are single organizations that do not Similarly, the organizations that support the lit- depend on others for the actual implementation of eracy instructors tend to specialize in general edu- their work. In that respect, they are unified com- cation and to possess insufficient, if any, technical mands, not coalitions of cooperating partners. They capacity of their own to support li\elihood training. do not suffer from the problem the FAO report Nor do they usually have the resources to hire tem- noted above, namely that coordination and cooper- porary expertise to support the literacy instructors. ation between organizations with different missions Often, they cannot even help the instructors to meet is too often unreliable.6 the travel expenses of invited experts. They' depend in effect on wholly voluntary goodwill, which is forthcoming only occasionally. 1. Personal survey by Ms. Heidrun Siebeneiker of the forthcomin only occasiony . German Development Service, working in the Government Further, even where organizations with dis- of Uganda's Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Develop- parate missions agree to cooperate and coordinate ment. their efforts, actual implementation falls short of 2. It is not clear whether ADRA trains different instructors intentions. The FAO supplies this example: "The from a locality in different sets of livelihood skills to cater for Farmers' Training and Functional Literacv Pro- different livelihood possibilities. Farmers' Tai an3. This is a pragmatic improvement on the former practice of gramme in India required three ministries (Agricul- requiring some form of school certificate. ture, Education and Information and Broadcasting) 4. The international non-governmental organization spon- to implement a joint plan of action all the wa' dowvn soring WEEL, World Education, assisted the government of to the local level, involving a niumilber of di'ifferent Nepal in creating the national literacy curriculum. cornponents The iiterim evaluation carried out by 5. WEEL is exceptional in that it undertook a baseline studv components. Thenmterim evaluatlon carrled Oult bY of its participants and monitored them over three years. The the programme's Evaluation Committee in 1977 evaluation of its impact is due to be published in August or noted that the "kind of coordination and integra- September, 2001. tion, both in planning and in operations, that had 6. This point does not deny the possibilities of successful cooperation on specific, finite tasks, like developing hand- been visualized at the time of the initiation of the books on specialized topics. It casts doubt only on reliance on program was hardly ever achieved in practice" hopes of open-ended, indefinite commitments to cooperation (FAO 1980: 39-40). in the face of competing obligations and commitments. Livelihood training with literacy components Livelihood training or Income-generation After the FAL course, these women's groups felt activities leading to literacy that, in addition to achieving their immediate aims. they had benefited from the functional literacy cur- his chapter examines work that began with riculum in unexpected ways. Some had used the livelihood skills, then found that some idea of organic farming to start their own market degree of literacy and numeracy was neces- gardens, which had enhanced both home consump- sary to develop the skills further. The ADRA-FAL tion and domestic income through sales. Some had program in Uganda and the Ethiopia WISE as well begun tree nurseries and had sold seedlings. A as the Bangladesh Saptagram's work, described ear- number had taken up fuel-saving stoves, which had lier, are examples; they originally attempted to reduced their need for firewood and released teach only livelihood skills, but found that the lack income for other purposes. Overall, nearly nine out of literacy blocked their efforts. Saptagram's partic- of ten of the women interviewed claimed to have ipants actually requested literacy and numeracy started new income-generating work as a result of instruction (although bookkeeping remains a sub- participating in the FAL program and that they had ject that they shy away from!) (Guttman 1994: 16). in consequence improved their conditions of living. An evaluation in 1999 (Okech et al. 2001) showed The Rukungiri Women's Groups' A somewhat simi- that the Rukungiri sample of FAL graduates scored lar experience occurred in the Rukungiri district of highest in the national sample on complex compre- Uganda. Women's groups had been well estab- hension and numeracy tests and that overall, lished there, with savings and credit schemes and respondents in Rukungiri were the most "modern," engaged in traditional income-generating activities particularly in the adoption of improved agricul- such as bee-keeping, poultry raising, basket weav- tural practices. ing, and the like. In 1996, some of these groups As is customary with the FAL program, these asked to participate in the national Functional women's groups needed to find their own literacy Adult Literacy (FAL) program, even though their instructors. Given the relatively high degree of members had on average attended primary school schooling among their members, this had proved for five years.2 Focus group discussions discovered easy, and, as the instructors were themselves group that the groups wanted to strengthen their literacy members, teaching free of charge was no problem. skills to feel more confident and in control in under- The government's community development staff standing loan agreements and managing their sav- arranged for the necessary training in how to teach ings and credit accounts. the course, but they were unable to arrange for sup- 24 SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 25 plies of texts and other teaching materials. How- interests, motivations, and family circumstances ever, most of the women were able to buy their need to be taken into account, even in considering own, which suggests that they were poor, but not livelihood training. destitute. One group of non-literate, poor village women In this instance of the Rukungiri women's from "untouchable" castes were trained as paid groups, the literacy effort was clearly strongly "awareness animators" in the employ of Mahila demand-driven, arising from a sharply felt need. Samakhya, while another very similar group, were Hence, there were apparently no problems about trained in the maintenance and repair of water motivation, inappropriate curriculum, poor instruc- hand pumps. Unlike the first group, the latter tion, or unobtainable teaching and learning materi- received no regular pay, but variable and not als. As the 1999 evaluation confirmed, the outcomes always reliable honoraria for their work from the were good. villagers whose pumps they maintained. It soon There can be no dispute that the Rukungiri became evident to both groups of women that they women's groups are an exceptional example of self- would be able to operate more effectively with the selection and are not typical in either literacy pro- skills of literac}, so a special camp for intensive grams or vocational education. Also, many, perhaps instruction of 180 hours (approximately three most, of them had a head start, in that they had weeks full-time) was organized with a specially tai- already had some primary schooling. Nevertheless, lored curriculum. they do signal to policy makers that identifying Although a majority of the awareness animators groups whose activities could clearly benefit from felt able to take part in the course, only a few pump numeracy and literacy-that is, "literacy second," technicians did. The explanation seemed to be to use Rogers' phrase-could raise the efficiency twofold. First, the animators did not lose income and effectiveness of training programs as well as from being absent from work, whereas the pump lower the costs. technicians did. In other words, the pump techni- A less direct message concerns the curriculum. cians faced a high opportunity cost. Second, Although the Rukungiri women's groups sought whereas the animators needed to write quite fre- numeracy and literacy mainly for business and quently to a number of offices on a variety of topics, accounting purposes, they worked with the FAL the pump technicians needed mainly to read their primers, which deal with such topics only tangen- maintenance manuals occasionally, which they tiallv. Nonetheless, the Rukungiri women not only could usually manage through the schooled mem- used the curriculum to suit their own purposes, bers of their families and friends. In other words, they claim to have reaped unexpected ideas and there was an inequality of need and hence an benefits from it as well. The signal seems to be that, inequality of motivation. given purpose, demand, and motivation among the Also, the mastery of literacy after only 180 hours learners, the detailed content of a curriculum may of instruction and practice was fragile for both be of only secondary importance. groups, but more so for the pump technicians than for the animators. The reasons for this are not Animators and hand-pump technicians given. Later follow-up found that the animators had for the most part been able to practice and A second experience where groups came to realize improve their new skills through producing regu- that they needed literacy to fulfill their purposes lar local broadsheets for their groups. In other occurred in the Banda district of India with an NGO words, they were doing their jobs more effectively, in the women's movement, Mahila Samakhya even though they might not have been earning any (Nirantar 1997). The experience included two more money. In contrast, the pump technicians had groups of women with a common interest in not found much use for reading or writing and women's empowerment and betterment, but with allowed their literacy skills to deteriorate, even different responsibilities. The behavior of the two though their performance as technicians remained groups towards literacy illustrated how carefully satisfactory. 26 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES This experience seems to confirm the signal from centered would need to devise frameworks that Rukungiri: education designers who plan to insert encourage the kind of responsiveness exhibited by literacy into livelihood training, should appreciate Mahila Samakhya. keenly that the more participants are convinced that On the other hand, the success of the Rukungiri the skills of literacy are indispensable to their work, women's groups with the standard curriculum does productivity, and effectiveness, the more strongly counsel against underestimating the capacity of people they will be willing to undertake the necessary to learn under less than ideal circumstances, when learning and to bear all the costs, in terms of time, they really want to. This in turn underlines the impor- effort, direct expenses, income foregone, inconven- tance of demand, when designing policies for adult ience and other indirect costs. Fiedrich's observa- education and training. Conversely, where demand is tion in Senegal would seem to support this: "My not strong, devices are needed to reinforce it. impression from a two-day visit was that the liter- No information on costs was available for the acy training here was accepted as a loop that Mahila Samakhya project. For the Rukungiri women's women and girls felt they had to jump through so groups, the only data are those calculated for the as to get to the real goodies" (Fiedrich 2001). Uganda FAL as a whole. These put the cost per certi- Unlike the Rukungiri women's groups, Notre fied graduate at US$4-5 (Okech et al. 2001: 96). Dame Foundation, Saptagram, WEEL and SEIGYM, the Mahila Samakhya did not ask the animators and Integrated literacy and livelihood and pump technicians to elect their own literacy instruc- income-generation activities tors. Just as it had selected the trainers in the skills of animation for "social awareness" and negotiated Among the first efforts to integrate occupational for the trainers in the maintenance of hand water and literacy training were the curricula developed pumps, so Mahila Samakhya itself supplied and in UNESCO's Experimental World Literacy Pro- paid the literacy instructors at the special intensive gramme in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They camp. Like Saptagram, Mahila Samakhya found included both agricultural livelihoods, like cotton that the literacy instructional materials available farming in Iran, and waged employment in facto- locally did not suit its participants' and its own ries and urban centers. The overall evaluation interests. It therefore developed its own. (UNDP/UNESCO 1976) found that the experiences No other programs were found that began with and outcomes had unfortunately not been suffi- livelihoods and came to recognize that literacy ciently well recorded to be of strong use to educa- instruction was needed to bring them to better tors and policy makers. More recently, in the 1990s, fruition. Rogers in his survey of Bangladesh, Egypt, India, The two cases just discussed highlight an impor- and Kenya found that efforts to integrate livelihood tant difference between programs that are govern- and literacy training were very rare. However, some ment-led and standard across a country and those do exist. that are instigated by smaller organizations. The Rukungiri women's groups had to use and make SODEFITEX the best of the standard FAL curriculum. In con- trast, Mahila Samakhya rejected the standard local The first such program in the current intensive study materials and developed its own to suit the interests comes from Senegal (Sall 2001) and concerns cotton of its learners more closely. This illustrates the flex- farmers. Senegal might have provided three more ibility and responsiveness that a small, client-cen- similar programs for study, but the public corpora- tered organization can exercise, compared to the tions that sponsored them were abolished during relative rigidity of a larger, centrally-driven, and structural adjustment, and all records have disap- hierarchical program (the officials of Rukungiri dis- peared with them. The program in this study was trict had neither the authority nor the resources to initiated by SODEFITEX (Society for the Develop- develop special materials for the women's groups). ment of Textile Fibers) when, after nine years of exis- The inference is that policies that aim to be client- tence, it decided in 1983 to open a literacy program SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 27 for cotton producers. Its decision was driven by the In addition to supplying learning materials recognition that literacy was one of the strongest worth US$10.00 per learner, SODEFITEX contracted limiting factors in modernizing cotton production with the Cotton Producer Groups for the learners to and transferring responsibility for distribution and obtain loans for the various inputs required for pro- marketing to the cotton farmers themselves. duction. There is thus immediate and continuing In view of the scale of the problem-one estimate support to learn and to implement and practice put the rate of illiteracy among the producers at what is learned. more than 80 percent-SODEFITEX selected an In terms of livelihood results, SODEFITEX interesting strategy. It aimed first to train and make reports that producers, who had had the training literate five members of each of its 1,740 producer and mastered literacy/numeracy, showed six per- associations (Associations de Base des Produc- cent higher productivity than those who remained teurs). For the longer term, it aimed to enable at illiterate. It cannot be determined whether this out- least one member in each of its 27,179 farming fam- come is due more to the technical content than to ilies to become sufficiently literate to take advan- the literacy skills of the program. tage of technological and management advances. In However, SODEFITEX believes a more important line with this gradualist approach, SODEFITEX outcome of combining technical with literacy train- organized classes and training for some 2,400 farm- ing is the emergence of producer organizations capa- ers per year between 1984 and 1999, reaching a total ble of (a) managing the commercialization of the of 35,865 learners in the 15 years (5,908 of them cotton crops; (b) managing agricultural credit; and were women). (c) serving the public interest through assuring food The specially designed curriculum comprises security and organizing village stores for veterinary training in cotton production, and other aspects of medicines, agricultural inputs, and other supplies. agriculture and livestock raising, combined with lit- These village teams have become an essential link for eracy and numeracy derived from the requirements the rapid increase of production and incomes. of these activities. The technical instructors are SOD- For their part, the graduates of the training feel EFITEX employees. At first, the literacy instructors that the determining factor in their being able to were also engaged from outside by SODEFITEX, at a take over increasing responsibilities from SODEFI- ratio of approximately 25 learners per instructor TEX is precisely the fact that they can now read, (moniteur). However, as farmers became literate, write, and calculate accurately. They are also aware SODEFITEX began to select the more successful new that their growing ability to take responsibility for "graduates" as literacy instructors, giving them the the affairs of their villages is due to their literacy. In necessary training for the task. effect, the pattern of training fosters individual pro- For the first six years, 1984-1989, SODEFITEX ductivity, group responsibility, and eventually ran an eight-month literacy course, spread over two social responsibility. In other words, the SODEFI- years. Finding that this pattern resulted in non-con- TEX package starts with improving livelihood, then tinuatioll with some participants and a loss of skills empowers people to "democratize" and take more with others, SODEFITEX introduced what it called control over local affairs. an intensive course on a trial basis in 1990 and 1991, This experience of incorporating literacy into then generalized it in 1992. This new pattern capacity-building and institutional development to required participation over only four months in a sustain and enhance livelihoods recalls the similar single year, January to April, in the slack agricul- effects generated by ADRA in Uganda, SEIGYM in tural season, rather than the original eight months Somaliland, and WEEL in Nepal. Vocational and over two years. However, to offset the shortening, it livelihood education policies should adapt and incor- required four hours a day, six days a week for 17 porate these successful aspects to reinforce and sus- weeks-a total of 400 hours of tuition and practice. tain the effects of education and training programs. This pattern seems to suit the farmers and achieve For all its impressive success, the SODEFITEX its technical and literacy objectives, and it still pre- experience, like ADRA's, also sounds a warning not vailed in 2001. to expect too much of adult education and training. 28 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES Despite its focused and intensive curriculum, well- ticularly interesting, because it runs in the same tested materials, well-trained technical instructors, country as WEEL and has similar objectives. It aims well-trained and supported literacy instructors and to enable very poor women to identify, develop, links with credit and supplies, as well as its expert- and manage opportunities to improve their liveli- ise accumulated over 15 years, the program wit- hoods and incomes. At the same time, it seeks to nessed a dropout rate of around 20 percent in enable local NGOs to build their capacities to do 1998/99 during the four-month "intensive" period. likewise. Also like WEEL, it undertook a baseline A further 10 percent or so declined to take the liter- study of the conditions of its prospective partici- acy and knowledge test at the end of the course. Of pants and their communities before it launched those who did take the test, about 80 percent operations. Similarly, its first impact evaluation was achieved the pass mark or better. These statistics due for publication during the autunn of 2001. show that more than half the original enrollees per- Like WEEL, WEP/N is supported by an interna- severed and succeed according to the criteria set by tional NGO, PACT. Unlike WEEL, however, SODEFITEX itself. These numbers do not of course WEP/N does not teach literacy as a preparation or negate all the benefits that even those who earned prerequisite for livelihood training, but combines less than the pass mark or declined to take the test the two from the start of the course. It does not use gained from the knowledge, skills and ideas they the national literacy curriculum, as WEEL does. derived from the course. But they do signal that Instead, it has developed its own curriculum out of high quality implementation and long-term sup- the vocabulary and practices of savings, credit, and port are required to achieve even these less-than- micro-enterprise. Its booklets make a progressive perfect outcomes. series: "Our Group," "Forming Our Village Bank," An intriguing sidelight from the SODEFITEX "Grow Your Business With Credit," "Micro-Enter- experience concerns the comparison between male prise," and finally "Linkages" (CRT Consult and female participants. Statistics about the 35,865 1999: 6-7). participants (29,957 men, 5,908 women) over the This approach seems to respond to a lesson in the period 1984-1999 show the following: UNDP/UNESCO (1976: 159) critical assessment of the Experimental World Literacy Programme: Female % Male % "EWLP does offer evidence supporting the link Enrolled 100.0 100.0 between a problem-oriented curriculum, on the one Tested 57.4 71.5 hand, and results judged to be favorable, on the Passed 55.4 54.6 other... Analysis of all programmes that produced Percent who passed of those tested 96.5 76.4 statistically significant socio-economic effects deemed to be positive led the Evaluation Unit These figures suggest that, among the cotton pro- attached to UNESCO's Literacy Division to formu- ducers of SODEFITEX, higher proportions of the late the following hypothesis: 'The more closely women are more reluctant to attempt the test, but content focuses on problems actually encountered those who do are almost certain to succeed. Higher by workers in the course of their productive activ- proportions of the men are willing to brave the test, ity, the more effective the functional literacy pro- but lower proportions succeed at it. Further, if the grammes.' Data selected from two projects (India SODEFITEX participants can be taken to represent and the United Republic of Tanzania) tend gener- wider populations, they signal that adult educators ally to confirm this hypothesis." should find more ways than conventional tests to However, a further observation follows on the assess what their learners have actually learned. very next page to caution against an excessively narrow interpretation: "It may therefore be con- WEP/Nepal cluded that very high curricular specificity is not necessarily a sufficient precondition for success. A The second case in this sub-category, the Women's dynamic environment seems to be more conducive Empowerment Program of Nepal (WEP/N), is par- to success than a static one. The above-mentioned SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 29 research concluded that functional literacy 'brings progress, "... a package of interventions hoping to about a change for the better on condition that it is have a positive impact on women's empowerment associated with a process of genuine innovation (of in Nepal should include i) some form of literacy; ii) a political, social or technical nature) in which the rights, responsibilities and advocacy; and iii) eco- participants are themselves involved.' nomic participation of women in productive "By and large then: (a) relevant problem-based endeavors" (CRI Consult Inc. 1999: 33). curricula seem to have produced results judged to be positive by EWLP when (b) subject matter was ACOPAM not necessarily narrowly, rigidly or mechanically specific in terms of the learners' jobs, but when (c) it The third program that integrates livelihood and took into account a broader environment that was literacy training was in existence for 21 years and (d) characterized by true innovations that person- ended in 1999. Based in Dakar, Senegal, it included ally concerned the participants. several countries in West Africa. Although the gov- "The more the content of the course takes into ernments of these countries were involved, the account the workers' cultural environment, the program was sponsored and promoted by the Inter- more effective the functional literacy programme" national Labour Office and the Norwegian govern- (1976:160). ment. Its acronym was ACOPAM, which stood for Like WEEL, WEP/N works with local NGOs that the French title, "Appui associatif et coop6ratif aux work with groups of poor women rather than with Initiatives de Developpement a la Base". The final individuals. The program has so far reached 6,500 report (ILO 1999) cites 17 impact and case studies on groups with a total membership of some 130,000 which its conclusions are based.4 poor women (many more than WEEL). The prelim- ACOPAM aimed chiefly to help poor rural inary and provisional findings of the evaluation people, especially women, to improve their liveli- (Ashe & Parrott 2001) are that literacy rates in the hoods and make more productive use of available groups have risen from 28 to nearly 80 percent, resources. It also aimed to enable members of coop- while the proportion of women in business has erative groups, again especially women, to gain risen from 14 to 66 percent. Cumulative savings fuller information about the state of their groups, to more than doubled between June 1999 and March make their elected officers and employees more 2001, from US$720,000 to US$1,600,000, while the accountable to them, and to take more active part in number of members taking out loans during a six- the running and development of the cooperatives. It month period increased from 17,000 to 58,000. aimed, too, to help the elected officers carry out (Households with per capita incomes of less than their obligations more effectively. In current parl- US$162 per year make up 80 percent of the mem- ance, ACOPAM was concerned with production, bers.) At this point, the evaluation is tending to the the environment, and empowerment. overall conclusion that WEP/N's approach is more Literacy-and even more, numeracy-were nec- effective than other strategies in accomplishing its essary for these purposes, and not only for the basic objectives for establishing a sustainable savings and livelihoods themselves. Like WEP/N in Nepal, credit system without external micro-finance insti- ACOPAM found that existing literacy instructional tutions, encouraging soundly run micro-enterprises materials did not fit its purposes. Over the years, it and imparting usable and permanent literacy and developed no fewer than 22 of its own literacy cur- numeracy.3 ricula in several West African languages, all derived WEP/N appears to enjoy high rates of regular from the vocabularies and practices of crops, coop- attendance by its participants and very low rates of eratives, savings, credit, and micro-enterprise man- dropout. Two factors may help explain this. One is agement and marketing. The instructional method the close linking of literacy/numeracy with the combined straightforward technical content with an livelihood core of the program. The other may be adaptation of Paolo Freire's consciousness raising WEP/N's parallel emphasis on social action. A 1999 approach. As Millican (1990: 7) observes, "Literacy evaluation suggested that, in the light of WEP/N's for self-management within cooperatives requires a 30 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES combination of these two approaches; one that is recognize that education and training for individu- both tied in to production and has the capacity to als and small groups on their own are insufficient to empower. Its importance is needed and recognized provide the supporting frameworks that enable by the farmers themselves, which makes it poten- people to earn and enhance their livelihoods. tially a powerful programme. It not only serves the administrative needs of production, but provides a Workplace literacy - 1 framework for increasing agricultural knowledge and improving organizational skills." In addition to the three programs just described, the As other programs have done, ACOPAM worked present study found some documentation on two with local groups and encouraged them to recruit instances of "workplace literacy," one in Egypt, and their own literacy instructors from among suitably the other in Botswana. Whereas the first three pro- qualified friends and neighbors, whom it then grams cater to people who are self-employed, these trained for the task and helped to remunerate. The two address people in waged employment. Because technical instructors in agriculture, horticulture and the project in Egypt developed special curricula for cooperative management, however, were specialists its workers, it will be discussed here. In the recruited and paid by the program. Botswana project, the integration of the curriculum Here, we may note that the UNDP/UNESCO content with the job milieu is not clear, so it will be (1976: 135) critical assessment of the Experimental looked at later. World Literacy Program recorded, "... the impres- The project in Egypt ran from 1990 to 1998 (GTZ sion that technicians who also taught the three R's 1999: 3). Its curricula were oriented to the workers achieved better overall results than most school who were to take the courses, and the employers teachers who instructed technical as well as three R permitted all the instruction to take place during subjects." working hours (1999: 9). In the whole seven-year Although the final report itself offers little quanti- period, the project enrolled about 4,500 participants tative data on reach, impact, or costs, it makes clear (1999: 19). An attempt to evaluate the benefits of the that the two decades of trial, review, and adaptation project concluded, "In this respect, the economic validated the strategy, methods, and materials that effects for the target group, as also for the enterprises, ACOPAM developed and used. The program suc- are not significant. But one might infer that, in the ceeded in enabling large numbers of poor rural longer term, industry would profit in several people, particularly women, to learn how to bring ways... unused and new resources into production, to Unfortunately, the evaluation of this eight-year manage new production techniques for familiar program offers no information on any of the attain- crops, and to handle new crops and products to the ments of the learners, the selection and training of considerable benefit of themselves and their families. the instructors, the application of learning, or the It also enabled them to take more active, competent, costs, either gross or unit. Neither does it analyze and confident interest in their cooperative organiza- why a program, which appears to have all factors tions and their day-to-day operations and financing. operating in its favor, should produce such insignif- icant effects. Costs Literacy and livelihood and income-generation In all three cases discussed above, no information activities in parallel but separate on costs was available. Rogers observed that livelihood and literacy Institutional development occurred most frequently as quite separate, almost divorced, components in the same programs. He These three programs, like others already dis- cited a program that promoted and taught goat cussed, all pay attention to institutional develop- production as a livelihood but used a literacy ment in support of livelihood development. They primer that did not contain the word for a goat, SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 31 while the literacy instructor had not taught the to emphasize one to the neglect of the other; and in word, precisely because it was not in the text. The any case not to generate much income or indeed present Guinea study (Diallo 2001) describes Cen- much literacy. Nonetheless, we have encountered ters of "Professionalizing" Literacy, many of them two programs, which do seem to manage the bal- privately run, that experience stronger demand for ance successfully. vocational training than for literacy, and, apart from some technical vocabulary, make little con- Farmers' Field Schools-Integrated pest and nection between so-called functional literacy and production management practical activities. In similar vein, Kamau observed that, despite a common literacy curricu- The first example not only covers a number of lum, classes undertook a diversity of income-gen- countries but also seems to be favored by a number erating projects: of international organizations. It is the Farmers' "Nine out of the twelve centres visited during Field Schools with Integrated Production and Pest the course of this study had agricultural demon- Management. The United Nations Food and Agri- stration plots where the learners practised modern cultural Organization (FAO) in India and several methods of farming with the technical help of the other countries, World Education Inc. in Nepal local agricultural extension workers. Whatever (2000), CARE International in Sri Lanka, and possi- products were harvested from these demonstration bly others have applied it and advocate its wider plots were sold and the income given to the group. application. Two centres were making baskets and knitting. The A Farmers' Field School for Integrated Pro- completed items were sold and in turn the members duction and Pest Management takes a group of got cash which was used to expand group projects farmers through an entire season of a crop, from or divided among the members. Four classes had soil preparation to harvest, storage, and market- planted napier grass which they sold to members ing. It aims to help them optimally manage all the and to other local farmers. There were a further two inputs in terms of nourishment, pest and disease classes which had planted tree seedlings and the control, and use of natural and manufactured aids. learners were able to sell the seedlings to them- The farmers-men and women-continue to farm selves and the local community raising an income their own land throughout, but they observe a for the group. One literacy class had a project of small plot that demonstrates externally recom- selling charcoal and fuel wood to the local people. mended practice for comparison with local current The evaluator learnt that this particular class had practices. bought a commercial plot at a cost of thirty thou- The observations and comparisons require close sand shillings (approximately US$1,500)" (Kamau and detailed measurements and recording by each 1990: 60). farmer, which means they require the farmers to be Although failure to demonstrate the relevance of sufficiently literate and numerate to be able to take literacy and numeracy to a particular livelihood and record the measurements. Although Kenya5 could undermine interest and motivation (see the reports that most of its participating farmers were instances of WEEL's "suspended" enrollments in literate in both Swahili and English, many farmers Nepal and the water pump technicians in India elsewhere, even, surprisingly, in Sri Lanka above) the Kenya vignette at the Izava location (ASPBAE 2000f), are not able to manage the tasks showed that, although they used a common general and need tuition in literacy and numeracy. The fact curriculum not necessarily related to their income that the farmers see the need and want to partici- generating activities, "Centres with income-gener- pate in the program provides sufficient motivation ating projects had 80 percent attendance rates, to start learning the skills. while centres without projects had only 20 percent According to FAO,6 the motivation is strong attendance rates" (Mwangi 2001). enough to enable the program to use already exist- Nonetheless, most observation also shows that ing literacy materials and to apply the "user pays" attempts to run the two components in parallel tend principle in remunerating the literacy instructors. 32 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES The farmers recruit their own suitably qualified RDRS instructors, and FAO contracts a suitably qualified organization to train and to support the selected The second example of "parallel" learning with people. FAO's view receives support from an expe- livelihoods on the one side and literacy and numer- rience in Senegal in the early 1990s. Millican writes, acy, on the other, comes from Bangladesh. The "The introduction of literacy was here intended for Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) offers a very specific tasks, that of a move by the govern- package of livelihood skills, mainly in small-scale ment to 'responsibilize' farmers, i.e. to make them agricultural production; social knowledge, attitudes responsible for the management of their own irri- and practices; health practices; and literacy for the gation systems. There were specific tasks like majority of its members, who have had less than five income and management sheets, and forms for the years of primary schooling (RDRS 1999). Its literacy maintenance and costs of looking after an irrigation course is general, in the sense of including a range of pump, and management of a revolving fund that topics not necessarily related to any of the liveli- farmers had to learn to use. hoods in which it offers training. Its literacy instruc- tors and its technical instructors are separate cadres. "1. We had to address questions such as, do we Although the evaluation report studied does not focus on learning these or look at literacy contain figures, RDRS nonetheless judges that it is more broadly? We also had to include a lot of effective in both literacy/numeracy and livelihoods. information about marketing/storing/sell- Once again, unfortunately, no information was ing grain, i.e. information that might increase available on costs for either of these two programs. people's own choices. Inference "2. This programme like many others had to confront the language of literacy, but rather Although the empirical evidence is certainly light, than make a choice about language we chose the overall impression is that, as long as the voca- language according to specific tasks, i.e. cer- tional or livelihood training is trusted and valued, tain forms had to be filled in in English, the learners will accept the literacy/numeracy as others in Pulaar, others using diagrams. well. Examples cited in the next section will rein- force this impression. "3. The programme was a success in as far as it delivered what people needed at the point Livelihood-led, but unclassified they needed it, hence questions of motivation and keeping groups going became irrelevant, This section examines sets of experiences, which, farmers needed the information and therefore for the lack of sufficient information, cannot be kept coming" (personal communication 2001). classed as either "integrated" or "parallel." First, between 1982 and 2000, the International Fund for World Education believes that the Farmer Field Agricultural Development (IFAD) supported agri- Schools constitute a proven model to promote both cultural programs with literacy components in at sustainable agriculture and literacy supportive of least six countries: C6te d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, other dimensions of development. It concludes, Guinea, Mali, and Senegal. The outcomes of the ear- "The key factor in all successful IPM programs in lier efforts in the 1980s seem to have been suffi- Asia has been high-quality training. At times, some ciently satisfactory to have encouraged further countries have chosen to reduce the quantity and work in 2000. overall quality of training, and these programs In 1982, the design of the Mali Village Develop- have failed" (2000: 5) and "... we have also learned ment Fund (IFAD 1982: 15) included "a functional that gradual expansion is more prudent and leads literacy programme to support credit, marketing to a more stable program with broad, district-level and agricultural production." The 1990 intermedi- support" (2000: 6). ate evaluation report (1990: 37.105) stated (in SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 33 French) "Functional literacy in the Bambara lan- Although no detailed evaluations or impact guage is one of the components which has met with studies were available, IFAD's experiences have the most success."7 Similarly, the Guinea Forest nonetheless clearly convinced it that including a lit- Region project (IFAD 1992: 29) proposed "func- eracy/numeracy component in support of rural and tional literacy will be supported 'in response to agricultural development, that is, livelihood technical requirements of production ... financial improvement programs, is necessary, feasible and, management needs... and social needs... Eight lit- worthwhile. eracy instructors will be supported... a total of 7,000 beneficiaries would be trained ... half of the func- Workplace literacy - 2 tional literacy programme beneficiaries would be women.' " In 2000, the appraisal report for a project Botswana's "Literacy at the Workplace Project"proj- to support small market gardeners stated, "Finally, ect was the second workplace literacy program the in the villages where demand is expressed, the proj- study found (the first was a project in Egypt- ect will support programmes of functional literacy. Workplace Literacy - 1). A number of mostly large, Modules of functional literacy can be programmed public-sector employers in Botswana arrange for after the manner of those undertaken by Animation their non-literate employees to spend some work- Rurale de Korhogo or by Projet d'Appui pour le time learning how to read, write, and calculate, D6veloppement Rural at the level of the rural funds, both for the purposes of their work and possible literacy in French for certain officers (requests for promotion and for more general education (Leg- this kind have been registered for learning to read)" waila 1996, 1997). Unfortunately, the documenta- (IFAD 2000: 17, 77). tion available to the current study does not make Unfortunately for the purposes of this study, clear whether the courses use materials specific to none of the documents available notes whether the particular jobs or workplaces or materials available projects supported by IFAD follow the model of for the national literacy program. In 1996, the proj- ACOPAM in integrating livelihoods and literacy or ect enrolled 838 learners, of whom 331 (39.5 per- the model of the Farmer Field Schools in running cent) were women. In 1997, enrollments had the two components parallel to each other. declined to 578, of whom 120 (20.8 percent) were The present Guinea study (Diallo 2001) examines women. The two reports available offer no further the "Project in Support of Small Farmers in Lower details on how the project functions or what it costs. North Guinea," which, in the manner of ACOPAM, The small and apparently declining scale of the pro- aims to promote agricultural production, especially gram raises questions about the implementation, rice, increase food security, improve conditions of value, and effectiveness of such schemes. These life, develop rural infrastructure, and strengthen issues are not explored in the reports. Nevertheless, community institutions. To help achieve and estab- the impression is that the employers believe that the lish all this, the project organizes literacy work that literacy courses are helpful. addresses already existing groups of farmers, who The mining companies in South Africa, Zambia, can identify their own voluntary instructors. It and Zimbabwe have for several decades offered appears that the project uses already existing their non-literate employees classes in English liter- instructional materials, so that the literacy compo- acy and numeracy. Public corporations in India are nent is parallel to rather than integrated with the also known to have organized such classes. This activities designed to achieve the program's objec- study was unfortunately unable to locate any tives. Even so, the project finds that a four-month8 assessments of the effects of these classes on either course suffices for its purposes: 80 percent of the their beneficiaries or their providers. It is possible local officials who take the course succeed in "grad- that, as Mikulecky found in Canada, the corpora- uating," while some 50 percent of the ordinary tions regard these educational efforts more as wel- members do. More practically, virtually everybody fare expenditures for the less qualified members of learns to complete the various forms that the their workforces and less as investments in raising groups use to manage their affairs. the quality of their human resources. 34 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES The Experimental World Literacy Programme 1. For a related case, see the Kenya Karungu Women's found that literacy classes offered in workplaces Group, pp. 118-119. were often less effective than hoped. The data avail- 2. In the country-wide sample, of which this was part, nearly able to its evaluators did not permit any analysis of 40 percent of the successful graduates of the national Func- the various factors that might have explained this. tional Adult Literacy Program had had five years or more of primary schooling. The contrast with the positive impressions of work 3. Not surprisingly, there are arguments that these improve- with the self-employed suggests that the issue ments cannot be ascribed solely to WEP/N. requires some investigation. 4. At the time of writing this report, the ILO had not been able to retrieve the studies. 5. Personal communication with FFS managers in Nairobi. 6. Interview with FAO/IPM staff, Rome, May, 2001. 7. The project closed in 1994. No impact evaluation appeared to be available. 8. Information to calculate the number of instructional hours involved is not available. 7 Synthesis of findings from the two strategies It is important to remember that the evidence lowing report on what had been judged a suc- reviewed is not particularly strong, so any infer- cessful project: ences necessarily lack a solid empirical base and From Thailand: "The Local Industrial and analytical rigor. Like the "Critical Assessment of the Development Center trained 651 villagers in Experimental World Literacy Programme," this marketing, cost analysis, packaging, export study was compelled to offer its findings more as preparation. But the evaluation of 96 graduates plausible hypotheses than as proven facts. That found only 27% actually using skills for busi- said, this section broadly aims to provide more grist ness, 17% for household purposes, 56% not for the debate on how best to operationalize the using the skills at all" (Itty 1991: 48). Concor- concept of lifelong education within a frame of edu- dant with the Thai experience are the findings cation for all, where "all" includes unschooled and of the two IIEP studies of 1989 and 1990 in non-literate adults. Kenya and Tanzania and the 1999 evaluation in Uganda (Carron et al. 1989, Carr-Hill 1991, 1. Conditions of effectiveness-The first observa- Okech et al. 2000). All showed that the knowl- tion is obvious and almost banal:examples from edge learned by many participants had not all five sub-categories of program signal that, changed their attitudes and that even changes whether a program starts from literacy/numer- in attitude had not necessarily led to changes in acy and includes some livelihood training, or behavior. This merely repeats the earlier warn- starts with livelihood objectives and includes ing not to place too heavy a burden of expecta- literacy/numeracy, it is likely to be successful in tions on education and training programs.1 both sets of its immediate objectives, if it is well adapted to the interests and conditions of its 2. Motivation-The second observation, again participants and-equally important-well almost banal, is that education and training run. "Quality of the teaching-this was a major programs for very poor adults would be wise factor for the success of a class" (Crapper and to offer very clear, concrete, and immediate others 1996: 79). That said, the cases of ADRA in reasons2 to justify enrollment and ensure per- Uganda and SODEFITEX in Senegal warn that severance, as the following, very typical quote even the best run programs will suffer some from Ghana confirms: "We have also seen how inefficiency in terms of irregular attendance important incentives and income generation and dropout. Further, the longer-run outcomes activities are for both learners, facilitators and will not always fulfill all the hopes of the plan- the community as a whole to embrace the pro- ners and implementers, as shown by the fol- gram" (Adu-Gyamfi et al. 1996). A more recent 35 36 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES experience in Egypt offers further confirma- ments of livelihood training undeniably has the tion in its evaluation report: "Many illiterate effect of raising the motivation of the learners people do not attend literacy classes because and ensuring their faithful attendance at the lit- they have work to do. The ALTP (Adult Liter- eracy course. It gives a more utilitarian content acy Training Project) team together with the to the business of training adults." Similarly, the LWGs (Literacy Working Groups) in the vil- present Kenya study speculates, "Part of the lages linked literacy activities to raising the success of the REFLECT circles in Kibwezi is income of the students. New income-generat- attributable to the support Action Aid Kenya ing projects in the villages help attract more accords the circles for income generating proj- students to literacy and link it to their every- ects. This includes irrigated horticultural pro- day activities. ALTP recognized that literacy, duction, tree nurseries, goat rearing, poultry or lack of literacy, is only a part of people's keeping and basket weaving.3 These projects reality and that the reasons why people have have tended to provide a critical binding action not previously developed literacy skills are a for the groups and their participation in the lit- complex interweaving of lack of educational eracy program is noted to be high. This has also opportunity, lack of exposure, gender, levels of significantly improved the men's participation poverty, culture, lack of self-confidence etc. To rate in the literacy centres" (Mwangi 2001). help develop literacy skills, particularly of Again, the same study notes that 11 of 15 focus those in poorest sectors of society, and particu- discussion groups linked literacy with starting larly women in this group requires more than and managing small businesses and farming. the establishing of classes and waiting for "Literacy would help them keep proper people to come. It requires an holistic records, calculate profits and use different approach to awareness raising and helping measures correctly. One group observed that, if people manage the other challenges in their learners were taking practical subjects like lives" (UKDFID 1999, chapter 8, section 4.1). animal husbandry, book keeping and child care, they would be more motivated to enroll." At 3. Leading from livelihoods-This observation, the risk of belaboring the point, a final quote which follows reasonably from the second, is from the Kenya study is pertinent: "Fourteen that programs that start from livelihood skills out of 16 dropout respondents said that they seem to stand a stronger chance of success. would be willing to go back to the literacy class, They can demonstrate an immediate reason for if such (income-generating) projects were learning. The earlier observations from the started." western province of Kenya (see Chapter 4, Scope and Methods of the Study) are supported 4. Livelihood leading-Organizations that are from other countries, as well as from other more concerned with livelihoods and other provinces of Kenya. From Bangladesh: " aspects of development seem to be better at interest in literacy by the rural people was designing and delivering effective combina- almost nil" (BNPS 1997: 30), while Fiedrich tions of livelihoods and literacy than organiza- (2001) writes of Senegal, "I have only seen one tions that are more focused on education. FAO, program, a few years back, of Plan International IFAD, and ILO are examples among the multi- in Thies, Senegal, where vocational training lateral organizations, while for most NGOs, lit- (tailoring for women) was integrated with liter- eracy and numeracy are only means to larger acy. My impression from a two day visit was ends. As the Guinea study notes, NGO-run that the literacy training here was accepted as a projects that integrate development and literacy hoop that women and girls felt they had to achieve the most effective, really functional lit- jump through so as to get to the real goodies." eracy, based as they are on the problems and In harmony with this observation, the present needs of the target groups. They have all begun study in Senegal concluded, "Incorporating ele- by undertaking a socio-economic survey of the SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 37 localities where they start work, and they often content from the livelihood skills in view and address organized groups in their localities. integrating it with the livelihood training from This observation implies that policy makers for the very start seem more promising than either vocational/livelihood education with literacy running the two components in parallel or should consider operating through agencies, using standard literacy materials to prepare both governmental and non-governmental, that people to train for livelihoods.4 This suggestion work with people in their actual livelihoods does not discount the experiences of the Rukun- and employment, rather than through centers giri Women, ADRA, Saptagram, RDRS, and the that purport to train for, but tend to be detached Notre Dame Foundation, which all use literacy from, "the real world." primers unrelated to livelihood content; it merely points to a possible further advantage in 5. Flexibility-In all the countries studied, the engaging the learners' perseverance. diversity of possibilities for improving estab- lished livelihoods and developing new ones 7. Savings and credit-Livelihood-plus-literacy/ appears so wide as to demand extreme flexibil- numeracy programs can substantially reinforce ity, imagination, and resourcefulness. NGOs their chances of success if they can start from or seem to have more flexibility than government at least incorporate training in savings, credit, agencies to respond to local and changing and business management, along with actual needs. Developers of national policy for voca- access to credit. Although ADRA and SODEFI- tional/livelihood education should emphati- TEX provide the credit, WEP/N, WEEL, and cally consider stronger-but not dominating or other organizations demonstrate that it can be crippling-alliances with NGOs. At the same created among the very poor themselves, with- time, they should explore forms of government out the agency of a micro-finance institution. organization that would allow local offices the kind of wide, but accountable, discretion, 8. Group approaches and negotiation-Again which would enable them to develop the drawing on the experience of ADRA, ACOPAM, required flexibility. WEP/N, and WEEL, chances of success are also Further, two facts suggest that even the pri- heightened by working with established groups vate sector might be induced to offer livelihood of people who share a common purpose, rather and literacy training for poor people in certain than with individual applicants. In the absence contexts. First, patterns of apprenticeship exist in of such groups, it would probably still be better a number of African countries, particularly in the to spend time identifying promising common west of the continent. If master craftsmen pro- purposes and to work on forming new purpose- vide training in return for modest fees and labor, driven groups than to carry out the program they may be open to paid partnerships with lit- with unconnected individuals. eracy instructors. Second, private training insti- Experience seems to have produced a tutes are emerging in a range of crafts and skills, strengthening consensus that programs that are as evidenced by the "professionalizing" literacy well negotiated with their prospective learners centers in Guinea. Arrangements could be devel- in association with local authorities and lead- oped to suit the interests of both instructors and ers, are likely to be more effective than pro- learners. What the specific possibilities might be grams that are simply put on offer. Further, in operational terms will of course depend on there is a longstanding consensus that teaching specific localities and cultures. methods that encourage activity and interaction between participants and their instructor are 6. Derivative literacy - The experiences of more effective than those that leave the instruc- ACOPAM and SODEFITEX, along with a provi- tor with most of the action. However, it is sional comparison between WEP/N and WEEL important acknowledge observations that in Nepal, hint that deriving literacy/numeracy implementing the active methods is often 38 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES beyond the competence and inclination of the and credit groups, encouraged the develop-- instructors, and quite often it not to the taste of ment of income generating activities, offered the learners themselves. Despite such non- a 6-months basic literacy course, followed modern attitudes and practices, appreciable by either 3 months follow up in both literacy learning can and often does occur. and income generation, or 6 months of more advanced training (1996: 51) The overall per- 9. Vouchers-There are very favorable early eval- ceptions were that six months are insuffi-- uations of the initiative by the Somaliland Edu- cient for most men and women to develop cation Initiative for Girls and Young Men to use satisfactory skills in reading, writing and vouchers as a means to give very poor people calculating and that the need to link these more power to negotiate what they learn and skills with some form of income-generation with whom they learn (Tomlinson 2001). That was strong. suggests the project merits further observation, A Syrian project went further and con- particularly regarding its suitability for already cluded, "The 9-month duration of a literacy established groups. course is not sufficient to allow learners the mastery of basic literacy skills" (UNDP 10. Time on task-The projects examined offer no 1992). Yet a project in Afghanistan found, decisive answer to how much time is needed to "Experience has shown that after 9 months enable a person to become permanently or sus- of classes meeting 2 hours a day (some tainably literate. Recall that the Mahila 350-400 hours in all) women can be brought Samakhya experience (see Animators and hand to a fourth grade reading level" (USAID pump technicians in Chapter 6) found that 180 1994). hours of tuition, even of intensive instruction, Ignoring differences of language, alphabets, led only to fragile literacy skills. ADRA (see literateness of environment, and levels of pre- Chapter 5) seems to be satisfied with 250 to 300 vious or other literacy among the learners, it hours, whereas SODEFITEX arranges for 400 would seem safe to reckon that the minimum hours (see Chapter 6). To help clarify the issue, time for developing skills in literacy and Medel-AnXonuevo looked at four models of lit- numeracy adequate to support livelihood and eracy and livelihood programs in Nepal: other development is 360 hours, plus more hours of learning and practice. Beyond that * Model 1 offered a 12 month literacy course, minimum, the duration of courses would followed by a 3-month vocational course and depend on the complexity of the livelihood the establishment of a community reading skills to be learned or developed. centre. 11. Cadres of instructors-The broad experience of * Model 2 offered an 18-month course in 3 income-generating projects suggests that phases: first, a 9-month basic literacy and arranging for two cadres of instructors, one for numeracy course, then, a 6-month course livelihoods, the other for literacy, appears to be learning the livelihood skills (the functional more prudent than relying on "generalist" liter- phase), and finally, a 3-month course in acy instructors to undertake livelihood instruc- actually generating and managing income. tion or income-generating activities in addition to teaching literacy and numeracy. * Model 3 offered simply a 6-month basic liter- There is no argument about the need to acy course, then encouraged its learners to train, support, and re-train the literacy instruc- seek livelihood training from other sources. tors. However, there is weaker consensus about how they should be recompensed for their con- * Model 4-which was most favoured by tributions. Most of the programs reviewed practitioners-started with women's saving make it clear that most literacy instructors do SKIl.LS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 39 not have much schooling themselves, are not in be more costly than simple literacy programs. steady or waged employment, and are them- In the cases of SODEFITEX, WEEL and selves among the poorer of their societies. Nat- WEP/N which combine livelihood skills and urally, they appreciate being paid in cash or the three Rs with training in savings, credit, kind. Most of the programs examined in this and business management and development, paper do offer pay, some at modest, others at considerably more is involved than simple lit- more generous levels. Overall, it seems that eracy. In turn, teaching these skills will call for NGOs are more inclined than governments to cadres of well-trained specialists, who will offer regular pay, rather than occasional moral without doubt expect commensurate pay- or material awards. Some, like FAO's Farmer ment. Further, supporting them, as well as Field Schools, follow the principle that "user holding them to account-without necessarily pays" and expect the participants to negotiate employing them on a permanent basis-will the recompense with their literacy instructors require a soundly devised administrative (even though the agricultural instructors are structure. paid employees of the program). A few other programs rely on the literacv instructors being 13. Elements of cost-Although no specific sugges- pure volunteers, especially where they are tions are possible here, it may be helpful simply recruited and selected by their ovn par- to supply a non-exhaustive list of program ticipants from among the local communitv. costs, without specifying how they are to be Overall, the broader trend appears to treat apportioned: literacy instructors on a basis similar to liveli- Learners: learning materials, learning sup- hood specialists and to remunerate them for ports like space, lighting, heating. their efforts. Inistructorsfor {I; c/ZI,ood andfor savings, credit, business nmanagement and business development 12. Costs-Very little information on gross or unit (on the assumption that they already have costs was found in the documentation avail- expertise in these subjects): remuneration, able. However, on the basis of two programs, travel, subsistence, instructional materials, supplemented by inferences from observation, initial training as instructors, refresher train- we believe that the unit costs of the programs ing. we have studied are quite low. The Uganda FAL IIIlt' I 'L,I - ,f,iaditatoi; * for literacy/numeracy and reckoned a unit cost of US$4-5 per person also for rights, responsibilities, civic, health and enrolled. A project in Senegal, sLupported by otlher topics in demand: remuneration, initial Canada, estimated that the cost per enrollee training, instructional and recording materi- would be approximately CDN$20. How,ever, als, refresher training. faulty implementation raised the cost to Specialists for identitfying new business opportu- CDN$45 per enrollee (CIDA 2001: 13). FAO's nities (on the assumption they already have People's Participation Programme had some the expertise): remuneration, travel, subsis- 13,000 male and female participants in 12 coun- tence. tries. The average cost per participant was esti- Trainers/technical supporters (whether com- mated in 1989 to be US$63 (FAO 199(0: 36). All munity-based, contracted or public person- that can be observed here is that even the high- nel): remuneration, training, (initial and est estimate does not appear inordinate. refresher), travel, subsistence. That said, policv makers in vocational/ Suipporting administrative infrastructure (for technical education need to bear in mind that, production, storage, distribution, travel, pay- just as voc/tech education in schools and col- ments). leges is always more costly than general edLl- Supporting infrastructure for monitoring (plus cation, so analogous education for adults in quality assurance in learning, attainments, villages and shanty-towns will unavoidablv application). 40 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES 14. Financial Sustainability-Given that the po- where local public and private resources have tential clientele for livelihood-with-literacy/ combined and been amplified by international numeracy programs is currently large and official and non-governmental development likely to remain large for a long time, and given assistance, they have still been insufficient to the perspective of continuous, life-long educa- cover more than a small proportion of the tion, the issues of cost require consideration of potential clientele. On the other hand, the cases financial sustainability. Here, the policy maker from Bangladesh, Guinea, India, Nepal, the needs to bear in mind that, even at fee-exacting Philippines, Senegal, and Uganda suggest that universities, few, if any, students, however NGOs, both local and international, can and do affluent, meet the full cost of their education. sustain themselves and their programs over Tuition fees usually cover only a proportion of long periods, apparently at least to the suffi- the full costs of tuition. Since programs that cient satisfaction of their supporters. include basic literacy and numeracy always If the government of a poor, indebted coun- have as their major clients people who are try, in alliance with nongovernmental and com- among the poorest of the poor, they will require munity organizations, and people of good will proportionately more substantial subsidies and energy, aimed to make livelihood-with-lit- from external sources, whether public or pri- eracy/numeracy education available to sub- vate. This will hold true whatever the measures stantially larger proportions of poor people and to minimize dependency and expectations of to maintain long-term financial sustainability, it free handouts, and whatever the measures would need to take three steps. First, in addi- gradually to reduce subsidies and move to tion to fiscal allocations, it would need to higher proportions of local self-finance. develop a mechanism to mobilize local volun- However, the poor are not homogeneous. tary contributions to a special fund or even net- They can range from the destitute, who need a work of funds (village or community). Second, total subsidy, to those like the women of it would need to form large-scale and long-term Rukungiri and participants in some of the consortiums with international donors, both Farmer Field Schools, who may be just above official and nongovernmental. Third, the gov- the poverty line but still able to contribute to emient would need to persuade international the costs of their education. Further, the cases of lenders, like the World Bank, its regional coun- WEEL and WEP/N suggest that groups of even terpart, the Islamic Development Bank, and the very poor women can in a relatively short time International Fund for Agricultural Develop- mobilize their own savings and begin to pay for ment that investments in livelihood-with-liter- what they want. Thus, the proportion of sub- acy/ numeracy education would, in time, both sidy could in principle vary from group to reduce poverty and strengthen its ability to group, and, for particular groups, from time to repay its debts. time. Operating with such sensitivity and flexi- bility could well be beyond the capacity of a 15. Going to Scale-Normally, vocational and tech- single central authority. However, decentral- nical education policies are not associated with ized approaches that set minimum standards programs of mass education. Yet the numbers of but permit local adjustments to accommodate very poor people working in livelihoods that local conditions, communities, or groups could could be made more productive, force the ques- be feasible. tion whether education in livelihood-with-liter- It is also true that the countries whose people acy/numeracy can be conceived in mass terms. could benefit most from livelihood with liter- Clearly, the cases of SODEFITEX, WEEL, and acy/numeracy education are among the poor- WEP/N reflect the recognition that larger scale est and least able to provide subsidies from programs are necessary and that strategies to local sources, whether public or private. The achieve larger scales need to be devised. SODE- cases considered earlier have shown that, even FITEX chose an analogue to "point-line-net- SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 41 work," whereby it started with educating just a depth of capacity to support widespread few members per cooperative, then one member instruction in a large range of livelihoods in a per farming family, then gradually included variety of environments, plus the necessary more and more people. WEEL and WEP/N skills of fostering savings, credit, business man- selected a strategy of working through more agement, and business development, requires and more local organizations to reach more and not only time, but also careful amassing of local more groups of women. In five to six years, they knowledge. reached and helped respectively 10,000 and Finally, the findings of the PADLOS study of 130,000 very poor people. For projects that have decentralization (Easton 1998) would counsel harnessed the teamwork of only small NGOs, that assessing when to go to scale in a particu- these scales and the time-scale within which lar locality must take into account local infra- they were achieved, command respect. structure, natural and other resources, norms, In all three cases, the initiative was taken and institutions. very carefully and gradually by a relatively small agency at a very local level. Yet the strat- egy of gradualism has not demanded an inordi- 1. It may be salutary here to recall that schools, universities, and open universities also fall short of total efficiency. nate amount of time to attain a significant scale. 2. This observation does not deny the attested fact that manv These features point once again to the desirabil- adults learn to read and write for the simple satisfaction of ity of decentralized approaches that permit being able to do so, while others learn for religious reasons local organizations, whether public or private, quite unconnected with considerations of material gain or to assess thepacean mannerathichexpan betterment. However; these motivations on their own have to assess the pace and manner at which expan- not been sufficient to engage the majority of illiterate adults. sion can be soundly undertaken. 3. These activities have a history stretching back to the com- An additional factor counseling decentral- munity development days of the 1950s. ization and gradualism is the complexity of the 4. This point concords with Mikulecky & Lloyd's observa- package needed to support livelihood-with-lit- schoolng tend nt to tranpsfee wlith relatively sow leveos of eracy/numeracy education. Developing the from one domain to another (Mikulecky & Lloyd 1993). 8 Conclusions and recommendations his chapter attempts first to use the pro- all need to be favorable before education and train- T grams reviewed to suggest pointers for ing can be fully fruitful. Easton's view is supported policy and practice in vocational/livelihood by the approaches of ADRA in Uganda, SODEFI- education for unschooled adults and adolescents in TEX in Senegal, SEIGYM in Somaliland, and WEP the countries of Sub-74 Africa. More broadly, it and WEEL in Nepal, which have all found it neces- aims to inform thinking and discussion elsewhere sarv to include institutional development as a con- on how best to implement the concept of lifelong stituent of their programs. education within a framework of education for all, If these organizations, most of them in Africa, where "all" includes unschooled and non-literate have found it possible to design and implement adult women and men in both rural and urban packages of livelihood training, literacy instruction, areas and in both waged and self-employment in and institutional development, vocational educa- both monetized and subsistence sectors of an econ- tion policy should be able to do the same. Further, omy. The nature and quality of the documentation while most of these organizations have needed to and other information available limit the force of adopt relatively short-term perspectives for any the pointers and suggestions. given locality, national policy should be able to take Overall, the evidence suggests that it would be the longer view of SODEFITEX and plan in terms of worthwhile for vocational or livelihood education decades rather than three to five years. policy makers to develop policies that offered liveli- hood training to non-literate, very poor adults, The first recommendation then is that vocational especially women, who are unable to access knowl- education policy should assess what would be edge and skills that might relieve their poverty. needed in particular localities to ensure an envi- ronment that would enable training in particular Enabling environments-Knowledge and skills by livelihoods actually to result in higher productiv- themselves cannot guarantee a decent livelihood. ity, incomes, and well being. As UNDP/UNESCO, 1976, and the IIEP evalua- tions of the literacy programs of Kenya and Tanza- Strategy for diversity-The livelihoods and sets of nia in 1989 and 1990 suggested, the economic envi- livelihoods that the very poor undertake are ronment must be supportive. Indeed, even more notably diverse. So are the environments in which demanding, Easton (1998) suggests that local they work. So, too, are the possibilities of enhancing norms, broader institutional factors, local resource those livelihoods and developing new ones. Man- endowments, infrastructure, and sources of finance aging these diversities calls for flexibility, imagina- 42 SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 43 tion, and resourcefulness, and for institutions that cannot be assumed, capacity-building strategies can respond appropriately. It points ideally to a with appropriate incentives and inducements must strategy that will: be developed. As the present study attests, in a large number of countries, the voluntary and non- * allow for considerable decentralization and dele- profit sectors at international, national and local gation; levels have responded well to incentives and capi- talized on opportunities to deepen and expand their * first follow existing demand, then seek out latent capacities. It is possible, too, that private, profit- possibilities of new links with the mainstream making vocational education specialists-already economy, from which could arise new demands; detected in the Guinea study-may see opportuni- ties to help themselves as well as the poor. At the * foster flexibility and mobility; same time, experience in several countries suggests that, where these sectors are weak, gradualist strate- * rely on and nurture freelance specialists in busi- gies to increase their capacities would be prudent. ness and livelihood development; If public resources are to be used to promote the decentralization and delegation, supervisory mecha- * operate through institutions and procedures of nisms are needed to ensure that they are properly complete transparency and public accountability. applied and that the intended beneficiaries do indeed enjoy a proper quality of instruction. One Such a strategy will avoid reliance on packages of increasingly well known model for such mechanisms standard curricula in fixed training centers with is the "Faire-faire" strategy of Senegal (Diagne & Sall fixed equipment and permanent corps of specialists. 2001).1 Of course, the supervisory mechanism should be so designed that it does not actually obstruct, Capacities-High quality analysis, design, imple- rather than promote, the decentralization. mentation and support are required. "To be avoided is a weak response in the form of low levels of The second recommendation is that vocational analysis and design, and inadequate supervision" education policy should pursue a strategy of (Middleton & Demsky 1989: 101). Ballara shows the decentralization and capacity-nurturing that will complexity of what is required: "Certain precau- permit resourceful responses to local actual and tions should be taken when income-generating potential patterns of livelihood. activities are included in literacy programs. Results obtained during the 1980s show that these activities Savings, credit and content-As for actual courses have to be treated as enterprises related to the of vocational education, this review suggests three requirements of mainstream economic production, pointers. First, because the learners are very poor, offering continuity and remuneration to the partici- the approaches of ADRA, SODEFITEX, WEEL, Sap- pants. To avoid becoming involved in poorly- tagram, and WEP/N indicate that immediate con- rewarded activities, literacy programs incorporat- nections and access to sources of credit should be a ing an income-generating activity should begin component of every livelihood training program, with a study of market needs; they should prepare without necessarily involving a special micro- women in non-traditional sectors and for future finance institution. SODEFITEX, WEP/N, WEEL, entry into the formal sector, rather than be directed Saptagram, and other programs supply models for towards traditional low-level skills which barely encouraging savings as a means to create the supplement home income and which finally resources for credit for business development and becomes a type of welfare" (Ballara 1991: 47). ensuring discipline in repayments. Special micro- A strategy of decentralization and delegation finance institutions are not essential. However, in must presuppose the capacity to diagnose current such situations, the expertise for helping groups needs, detect future opportunities, and design and mobilize savings and manage them through lend- deliver high-quality training. Where such capacity ing and recovery needs to be very reliable. 44 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES Second, there is consensus that the actual content Time on task-One of the most common observa- of a livelihood-with-literacy/numeracy course tions in adult education, particularly in programs should be the result of a local survey and negotia- for very poor women, is the difficulty of maintain- tions with the prospective participants. At the same ing regular attendance and of sustaining attendance time, current demand in a locality should form only over long periods. Against this is the need for ade- the initiating basis for training in livelihoods. quate "time on task" in both the livelihood and the Opportunities for new livelihoods and businesses, literacy/numeracy components. As noted earlier, especially those that would help people move into although there is no firmly settled opinion on the the economic mainstream, would need to be sought minimum time needed on average to attain "sus- and demands stimulated for training to undertake tainable" or permanent literacy and numeracy, a them. In connection with this point, to strengthen safe minimum would be 360 hours of learning and the negotiating hand of would-be participants and practice. To that minimum has to be added the time to encourage accountability among instructors, the needed to teach the required livelihood and busi- idea of vouchers, as used by the Somaliland Educa- ness skills. tion Initiative for Girls and Young Men, merits Most literacy and livelihood programs now observation and exploration. strive to negotiate their class times with their par- Third, the literacy/numeracy component should, ticipants to minimize inconvenience and opportu- in the initial stages of the training, be subordinated nity costs. Even so, if the daily commitments of the to the language and idioms of the livelihood and participants made a single stretch of time difficult, business skills, in the manner that WEP/N has then the phased or modular approach used by selected. As educators in Melanesia have shown WEP/N and WEEL (as well as the ILO's use of (ASPBAE 2000a), and as the REFLECT approach Modules of Employable Skills for more than 20 has pioneered, instructional materials can be read- years) might be used to encourage attendance and ily fashioned for particular languages, idioms and perseverance. Nonetheless, the SODEFITEX experi- localities. This recommendation does not of course ence suggests that this could be a second-best solu- imply that the literacy/numeracy component tion Further, because many participants, however should be restricted throughout the course to the well intentioned, do miss sessions and attend irreg- discourse of the livelihoods in question; that would ularly, a margin of as much as 20 percent might be undermine the wider uses of the skills in other worth adding to the duration of a course. That dimensions of daily life (recall Mikulecky's obser- would allow such participants some room to catch vations that spontaneous transference did not up, while affording the more regular some more occur). A report on a current project in Egypt notes, space for practice and reinforcement. "Women attending groups and classes which treated them as whole persons reported major The fourth recommendation is twofold. First, to changes in their lives: skill development, greater ensure that the "average" adult learner masters lit- income-generating opportunities and confidence eracy and numeracy sufficiently well to use them in development" (UKDFID 1999: para 8.4.5). support and development of a livelihood, the liter- Our recommendation does, however, urge that acy component of a livelihood course should offer the experiences of ACOPAM, SODEFITEX, and at least 360 hours of instruction and practice (the WEP/N be used as capital to construct more effec- livelihood and business components will of course tive programs. require additional appropriate time). Second, to help optimize perseverance, completion, and reten- The third recommendation is that vocational edu- tion of learning, the course should be offered in a cation policy should provide for courses that com- single session or term, if at all practicable. bine savings and credit training with negotiated livelihood content and literacy/numeracy content Instructors-The effectiveness of a course will derived from, but not limited to, the vocabulary of stand or fall by its instructors. The experiences dis- the livelihood. cussed in this study counsel against having the lay SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 45 people who serve as literacy instructors to be liveli- tion at the forty sites strongly suggests that teaching hood instructors or organizers of income-generat- literacy and becoming literate in one's own lan- ing activities as well. Lay people who are suffi- guage or a familiar tongue, and acquiring new ciently literate can be trained to be effective literacy knowledge on this basis, are not terribly difficult instructors. However, appropriate specialists seem provided the appLication of the new knowledge is to be the best people to handle instruction in liveli- clear, and the pedagogy progressive and participa- hoods or income-generation. It is of course possible tory" (1998: xxiii). to train livelihood specialists to teach literacy as well. Indeed, the Experimental World Literacy Pro- The sixth recommendation is that vocational edu- gramme suggested that such people seemed to cation policy for non-literate poor adults should teach literacy and numeracy more effectively than promote active, participatory, and interactive school teachers. Where such a combination of skills forms of instruction and learning in both liveli- is feasible, it could be worth fostering. hood and literacy components of training. All the programs reviewed place much impor- tance on not only training their literacy instructors Finance-This study is not in a position to offer any but also supporting them closely and continuously, estimates of the financial resources needed (see as well as offering them periodic refresher training. Chapter 7, subhead "Conditions of effectiveness- In this, they echo the Critical Assessment of the Costs" for a brief discussion). Experimental World Literacy Programme: "... a consensus seems to have emerged from EWLP con- The seventh recommendation is merely that voca- cerning the need to give great stress to in-service as tional education policy makers support further well as pre-service training of instructors" (UNDP/ research on the issue of costs. UNESCO 1976: 135). As for remunerating instructors, it would seem Financial sustainability-As education in liveli- prudent to follow the majority trend of paying both hoods and literacy is likely to require long-term livelihood specialists and literacy instructors. programs, financial sustainability is a necessity. Where literacy instructors are paid, either by their Although poor people, poor countries, and poor participants or by the agency organizing the pro- governments will probably be able to meet at least gram, they tend to be more accountable, reliable, part of the longer-term costs on their own, they are and regular. This may be one reason why most unlikely to be able to shoulder all of them and will NGOs choose to offer a salary or honorarium, need external assistance. rather than appeal for voluntary effort. The eighth recommendation is that countries form The fifth recommendation is again twofold. First, local alliances of government, non-governmental vocational education policy should provide for and community agencies, and energetic people of two cadres of instructors: livelihood instructors good will to (a) raise local fiscal and voluntary and literacy instructors. While neither should be a finance, (b) form appropriate consortiums with permanent cadre, their patterns of recruitment, external donors and (c) attract resources from training, and support can differ from each other. international lenders. Second, both cadres should be remunerated for the instruction they give. Mass scale-The numbers of people who could ben- efit from education in livelihoods and literacy are suf- Instrnctionial methods-The consensus on teaching ficient to warrant large-scale programs. However, the methods is that approaches that promote activity complex nature of such programs and the require- and interaction are likely to be most effective, how- ment that they adopt local rather than general focuses ever hard these approaches are to put into practice counsel slower rather than rapid dissemination. The with instructors who have themselves had only lim- experiences cited suggest that slower dissemination ited traditional schooling. Easton writes, "Observa- need not involve inordinately long periods. 46 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES The ninth recommendation is that strategies of The tenth recommendation is that any review of capacity-building, decentralization and gradual- vocational educational policy should exert itself to ism govern the process of going to scale, with due identify, locate, and capitalize on the empirical attention to local infrastructure, natural and other experience and expertise that those organizations resources, norms, and institutions. and others like them must have accumulated in their work in Sub-74 Africa and elsewhere; and Capitalizing on knowledge-The final recommen- make it more readily accessible than this study dation derives from the experiences of ACOPAM has found it. (ILO), ADRA, the Farmers Field Schools (FAO, CARE, World Education), and the programs sup- ported by IFAD. 1. 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USAID (United States Agency for International Develop- ment). 1997. Evaluation of World Eduication grants for uwomen's micro-enterprise and utrban re-vitalization (in Mali) by Roush, James L., Maryanne LeBlanc, Ahmadou Diallo, Development Associates Inc. USAID (United States Agency for International Development). Washington, D.C. Annex 1 Persons Thanked he study team wishes to thank the following Mr. Nyereke and Mr. Bokotm, CAOPA (Centre wary fd'appui aux organisations professionnelles persons warmly for their assistance in seek- agricoles) ing and accessing documentation useful to Mie Souadou Diallo, Mr. Billo Sylla and Mr. the study (their names are listed before their insti- Boubacar Sylla, CENAFOD (Centre Africain de tutions, which appear in alphabetical order). Formation pour le Developpement) David Archer, ActionAid, London Don Pau, CIDA (Canadian International Ms. Nandago, REFLECT Coordination Unit. Development Agency), Ottawa/Hull ActionAid, Kampala Anja Frings and Ingrid Jung, DSE (German Jean-Marie Ahlin Byll-Cataria, Association for the Foundation for International Development), Bonn Development of Education in Africa (Swiss Rudolf Heinrichs-Drinhaus, EED-Church Development Cooperation Agency), Bern Development Service (An Association of the ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Protestant Churches in Germany), Bonn Agency), Uganda Maxim Koivogui, EUPD (Entraide Universitaire Michael Brophy, AET (Africa Educational Trust), pour le Developpement), Conakry London Lavinia Gasperini, Manuela Allara, Philippe Ardouiin- John Aitchison, Durban Dumazet, Kevin Gallagher, Peter Glasauer, M. Kato, Jerome Gedfroy, AIDE ACTION, Conakry John Rouse and L. Van Crowder, FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations), Sonja Fagerberg-Diallo, ARED (Associates in Rome Research & Education for Development Inc.), Peter Easton, Florida State University, College of Dakar Maria Khan, Nasreen Contractor, ASPBAE (Asian Education, Tallahassee and South Pacific Bureau for Adult Education), Christina Rawley, GroundWorks, Washington, D.C. Mumbai Hubert Hartmann and Gert Flaig, GTZ (German Jules Nteba Bakumba, Association ELIMU, Uvira Agency for Technical Cooperation), Eschborn Sud-Kivu Sapho Haralambous, Cristina Moro and Carla Secchi, Herbert Baryayebwa, Commissioner in Charge of IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Literacy, Kampala Development), Rome Simon Koppers, BMZ (Federal Ministry for Francoise Caillods and Francoise du Pouget, IIEP Economic Cooperation), Bonn (International Institute for Educational Planning), Paris Katy Anis and Don Graybill, CAII (Creative Associates International), Washington, D.C. 54 SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 55 Torkel Alfthani, Remo Becci, K. Kamdemn and Staff of Rachel Marcus, Anne Mulcahy, Chris Saunders and the ILO Library, ILO (International Labor Karen Wyatt, SCF-UK (Save the Children, UK), Organization), Geneva London Okello Atwaro, Teresa Kakooza, Alice N. Ndidde and Agneta Lind, Hans Persson and Kenth Wickmann, Anthoniy Okech, IACE (Institute of Adult and SIDA (Swedish International Development Continuing Education), Makerere University, Agency), Stockholm Kampala Patricia M. Davis, Sheila Harrison, Barbara Marc Fiecdrich, Institute of Development Studies, Hollenbach, Pat Kelley, Linda Seyer and Kathleen University of Sussex, Brighton Tacelosky, SIL (formerly Summer Institute of Jeffrey Ashe, Institute for Sustainable Development, Linguistics), Dallas and High Wycombe Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass. Falilou Bah and Abdourahmane Conde, SNA/DPA P. Kiirya, LABE (Literacy and Adult Basic (Service Nationale d'Alphab6tisation), Conakry Education), Kampala Denzil Saldanha, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, H. Muhangi, LITNET (Literacy Network), Kampala Mumbai Juliet Millican Mark Gilmer, Martine Bousquet, Sayeeda Rahman, U. Miura and Staff of the UNESCO Library, UNESCO, Clemens Kronlenberg, MISEREOR (The German Paris Catholic Bishops' Organization for Development Jmke Behr and Carolyn Medel-Aiionuevo, UIE Cooperation), Aachen (UNESCO Institute for Education), Hamburg Asle Kristiansecn, Lars Erling-Hovlid and Inger Carew Treffgarne, Sheila Round and Digby Swift, Frydenborg, NCA (Norwegian Church Aid), Oslo UKDFID (Uned Kingdom and for UKDFID (United Kingdom Department for John Comings, NCSALL (National Center for International Development), London Studies in Adult Learning and Literacy), Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Elaine Furniss and Sheldon Shaeffer, UNICEF University, Cambridge, Mass. (United Nations International Children's Fund), Wou ter Bolding, NOVIB (Netherlands Organization New York for International Development), The Hague Monctar Balde and Mie Maimouna, UNICEF, Jean Pierre Camara, Djenabou Savane and Alpha Guinee Oumar Diallo, PAPE-BGN (Projet d'Appui aux Petits Exploitants en Basse Guinee Nord), Conakry Jim Hoxeng, USAID (United States Agency for International Development), Washington, D.C. Tanya Huq, RDRS (Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service), Dhaka Shirley Burchfield, Pamela Civins, Valeria Rocha and Helen Sherpa, WEI (World Education Incorporated), Alanl RMogers, Uppingham Boston Annex 2 Cases from Guinea Abdoul Hamid Diallo (Original Frenich Versioin) Sigles et acronymes ACT Association de Cooperation Technique FAC Fonds d'Aide et de Cooperation AEC Association d'educateurs Francaise communautaires FIDA Fonds International de AFV Association Financiere Villageoise Developpement Agricole AGAKFEM Association Guineenne pour FED Fonds Europ6en de D6veloppement I'Allegement des Charges GEV Groupement d'educateurs villageois Feminines MAEF Ministere de l'Agriculture, des Eaux et ASF Association de Services Financiers Fores CAOPA Centre d'Appui aux Organisations MEPU-EC Ministere de l'enseignement pre- Professionnelles Agricoles universitaire et de l'education CECI Centre Canadien d'etudes et de civique Cooperation NAFA Ecole de la deuxieme chance CENAFOD Centre Africain de Formation pour le ONG Organisation Non Gouvernementale Developpement OCED Organisation canadienne pour CONEBAT Commission Nationale pour l'6ducation au service du l1'ducation de base pour tous developpement CVEP Comit6 Villageois d'Entretien des PAPE-BGN Projet d'Appui aux Petits Exploitants Pistes en Basse Guinee Nord DPA Direction Prefectorale de PDL Plan de Developpement Local l'alphabetisation SAF Service Administration et Finance DPE Direction Prefectorale de l'Education SFA Service Formation Animation DRA Direction Regionale de SNA Service National d'Alphabetisation l'alphab6tisation SCIO Service de Coordination des DRE Direction Regionale de l'Education Interventions des ONG EPT Education pour tous TDR Termes de r6ference EBA Education de Base des Adultes UNICEF Organisation des Nations Unies pour EUPD Entraide Universitaire Pour le l'Enfance Developpement VSF Veterinaires sans frontiere 56 SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 57 Introduction R6seau des ONG de lutte contre le SIDA (Ministere de la Sant6), le Forum des ONG (Ministere de la - n Republique de Guinee, il convient de decentralisation), etc. - dissocier au niveau des politiques, l'alphab& Dans tous les cas on note qu'il y a: tisation de 1'6ducation des adultes g6n6ral. En effet, l'alphab6tisation est sous la responsabilit6 a. Utilisation des programmes d'alphab6tisation du Service National (SNA), lequel est rattache au pour am6liorer les moyens de subsistance des Ministere de l'enseignement pre-universitaire, tan- apprenants; ou dis que l'6ducation des adultes est sous la respon- sabilite du SCIO (Service de Coordination des b. Exploitation des programmes de formation interventions des ONG), lequel est rattach6 au professionnelle pour y int6grer des 6l6ments Ministere de l'Jnt6rieur et de la Decentralisation. pertinents de lecture, d'6criture et de calcul. La formation professionnelle, elle, est dispens6e a deux niveaux : (i) les centres nationaux de forma- La pr6sente etude tente de r6pondre aux les tion professionnelle qui sont rattach6s au Ministere questions suivantes: de l'enseignement technique et professionnel (ii) la formation professionnelle non formelle, ralis6e par a. Quelles sont les exp6riences capitalis6es en la les ONG de la place dans des domaines divers (agri- matiere ? culture, cueillette, artisanat etc.). Le ministere de l'enseignement technique et b. L'int6gration de cette double approche pourra- professionnel gere actuellement plusieurs centres t-elle accroitre l'efficacite des programmes ou des eleves et etudiants de niveau Baccalaureat et (d'alphabetisation et aussi de formation) plus, recoivent des formations dipl6mantes con- fideliser les apprenants et am6liorer leurs duisant A diverses professions (agriculture, Genie realisations ? civil, mecanique, artisanat etc.). Le niveau est si 6lev6 que l'apprentissage d'une langue locale n'est c. Pourra-t-elle egalement promouvoir l'usage des absolument pas necessaire, aux dires meme des competences apprises et avoir plus d'effets et un etudiants. meilleur impact ? Sur le terrain, ce sont plutot les ONG, les agences d'appui au developpement et quelques fois le SNA En ce qui concerne l'etude, contrairement aux qui interviennent aussi bien dans le cadre de previsions initiales (basees essentiellement sur une I'alphab6tisation que dans les formations integrant etude documentaire), nous avons fait une breve l'alphabetisation comme base necessaire aux recherche et des enquetes sur ces questions. Ce sont apprentissages visant l'amelioration des comp& les ben6ficiaires des actions qui ont alimente notre tences et des moyens d'existence, pour les per- etude plus que les contenus des documents trouves. sonnes peu lettrees voire analphabetes, surtout en En effet, comme dejA annonce, ceux-ci sont en tres milieu rural. petit nombre et de plus tous ne traitent que Si pour l'alphabetisation, le sujet est precis et partiellement le sujet. peut etre cerne par le SNA (en definissant une Dans les chapitres qui suivent, nous presenterons politique et des strategies en la matiere), pour la successivement : (i) un resume de l'etude, issu des formation des adultes d'une maniere generale, etant informations recueillies, (ii) ces informations elles- donne la multiplicite des domaines d'action et la memes et (iii) les principales conclusions et diversite des publics cibles, il n'existe pas de poli- recommandations. tique precise d'intervention. Chaque Departement ministeriel tente de definir sa propre politique, et Resume de I'6tude d'en informer les intervenants dans le secteur. C'est pour cela que les ONG s'organisent de leur cote En Republique de Guinee, compte tenu de l'histoire pour mettre en place des reseaux. Exemples : du pays et notamment du contexte educatif, iA y a eu 58 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES peu de capitalisation. Il n'y a donc guere de * Projet 1 documentation sur le sujet malgre son interet et sa Alphabetisation des femmes et des jeunes pertinence. dans les centres de formation et d'appren- D'autre part, les deux approches selon lesquelles tissage, dans les groupements f6minins, etc., l'etude devait etre men6e ne sont pas dissociees en dans les zones rurales, peri-urbaines et Guinee. En effet, La presque totalite des ONG de urbaines; Guinee travaillent sur le terrain dans I'apprentis- sage de competences visant les moyens de subsis- * Projet 2 tance et l'amelioration des conditions de vie. Alphabetisation des jeunes apprentis des Aucune d'entre elles ne travaille dans l'option differents corps de m6tier (mecanique, electri- << Environnement lettre >>. Toutes font donc de l'al- cite, electricite du batiment, etc.) et des phab6tisation ponctuelle ou semi-permanente artisans (forgerons, cordonniers, etc.); lorsque celle-ci s'avere indispensable pour depasser une situation difficile dans le cadre d'un * Projet 3 projet precis. Exemples (i) les groupements de Alphabetisation des jeunes filles-meres et coton sont alphabetises puis formes tout simple- jeunes garcons en situations difficiles (jeunes ment pour assurer eux-memes la commerciali- victimes de la petite delinquance); sation du coton en etant surs de n'avoir pas ete trompes (ii) les groupements maraichers sont * Projet 4 formes pour tenir les outils de gestion de leur Alphabetisation des elus locaux des collecti- exploitation, et ainsi ameliorer leur productivite et vites de base et des leaders d'opinions; accroitre leurs revenus, etc. Cela veut dire qu'en Guinee, dans la pratique * Projet 5 actuelle, les deux approches (de l'alphab6tisation Alphabetisation des adultes (hommes, au sens strict ou formations int6grant l'al- femmes) de la tranche d'age de 15 a 49 ans phabetisation comme base de l'amelioration des dans les secteurs de production (agriculture, competences et de l'accroissement des moyens elevage, pehe, etc.) dans les groupements, les d'existence) sont jumelees et menees par les memes pre-cooperatives et cooperatives et autres intervenants. associations. Pour cette derniere raison le rapport n'a pas traite separement les deux approches du fait de 2. En ce qui conceme le projet EPT1, nous recom- leur incorporation, aussi bien dans la conception mandons de limiter les fonctions du SNA aux des projets que dans la pratique des ONG et meme activites list6es ci-dessous et de le doter des du SNA dans les centres communautaires, les moyens adequats qui lui sont necessaires pour centres NAFA et les centres d'alphabetisation les conduire de facon satisfaisante professionnalisante. A partir des cas etudi6s et des quelques docu- * La conception et l'61aboration de la politique ments exploites, nous pouvons formuler les recom- nationale d'alphab6tisation et du suivi de sa mandations suivantes: mise en ceuvre; 1. Concernant les strategies, il est important pour * L'elaboration des methodes, des strat6gies et la Guinee de poursuivre, comme le pr&voit la des programmes d'alphabetisation des diff& nouvelle strategie, (i) de creer un environnement rents groupes concernes; lettre, fournir un appui aux ecoles communau- taires et a la scolarisation et, (ii) l'appui a * La conception et l1'laboration du materiel l'alphabetisation professionnalisante et soutenir d'alphabetisation et de post-alphabetisation, les activites des apprenants a travers les cinq son experimentation et son 6valuation; volets suivants, prevus dans le projet EPTI. SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 59 * Le suivi, le soutien et 1'evaluation des activites * I'alphab6tisation s'adresse a des adultes d'alphabetisation. organis6s autour d'activites de production, de commercialisation, d'epargne et de credit ou 3. Concernant les structures institutionnelles et tout simplement d'ordre social ou culturel; organisationnelles, nous recommandons que la Guinee s'inspire largement de l'exemple du Sen& * par contre, pour les plus jeunes, dans la perspec- gal, a cette difference presqu'on devrait insister sur tive de promouvoir un environnement lettre, la privatisation de l'operateur et a la mise ne place elle peut s'instaurer au meme titre que l1'cole et de coordinations a divers niveaux: (i) entre les dans la perspective de l'education pour tous; operateurs et (ii) le SNA. C'est pourquoi, de l'avis de ]'ensemble des partenaires techniques rencon- * les attentes et les besoins exprimes par le tres sur le terrain ainsi que des professionnels de public cible sont fidelement pris en compte l1'ducation des adultes dans le pays, un operateur dans l1'laboration des materiels didactiques aurait un r6le tres important a jouer notamment ou autres outils p6dagogiques; dans les domaines suivants: assurer harmonisation et coordination, constituer une plate forme * les coutumes et les mceurs des beneficiaires d'echanges, apporter une assistance technique et sont strictement respect6s; une aide a la gestion dans le cadre du projet EPTI. Un tel dispositif permettrait a la Guinee de relever * la m6thode et les outils p6dagogiques utilis6s le defi de l'illletrisme. Pour cela, il faudra choisir: sont simples et facilement transferables aux (i) une institution qui jouisse d'une experience beneficiaires. confirmee et d'une efficacite certaine dans le domaine de l'ducation des adultes en g6neral et 6. Pour y parvenir, les etapes suivantes sont de l'alphabetisation en particulier; (ii) il conviendra necessaires: en outre qu'elle beneficie de la confiance de toutes les autorites techniques et administratives du * prise de contact et identification des besoins domaine ainsi que des ONG de la place et (iii) elle en alphabetisation, elaboration de mat6riels devra enfin etre capable d'instaurer la rigueur didactiques et outils p6dagogiques; necessaire pour << limiter les degats generalement observes en Afrique dans le cadre de la gestion des * formation de formateurs selectionnes sur la programmes > et servir de contre poids en faveur base de criteres deja presentes dans les chapi- des operateurs (ONG) et des ben6ficiaires. tres prec6dents; 4. Concernant les operateurs, on note aujourd'hui * realisation de sessions d'alphabetisation de des insuffisances notamment en ce qui conceme base et de post-alphabetisation; a la post alphabetisation et a l'elaboration de strategies coherentes dans un processus d'auto- * encadrement des centres d'alphabetisation par promotion. Pour cela, nous recommandons forte- un systeme de suivi rapproche; ment de tout faire pour accroitre les competences des operateurs... ne serait-ce qu'au moyen de * suivi; voyages d'eude et d'echanges, par exemple. * evaluation des effets, des performances; 5. Concernant cette approche d'auto-promotion, elle doit obeir aux principes suivants: * 6valuation d'impact au terme des cycles. * le besoin en matiere d'alphabetisation doit 7. Par ailleurs et d'une maniere genrale, les conclu- etre exprime par le groupe cible lorsque celui- sions de notre recherche rejoignent et nous nous en ci en est conscient ou alors, il doit etre suscite; felicitons, les recommandations de Jon Lauglo rea- 60 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES lisee a la demande de la Banque Mondiale, dans Contexte et donnees recueillies son etude << Inclure les adultes >> ainsi que celles de 1'etude PADLOS. Dans tous les cas, l'approche Contextes et attitude des communautes methodologique recommandee est que le groupe cible soit a la fois demandeur, acteur et benefi- 1. Contexte economique ciaire. Pour cela sa demande doit etre identifieee, La R6publique de Guinee, malgre ses immenses analysee ou suscitee selon les cas. potentialites agricoles, hydrauliques et minieres, ap- partient au groupe des pays les moins avances, sous 8. Concernant les differents acteurs institution- ajustement structurel depuis 1985, avec un PNB per nels, a titre personnel, nous recommandons que capita qui a cependant double en une decennie (de les relations institutionnelles suivantes s'in- 300 US$ en 1984 a 575 US$ en 1995). Depuis 1992, la scrivent dans la realite Guinee a et classee parmi les pays presentant un indice de d6veloppement humain parmi les moins * L'Etat, a travers I'administration, devient veri- elev6s. Plus de 40 % de la population vit au dessous tablement garant du financement exterieur et du seuil de pauvrete et plus de 13 % en situation d'ex- en meme temps assure sur le budget national, treme pauvrete. Pourtant, la liberalisation des initia- le financement correct du secteur. tives privees, initiee par le regime en place, a permis un taux de croissance annuel du PIB de l'ordre de 4 %. * Du c6te du pouvoir l6gislatif, l'assemblee Malheureusement, la chute des prix des produits nationale, se preoccupe de la problematique miniers et la faiblesse du recouvrement des recettes de l'analphabetisme dans le pays et ceuvre a fiscales ont fortement fragilise les equilibres macro- voter des lois et elaborer des politiques economiques. nationales en faveur de la lutte contre ce fleau. 2. Contexte social (sante/nutrition) * Le secteur prive de son c6te contribue au Avec une population de 6.476.400 habitants en financement du secteur, car grace a l'alphabe- 1995 et un taux de croissance demographique tisation fonctionnelle, il pourra se developper annuel 6leve (2,8 %), la Guinee reste l'un des pays davantage. Il s'agit de trouver un mecanisme africains dont les performances sont manifestement de motivation et de financement pour attein- m6diocres. Ceci est reflete par le faible niveau de dre cet objectif. l'esperance de vie (50,6 ans en moyenne, 52 ans pour les femmes et 49 pour les hommes), l'impor- * Les ONG quant a elles, qui representent la tance de la mortalit6 infantile (223 pour mille chez piece maitresse pour mener une lutte efficace les enfants de moins de 5 ans), autant d'indicateurs contre l'analphabetisme dans le pays, elles qui, combines avec un taux eleve d'analphabetisme, exercent mieux leur r6le de catalyseur dans la refletent le bas niveau des conditions de vie. mobilisation des financements exterieurs. 3. Contexte linguistique * Les projets de developpement qui permettent La Guinee est un etat plurilingue, les langues d'integrer aisement le volet alphabetisation recens6es sont les suivantes: pular, soso, maninka, dans les projets d'assistance (agriculture, kissi, toma, guerze, baga, landouma, mani, sarakole, Elevage, pehe ... ) intensifient cette activite. djalonke, kono, mano, mini, kpelewoo, lomagoi. Les 6 premieres langues sont dominantes. * Quant aux Institutions de financement, elles devront plus que jamais encourager cette 4. Contexte educatif activite dans toutes leurs interventions. Les Le Gouvernement de la Republique de Guinee, structures d'accueil par exemple meritent une persuade que la scolarisation de base conditionne attention particuliere pour leur equipement, tout apprentissage ulterieur, s'est engage dans un leur entretien et le fonctionnement. processus de reorganisation de son systeme educa- SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 61 tif, fonde sur la Declaration de politique educative ment 28,75 % pour les filles) avec des dispa- adoptee le 19 septembre 1989 et confirmee en 1990, rites importantes entre le milieu rural (22 °'/) et dans le cadre des recommandations de la con- le milieu urbain (58 %). Les disparit6s entre ference de Jomtien, par l'adoption d'un plan filles (30 %) et garcons (60 %) restent encore d'action a long terme d'education de base pour tous notables, meme si les efforts en faveur de la (1991-1999), avec pour objectifs: scolarisation des filles ont permis de doubler leur taux de scolarisation entre 1989/1990 et * l'accroissement du taux de scolarisation de 1994/1995 (c'est dans la capitale que ce taux 28 % en 1989 a 53 0/, en l'an 2000; est le plus 61ev6 avec 60 %). Cependant, l'6vo- lution qualitative n'a pas suivi i'evolution * I'abaissement du taux d'analphab6tisme de quantitative, la qualite de 1'enseignement reste 74 % a 37 °/,; mediocre, ne repondant ni aux besoins collec- tifs ni aux besoins individuels. Le taux d'aban- * Ia recherche de 1'equite dans l'acces a don dans le cycle primaire 6tait de 3,7 % en l'6ducation; 1993-1994 (12,10 % pour les filles). * la reduction des disparite entre les zones et * Le taux de redoublement etait pour la meme entre les sexes; annee, de 20,30 % (32,1 % pour les filles). L'effectif des classes est en moyenne de 50 * le renforcement des capacites de pilotage et de eleves au niveau primaire, avec des disparites gestion du systeme educatif, entre autres importantes entre les zones rurales et les priorites... zones urbaines et des effectifs plethoriques dans ces dernieres, atteignant frequemment Voici quelques chiffres extraits du dernier avant- 100 eleves par classe dans la capitale. projet Education pour tous (EPT1), actuellement en negociation avec la Banque Mondiale: * Quant au taux d'analphabetisme, son esti- mation est passee de 72 % en 1990 a 67 % en * Le nombre actuel d'ecoles offrant un cycle com- 1995 (81 % chez les femmes et 56 % chez les plet est faible pour deux raisons conjuguees; hommes). Concernant la repartition par re- (i) la taille, en moyenne assez petite, des 6coles gions, ce sont la Moyenne Guinee et la Haute et (ii) le faible nombre de classes multigrades. Guinee qui atteignent les taux les plus eleves, Des efforts importants ont ete faits pour: d'un pour les hommes comme pour les femmes. part accroitre le nombre des ecoles a 6 salles de classe et plus - principalement en zone ur- Etudes de cas baine puisque celui-ci est passe de 25 % a 30 %/( au cours des 4 dernieres annees, et, d'autre Nous nous interesserons plus particulierement au part, concentrer les 6coles de moins de 6 classes programme d'alphabetisation du Projet d'Appui vers un modele a 3 classes - devant permettre aux Petits Exploitants en Basse Guinee Nord (PAPE- un enseignement multigrade couvrant les 6 BGN) a ses methodes et ses moyens. Notons que ses niveaux - dont la proportion est passee dans objectifs et ses strategies sont tres proches de ceux la meme periode de 24 % a 27 % tandis que le du CENAFOD et de 1'EUPD, les deux ONG les plus pourcentage d'6coles a 1 et 2 salles de classe experiment6es de la place. diminuait de 39 % a 30 %. Cependant, 60 % des ecoles du pays ont encore en 1999-2000, un Breve presentation du projet d'appui aux petits nombre de salles de classe inferieur ou egal a 3. exploitants en Basse Guinee Nord (PAPE-BGN) Desireux de promouvoir le developpement rural * Le taux de scolarisation varie selon la localit6 notamment par un appui aux organisations de base et le sexe. Il etait de 46 0/o en 1995 (mais seule- ainsi qu'a leurs initiatives locales de developpe- 62 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES ment, et en privilegiant les populations les plus projet (responsables d'organisations paysannes et demunies, le Gouvernement Guineen a mis en place elus locaux) est en majorit6 illettre. Et comme dit le un Projet d'Appui aux Petits Exploitants en Basse proverbe chinois, << ... Si on veut nourrir le peuple Guinee Nord. pour l'Yternite, il faut lui apprendre a lire et a Ce Projet a pour objectifs l'augmentation de la 6crire o. production agricole, sp6cialement celle du riz, Dans cet objectif, pour une participation pleine et l'am6lioration de la securite alimentaire et des responsable des beneficiaires a leur propre conditions de vie de la population beneficiaire, le developpement et pour perenniser les actions, le developpement des infrastructures rurales et le projet prevoit la mise en place et le suivi de centres renforcement des institutions de base. d'alphabetisation partout oii le besoin s'en fera Le projet vise plus particuli&rement une augmen- sentir pendant toute la duree de sa mise en ceuvre. tation des revenus et la protection de l'environne- ment. Pour cela, le projet se propose dans sa Strategies composante << Appui aux Institutions de Basse Dans le respect de l'approche qui consiste a faire Guin6e Nord,> de: faire, le projet s'est propose d'utiliser les com- p6tences existantes sur le terrain pour la realisation * Promouvoir des organisations paysannes de l'ensemble des activites d'alphabetisation. solides, capables d'encourager l'auto-d6velop- Pour atteindre cet objectif, une collaboration est pement en milieu rural; envisag6e avec les Directions Prefectorales de l'Education qui abritent chacune une Direction de * Recycler et/ou former les animateurs et l'alphabetisation, structure deconcentree du Service cadres du projet, charges d'appuyer les collec- National d'alphabetisation. Ceci aurait pour avan- tivites et associations de producteurs; tage d'une part, de conclure un Protocole d'accord de collaboration plut6t qu'un contrat de prestations * Renforcer les collectivit6s locales par la forma- de service et, d'autre part, d'inscrire les actions dans tion des responsables de districts, de Collecti- la politique nationale d'alphabetisation et enfin de vites Rurales de Developpement (CRD) et de pouvoir capitaliser a tout moment les experiences Communes Urbaines (CU); etant donne qu'il s'agit d'une structure perenne. * Informer et sensibiliser les populations en vue Criteres de selection des centres d'alphabetisation ou de leur plus grande participation au develop- precisemnent des OP beneficiaires pement de leurs localites et en particulier, de Groupement du niveau 2 de maturite a savoir: leur meilleure comprehension de la politique de d6centralisation, une de leur participation * Disposant d'un reglement interieur ecrit et accrue a la realisation d'infrastructures com- approuve par tous les membres; munautaires et leur appropriation de celles-ci en vue d'une gestion saine et durable. * Qui mene des activites concourant a la resolution de leurs divers problemes; Interet du programme d'alphabetisation Comme chacun sait, il n'y a pas de developpement * Qui a un plan d'action et un programme durable et equilibre sans une prise en main par les d'activit6s; populations (les organisations paysannes) et les collectivites (CRD et CU) de leur propre devenir, ce * Qui tient regulierement des reunions; qui passe necessairement par une gestion saine et transparente de leurs activites et de leurs ressources * Mais qui connait cependant des problemes de (humaines, materielles et financieres). Mais en fonctionnement et de gestion, notamment lies meme temps, nous savons que le public cible du aux outils de gestion; SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 63 * Groupement d'un effectif d'illettres sup6rieur Chroiogramine d'activites a 15 personnes; Periode Activites Responsables * Groupement dont le village dispose d'une ecole; Septembre Concertation pour Projet, Prestataires preparatifs campagne Beneficiaires, autres * Groupement dont le village dispose d'un partenaires potentiel d'alphab6tiseurs villageois; Octobre Identification des appre- Prestataires en collabora- nants et des moniteurs tion avec projet * Groupement demandeur. alpha Novembre Formation des moniteurs Prestataires Criteres de selection des alphabetiseurs villageois et multiplication manuels Decembre Preparation hangars Beneficiaires * etre natif du terroir ou bien maitre enseignant ou negociation salles dans le village; de formation • connaitre parfaitement la langue du terroir; Janvier Mise en place comit6 Prestataires et de gestion du centre beneficiaires * avoir des qualites sociales et morales et etre Janvier Demarrage des cours Prestataires bien accepte par le village; De Janvier Suivi/6valuation et Prestataires a Avril rapports * avoir un niveau scolaire superieur ou egal a la Mai Evaluation finale Consultant classe de Terminale; bilan campagne * etre age de 25 a 45 ans, a l'exception des fonctionnaires a la retraite; Grille d'evaluation de l'alphabetisation * ere en residence stable au village; Situation * 6tre volontaire; N° ord Indicateurs recherchee * reussir au test de selection (maitrise de la 1 Taux d'alphab6tisation des 80 % langue, pedagogie des adultes etc.). responsables 2 Taux d'alphabetisation des membres 50 % 3 Remplissage des differents outils 100 % de gestion 4 Utilisation des supports pendant 50 % les reunions 5 Utilisation des documents post-alpha 30 % (revues, livrets, journaux) 6 Circulation de documents ecrits 60 % de gestion du groupement 64 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES Experience de l'ONG Aide et Action Experience de 1'entraide universitaire pour de developpement (EUPD) * Public cible: hommes et femmes de 20 a 35 ans Creee en 1989, 1'EUPD a pour objectif premier de mettre en place une structure de volontaires * Objectifs: ameliorer les conditions de vie des nationaux. Son programme est oriente selon quatre participants en (i) leur apprenant a lire, a ecrire axes: (i) support technique et partenariat (ii) de- et a calculer (ii) appuyant des activites gene- veloppement rural local (elaboration de projet ratrices de revenus (iii) encourageant l'6pargne financiers avec les villageois et ex6cut6s sous leur et le credit (iv) renforcant la vie associative et responsabilite), (iii) formation et animation, dont les capacites de gestion des apprenants l'alphabetisation, (iv) aide a la creation d'entreprise. L'EUPD collabore avec d'autres ONG assurant la * Langue d'alphab6tisation : langue nationale formation des agents de certains operateurs et en milieu rural et le francais (pour les besoins l'animation de leurs activit6s et realise des etudes. de communication) en milieu urbain Elle ceuvre tres largement en partenariat (FAO, PNUD, FAC, CEE, VSF, MFFP, CECI, etc.). * Structuration: mise en place des groupement La cellule d'alphabetisation a et mise en place d'educateurs villageois (GEV), des associations en 1993 et situe ses interventions dans les villages, d'educateurs communautaires (AEC), des surtout en zone forestiere. Elle ceuvre dans trois comites de gestion (COGES) des centres et, pro- directions: (i) alphabetisation de base, dans le cadre gressivement, de l'institutionnalisation de la de l'appui a la structuration du milieu paysan et des maitrise d'ouvrage au niveau des CRD, a partir associations villageoises d'alphabetiseurs et de de leur plan de developpement local (PDL) l'aide a la mise en place de systemes d'autofinance- ment, (ii) post alphabetisation, (iii) conception * Partenariat: les structures ci-dessus cit6es, d'outils d'alphabetisation. Le responsable de la composees essentiellement de jeunes et les formation a et form6 au SNA. services deconcentres du SNA que sont les La strategie comporte quatre etapes: (i) l'iden- DRA et les DPA tification du mecanisme d'operationalisation du programme (le point de depart etant l'emergence et * Deroulement des cours: le calendrier est fixe la mise de conscient d'une problematique), (ii) la en partenariat avec les apprenants. En general, d6finition des contenus, avec la participation des ils se tiennent de janvier a mai en 3 seances de paysans et la conception d'outils didactiques sur les 3 heures chacune par semaine, avec un effectif themes retenus, adaptes aux besoins identifies, maximum de 30 apprenants (iii) la mise en place d'une structure paysanne de prise en charge (comite d'alphabetisation), (iv) le * Evaluation: il existe une evaluation annuelle suivi et l'evaluation des actions d'atphabetisation, des centres et une evaluation de cycle au bout menes par les villageois eux-memes. de la 2eme ann6e. Lorsque cette derniere est Elle a conduit une vingtaine de programmes concluante, l'auditeur a droit a une attestation d'alphabetisation et de post alphabetisation, sur l'ensemble du pays, particulierement dans les zones * Post-alphabetisation : pour permettre aux suivantes: neo-alphabetes de consolider, transferer et reinvestir les acquis, des documents didac- * le projet << Assodia >» (1991-1993), a Coyah, tiques sont elabores ou traduits sur des sujets Foreariah, Boffa et Boke; divers * le projet << RC 2 >> pour la relance du caf6 (1992- * Evaluation: des outils de suivi et d'evaluation 1997), en Guinee Forestiere, notamment a existent pour tous les niveaux avec des Macenta, N'zerekor6, Lola, Yomou, Guekedou, indicateurs appropries. Kissidougou; SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 65 * le projet < AFVP >, (1995-1996), avec l'association primaires) qui percoivent entre 1000 et 1500 FG par Francaise des Volontaires du Projet pour des jour et encadrent entre 15 et 20 apprenants. Si ces maraichers, a Gaoual et Koundara; personnes sont 6trangeres au village, un logement leur est attribue. Les villageois fournissent 6gale- * le projet < MFPG >, (1995-1996) pour des groupe- ment le local. ments feminins de peche (fumage du poisson) a Les apprenants participent en s'acquittant Conakry, sur financement Canadien (New d'environ 2000/4000 FG pour la duree du cycle. 11 Brunswick); est chaque fois constitu6 un comite villageois pour l'alphabetisation. EUPD publie un journal en * le Projet << GuiO091/FAO > (1995-1996) pour des Francais < le planteur - et un journal en pular, groupements de p&cheurs sur les iles Kakossa et << badiar Koloba >> ainsi que des livrets de post Kaback; alphabetisation sur la gestion, la vie pratique, le cr6dit, les organisations paysannes, les banques * le projet . PNUD/PAIB >, (1996-1997) qui cerealieres, entre autres. appuie les initiatives de base a Kankan et Kissidougou; Les criteres de selection des alphab6tiseurs et des auditeurs sont pratiquement les memes que ceux * le projet < VSF , (1992-1997), avec l'association du PAPE-BGN. veterinaires sans frontiere a Dabola, Diguiraye et Kouroussa sur financement CE/ FED actuelle- Differents resultats enregistres ment PDD (Projet Dabola-Dinguiraye; (participation, mise en pratique, effets et impacts) * le projet d'elevage < SAGE/DNE > (1996-1997) qui concerne la formation des animateurs en Les recherches ont maintes fois mis en lumiere les moyenne et Basse Guin6e; effets ben6fiques d'une education de base chez les plus vulnerables de la societ: les filles, les groupes * le projet <( AGFC »> (1997) en collaboration avec ethniques minoritaires, les orphelins, les personnes l'association des femmes (chercheurs et avec handicapees et les habitants des regions rurales. l'unite pilote de l'USAID), pour la creation de Une 6ducation de base de qualite est un moven groupements d'appui aux femmes (maraichage efficace de donner aux participants les com- et aspect culturels). Un volet alphabetisa- petences necessaires pour participer pleinement a tion vient en appui aux groupements feminins la vie economique et d'en beneficier. L'education de producteurs, realise grace a des fonds est un des moyens les plus efficaces de pr6vention Canadiens; contre la penurie ; elle permet d'ameliorer les revenus, d'accroitre la mobilite professionnelle, de * Un autre projet a Boke, < KAPAKCHEZ > faire la promotion de la sant6 aupres des parents et des enfants, de reduire les taux de fecondite et Plus de 3500 adultes ont ete alphabetises et 2000 de mortalite, ainsi que de donner aux plus sont en cours d'alphabetisation. Le taux de demunis une chance de prendre leur place dans la reussite est estim6 a 80/85 %, le taux d'abandon ne sphere publique et de participer au processus depassant 10 %. Les langues utilisees sont le politique. francais et ]es langues nationales; la duree des L'alphabetisation des adultes constitue une cours varie entre 3 et 5 mois a par jour. Le strategie importante de lutte contre la pauvrete. La personnel comprend un superviseur par zone (une democratisation de l'education primaire contribue vingtaine en tout) disposant d'une moto, assurant, a eliminer graduellement l'analphabetisme chez dans certains projets, le suivi de la d6marche les adultes. pedagogique, des alphab6tiseurs qui sont des Cependant, pour la Guinee, l'attente sera trop paysans, recrutes sur test (niveau de fin d'etudes longue avant de pouvoir b6neficier des impacts 66 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES economiques du a la reduction de l'analpha- * << C'est seulement a travers etudier qu'une per- betisme. L'acquisition d'une education de base a sonne peut changer >>; partir de programmes non formels pour adultes et jeunes d6scolarises contribue non seulement a * << Au debut, je ne connaissais meme pas comment ameliorer la situation 6conomique de la famille, ecrire mon nom. Maintenant je sais quoi faire de mais aussi l1'tat de sante de chacun de ses ma vie >>; membres, le rendement scolaire des enfants ainsi que la capacite de gerer efficacement les ressources * < Je connais maintenant mon propre esprit, et je naturelles. Une plus grande autonomie et confiance refuse d'etre triche >> en soi en public sont des effets souvent rapportes par les apprenants adultes. * << Ds maintenant, toute chose que je ferai, je L'education de base des adultes est importante m'arreterai premierement pour y penser, pour en terme d'equite parce qu'elles s'adresse obtenir une information et savoir si c'est une justement aux plus pauvres de la societ6. I1 en est bonne ou mauvaise action»; de meme pour l'egalite entre les hommes et les femmes: les femmes sont beaucoup plus nom- * <>; d'education de base des adultes. l'ecart est parfois meme considerable dans les centres NAFA. En * << Ce qui a change dans ma vie est que mainte- somme, en attendant que lademocratisation de nant, je suis devenu une personne plus humble et l'education primaire soit menee a son terme, les pardonnant >>; programmes d'education non formelle permettent aux plus demunis d'acquerir les competences L'impact &conomique n6cessaires pour participer pleinement a la vie Au CAOPA de Kankan, nous avons particuliere- economique et sociale et, grace a l'acquisition d' ment releve comme effets et impact: certaine autonomie, a contribuer a l'dification d'une soci6te juste et equitable. * la participation des b6neficiaires a la prise en C'est pour cela que nous rejoignons une fois de charge financiere du programme a hauteur de plus les conclusions des deux ateliers tenus r6cem- 59 %; ment a Dakar sur le sujet. En Guinee, l'alphabetisation a eu un impact * Le recensement des intentions de culture par divers et varie sur la vie des apprenants. Selon les 1'6quipe technique du groupement de produc- endroits et les personnes interrogees, elle leur a teurs de coton (GPC); donne des capacites d'analyse, un nouveau r6le social, une fierte culturelle, et aussi du courage. * La maitrise des itineraires techniques; L'impact personnel * La gestion des stocks intrants ainsi que celle des Les expressions qui reviennent assez souvent, et qui caisses des groupements; sont les memes dans la sous region, sont les suivantes: * La commercialisation du coton par l'6quipe paysanne; * < Etudier m'a ouvert mon intelligence >>; * La participation des paysans a la redaction des * Maintenant je peux prendre les notes de ma articles du journal des producteurs de coton; pensee ,,; * La tenue des documents de comptabilite pour * < Je peux maintenant ecouter les choses et faire asseoir une gestion transparente des revenus un choix >»; collectifs; SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 67 L'impact social naires (plan et finances, interieur et securite, agri- Des changements dans le comportement en public culture, ressources animales, information affaires sont egalement mentionnes et les expressions qui sociales, sant6 et population, jeunesse). Il n'a pas de sont souvent revenues sont les m6mes qu'au ramifications au niveau des structures decen- S6n6gal, a savoir (citations): tralis6es, sinon au niveau regional un coordonnateur des centres Nafa, les DPA en etant les cor- * ; Nature des intervenants * "Maintenant quand j'entre dans un groupe, pre- mieement j'ecoute ce que les autres ont a dire, Aujourd'hui, tout le monde s'accorde a admettre j'essaye de comprendre et alors j'ajoute respec- que la lecture, l'6criture et le calcul sont des elements tivement ce que peux ; bas6 sur la technique de indispensables pour acquerir et perenniser un bonne ecoute'>; savoir, un savoir-faire et un savoir etre. Les organisations d'appui au developpement constatent * Ce qui a change dans ma vie est que mainte- que l'acquisition des moyens d'existence passe de nant j'ose m'asseoir avec les grands, choses je ne plus en plus par un minimum d'alphabetisation de pouvais pas avant >>; base et un maximum d'alphabetisation fonctionnelle (peu importe la langue). On sait par exemple que: * , ; * le menuisier a besoin d'utiliser le metre pour * Etudier m'a enseign6 beaucoup sur les gens >>; prendre des mesures; * "Etudier a amelior6 mes relations sociales > ; * le maraicher a besoin des normes techniques; * > que pourraient constituer pour elles, conceme la post-alphabetisation ou un manque de les financements ext6rieurs. maitrise se fait sentir chez la plupart des operateurs. La plupart des operateurs invoquent neanmoins L'origine de l'initiative la mise en place des structures locales pour parler de p6rennisation. Aussi la post-alphabetisation Quand on aborde la question d'initiative en matiere bien que moins maitrisee est consider6e comme d'alphabetisation, il faut remonter aux questions de facteur-clef de perennisation des acquis par les d6veloppement d'une maniere generale et de for- operateurs. mation a l'apprentissage ou a lam6lioration d'un Concernant le cas ou l'initiative doit emaner du metier en particulier. b6neficiaire, l'alphabetisation est generalement Dans le cas de la Guinee, l'initiative d'alphabeti- inscrite dans un programme global de developpe- sation se situe a deux niveaux: (i) l'alphabetisation ment a l'interieur duquel il existe un volet <' anima- est jugee n6cessaire par un intervenant ext6rieur et tion, formation et alphabetisation > . (ii) l'alphabetisation jugee plut6t utile par des ben6- L'approche consiste, dans une demarche par- ficiaires potentiels est demandee en consequence ticipative (avec et au profit des beneficiaires) a par eux. proceder tout d'abord a une identification des Le premier cas est le plus courant. Les organisa- besoins de formation, a les analyser puis a elaborer tions d'appui aux developpement sont les initia- un plan de formation. SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 69 I1 s'agit en particulier d'identifier les savoir, les la notion de groupe prime de facon habituelle sur savoir-faire et les savoir tre ncessaires pour satis- celle d'individualit6), soit dans des sessions au faire les aspirations du public. II s'agit de catalyser niveau micro regional. un processus de changement social, conqu, produit et 6value par les populations elles-memes. Ce En mnatiere d'alphab6tisation, la strategie partenariat est materialise par un document de consiste ii: convention qui definit les objectifs communs pour- suivis, les resultats attendus ainsi que les obli- * Favoriser la mise en place d'associations villa- gations des partenaires engages dans la mise en geoises d'alphabetisation a travers le choix ceuvre des activites. d'alphabetiseurs par les villages et par les vil- L'approche est donc essentiellement basee lageois auxquels incombera, I'animation de sur le principe de l'auto-promotion selon lequel l'apres-programme. le public cible est auteur/acteur de son pro- pre epanouissement dans un processus d'auto- * Assurer la formation des facilitateurs assis- apprentissage. tes dans leur travail par la section alphab6ti- Nous presentons tout d'abord les strat6gies en sation. matiere de formation puis celles adoptees en matiere d'alphabetisation. * Utiliser dans la mesure du possible comme facili- tateurs dans certaines localites les enseignants, En matiere deformation et d'animation: deja familiarises avec populations locales et Les formations s'appuient constamment sur la ayant acquis de l'experience dans l'exercice de pratique: chaque phase d'instruction part de leur profession. l'experience concrete prealable <' d'application >>, puis << d'entrainement >, pour lesquels les outils * Collaborer avec les services publics, les ONG et pedagogiques necessaires sont prealablement institutions d'alphabetisation en sollicitant leur prepares. participation a la mise en ceuvre de l'ensemble Puis les comportements ou savoir-faire nou- du programme. veaux sont mis en pratique par les interesses, en vraie grandeur, entre deux seances d'animation Capitalisation des experiences formation. La seance suivante est l'occasion d'analyser les Comme d6ja annonc6, les documents de capitalisa- questions nouvelles survenues au cours de cette tion relatifs au sujet sont rares. pratique et de consolider les connaissances. Ainsi, Cependant, l'ElJPD, avec l'appui financier de sera mise en place une pedagogie de l'alternance, IIZ/DVV a produit deux documents: (i) Capitalisa- debouchant tout naturellement sur la mise en tion des acquis et exp6riences en alphabetisation ceuvre dans la r6alite, des savoir-faire et/ou savoir fonctionnelle et (ii) Guide m6thodologique d'alpha- etre vises a travers la formation. betisation fonctionnelle. C'est dire que la demarche est centree sur Le CENAFOD a son tour, a produit: (i) Rapport l'atteinte d'objectifs clairement formules, de- d'atelier CPD/RAF sur les axes de l'alphabeti- coulant de l'analyse de l'activite concrete que sation et de l'epargne cr6dit, (ii) Rapport de nous voulons voir assumer par le beneficiaire capitalisation des exp6riences du CAOPA, et (iii) de la formation. 11 est ainsi possible a tout plusieurs guides sur l'alphabetisation. moment de proceder a 1l'valuation des resul- Qu'il s'agisse de l'une ou de l'autre de ces tats obtenus. deux ONG qui sont aujourd'hui les plus ex- La demarche s'appuie sur le groupe, comme periment6es en la matiere en Guinee, l'approche lieu et moyen de formation (discussions de methodologique recommand6e est que le groupe groupe, methodes de cas, etc.), soit a l'occasion des cible soit a la fois demandeur, acteur et bene- seances de sensibilisation au niveau du village (oii ficiaire. 70 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES Identifier, former et soutenir les instructeurs Adequation entre contenus d'alphabetisation et formation aux moyens de subsistances et Le choix et la formation des instructeurs constitue d'amelioration des competences une preoccupation majeure pour quelques uns des intervenants mais plus particulierement pour IIZ/ En dehors des campagnes traditionnelles d'alpha- DVV, le CENAFOD et Aide et Action. Pour d'autres, betisation dont l'objectif est de donner a chacun la une autonomie du monde rural en la matiere ne possibilite de savoir lire et ecrire, tous les pro-. ferait que reduire leur << portefeuille de contrats >> . grammes entrepris integrent une formation visant En tout cas, l'objectif, pour tous ceux qui l'accroissement des moyens de subsistance. C'est ceuvrent dans le sens d'une auto-promotion dura- ainsi qu'en Guinee, le SNA a mis en place: (i) les ble, est de doter les communautes des capacit6s centres communautaires d'alphab6tisation, (ii) les pouvant leur permettre d'identifier, d'organiser et centres NAFA ou l'ecole de la 2eme chance, et (iii) les de satisfaire de facon durable les besoins centres d'alphabetisation << professionalisante >>. d'6ducation des populations. Les projets et ONG, dans le cadre d'appui au C'est pourquoi, de plus en plus, avec l'im- developpement r6alisent de leur c6te des activites pulsion de IIZ/DVV et de << Aide et Action >> , sont d'alphabetisation avec des objectifs d'amelioration mis sur place des GEV (groupements d'educateurs de la qualit6 du travail et des competences. villageois) et des AEC (association des 6ducateurs communautaires). Les centres communautaires d'alphabetisation Le GEV permet de donner plus d'autonomie et Cre6s en principe a l'initiative des communautes de de perenniser les activites d'alphabetisation tandis base, la plupart ne recoivent aucun appui ni de que 1' AEC intervient au niveau des sous-prefec- l'Etat ni des bailleurs de fonds, sinon de la craie et tures pour jouer le r6le d'interface et de repre- quelques cahiers de brouillons pour les participants sentativite entre les communautes a la base, les situes en majorit6 en milieu rural. groupements d'6ducateurs, les autorit6s de l'educa- L'encadrement est le plus souvent constitue d'un tion et les autres intervenants. instituteur volontaire et d'un membre de la Avant donc d'appartenir au GEV, les animateurs communaute, non retribues. La plupart sont alpha recoivent une formation en m6thodes et en d6voues et motives mais sont assez vite gagnes par techniques d'alphabetisation. Les themes portent le d6couragement, compte tenu des conditions generalement sur: materielles d'apprentissage et de l'absence de materiel didactique. * Alphabetisation (d6finition, alphabetisation fonc- Les locaux utilises sont les salles de classe de tionnelle, 6tude du milieu, demarche pour l'alpha- l'ecole primaire. Les cours ont lieu souvent le soir, b6tisation fonctionnelle); avec un 6clairage d6ficient, utilisant une lampe a petrole (souvent celle de l'alphabetiseur) ou des * Techniques de gestion des centres; bougies. Certains remedient a cet inconvenient en utilisant les locaux scolaires pendant les deux jours * Methodologie d'enseignement (lecture, 6criture hebdomadaires de conge des eleves, mais le risque et calcul); est alors que tous les apprenants ne soient pas disponibles dans la journ6e ! Dans les centres ouverts * Connaissance de l'apprenant adulte; par le SNA l'alphabetisation se fait dans les langues nationales (alphabet latin), parfois en francais. * Qualites requises de l'animateur; Les autres centres utilisent l'arabe << harmonise 6 ou I'alphabet Guekedou, exclusivement dans les * Documents des centres alpha; langues nationales (principales pular et maninka). Ils se recoivent aucune aide, a l'exception parfois de * Suivi et evaluation des centres, des campagnes et la craie donn6e par le directeur de l'ecole. des cycles. SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 71 Les locaux utilises sont divers, allant de la salle tres insuffisants. Les locaux sont exigus sans sani- de classe a la mosquee ou a l'abri rudimentaire, la taires ni eau courante. L'encadrement est constitue << classe sous l'arbre '>. Les cours durent 5/6 mois, le plus souvent d'un instituteur d6tach6 et d'un les centres fermant pendant l'hivernage. volontaire (non retribue) pour l'alphabetisation et Seuls les alphabetiseurs possedent un syllabaire de moniteurs (souvent des artisans) pour les activi- et un livre de calcul (fournis par le SNA) et encore tes professionnelles. realisees. pas tous. La plupart ont ete formes par l'antenne La mission n'a pas constate dans les centres prefectorale du SNA, mais la plupart utilisent une visit6s de lien entre l'alphab6tisation censee etre methode d'apprentissage plut6t scolaire (du moins fonctionnelle et les activit6s pratiqu6es sinon dans les centres visites par la mission) et le calcul est l'apprentissage limit6 d'un vocabulaire technique. peu fonctionnel. Les centres utilisant N'ko et l'arabe Les remarques faites concernant les centres commu- harmonise ont pour la plupart une approche de nautaires d'alphab6tisation s'appliquent egalement l'apprentissage de la lecture proche de celle utilisee a ces centres. Au terme des etudes, les jeunes a l'cole coranique, le calcul est parfois absent. Dans s'installent a leur compte soit isolement soit en les localites sans ecole, la majorite des participants cooperative, mais le plus souvent ils continuent a sont des enfants. utiliser les equipements des centres en leur versant Les livrets complementaires de lecture sont rares une ristourne sur la vente de leurs produits. au niveau des alphabetiseurs, les participants n'en Par ailleurs, le terme de << professionnalisante possedant pas ou peu. Dans l'ensemble, I'appren- nous parait ambitieux, s'agissant plut6t de pr6- tissage est lent et les resultats disparates, allant du apprentissage professionnel. En conclusion, comme mediocre au satisfaisant, le m6diocre dominant. nous le verrons pour les centres Nafa d6crits ci- Parmi les facteurs negatifs qui conditionnent ces apres, l'initiative est heureuse, originale et a encou- resultats, il faut citer le manque de motivation, la rager et pourrait donner de meilleurs resultats, participation irreguliere, la formation inadaptee des pour peu que soit revues les methodes d'apprentis- alphabetiseurs, I'absence de materiel didactique, le sage, notamment pour 1'enseignement du francais. desinteret des responsables locaux et les conditions Il s'agit en effet principalement de jeunes non materielles de la " classe >. scolarises et n'ayant pratiquement aucune connais- Pour 1996, le SNA donne le chiffre de 2.404 sance orale de cette langue au depart. Un grand centres communautaires et centres d'alphabetisa- nombre sont des centres priv6s. Par ailleurs, un tion professionnalisante, dont 1.908 dans les zones certain nombre d'ONG travaillent dans ce secteur, rurales, se repartissant comme suit: SNA (654), associant souvent formation professionnelle et aide ONG (134), projets de developpement (724), confes- a un groupe d6favorise tels enfants des rues, handi- sions religieuses (892). capes ; l'alphab6tisation etant censee etre associ6e aux activit6s. Les centres d'alphabetisation professionnalisante Les centres NAFA Ces centres assurent aux jeunes des possibilit6s de Les centres NAFA (le terme signifiant dans la plupart formation g6nerales (lire, ecrire et calculer), tout en des langues << ben6fique, profitable, interet evident >>), leur permettant l'apprentissage de competences ouverts en principe aux jeunes d6scolarises ou non liees au m6tier de leur choix. L'enseignement est scolaris6s de 10-16 ans, en donnant avec une priorite donne en francais (a la demande des participants) aux filles, devaient permettre aux apprenants dans la majorite des centres, parfois dans la langue d'acquerir les connaissances instrumentales de base nationale adequate, suivi, apres sept mois, d'un (lecture, ecriture, calcul), de d6velopper des savoirs et apprentissage en francais. Les effectifs sont souvent des savoir faire, de promouvoir de meilleures plethoriques (la demande est plus forte que l'offre, pratiques en matiere d'hygi6ne, de sante et de s6curite la motivation etant plus forte pour la formation et des droits et d'offrir une chance, a ceux qui en ont la professionnelle que pour l'alphabetisation), capacite et le desir, d'acceder au systeme formel. Le l'equipement et l'outillage (parfois rudimentaire) programme, elabore pour 1.080 heures (4 H. par jour 72 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES a raison de 3-5 seances hebdomadaires) sur trois ans, l'alphabetisation la plus efficace, une alphab6tisa- comprend trois domaines de capacit6 (i) la communi- tion reellement fonctionnelle bas6e sur la probl& cation et la resolution de problemes, (ii) la con- matique et les besoin des groupes cibles vises. Ils naissance de 1'environnement, et (iii) le develop- ont tous commence par entreprendre une enquete pement des competences de base. socio-economique pr6alable des milieux concernes. Ces centres sont ger6s par la CONEBAT au niveau Ils faut dire que ces operateurs s'adressent a des central et par un coordonnateur directement rattache groupements organises et disposent de moyens a l'IRE au niveau regional, mais sont par contre sous importants sur financement exterieur. la responsabilit6 du DPA au niveau prefectoral. La presque totalite des participantes sont non Conclusions scolaris6es. Les memes remarques faites ci-dessus concemant les locaux, l'equipement, les effectifs et Pour conclure, nous soulignerons les principaux l'alphabetisation pour les centres d'alphabetisation points suivants: professionnalisante s'appliquent a ces centres. Car il y a peu de differences entre ces deux structures, si ce * On constate donc que dans le cas de la Guinee, la n'est que les centres Nafa ont ou vont avoir des premiere et la seconde approche, capacites de locaux a la construction desquels contribuent les base et formation visant l'ameliorations des communautes et que l'UNICEF contribue aux moyens de subsistance se recoupent fortement. equipements, aux fournitures et a la formation. Cependant, ces strat6gies meritent encore des Ces deux types de structures visent implicitement ameliorations, notamment au niveau de la deux objectifs : formation professionnelle et pour les p6rennite et de la reproductibilite. Il faudrait: plus jeunes (10-12 ans), reinsertion scolaire. Or, ces (i) mettre en place des GEV (groupements d'edu- deux objectifs exigent des strategies et des approches cateurs villageois) et des AEC (association des pedagogiques diff6rentes et ne peuvent etre educateurs communautaires) (ii) elaborer une confondus, s'agissant de I'apprentissage d'un m6tier strategie precise pour arriver a une Guin6e dans une structure non formelle pour le premier et delivree de l'analphab6tisme. (iii) confier la de r6integration dans le systeme scolaire pour le maitrise d'ouvrage (aussi pour l'alphabetisation) second. En fait dans les motivations des plus jeunes au niveau des collectivit6s decentralisees (iv) comme dans l'enseignement dispense, c'est l'objectif trouver une solution au probleme des langues scolaire qui domine (la mission, qui avait demande a pour une Guin6e lettree et communicative. Le l'instituteur de faire parler les eleves en francais, a GEV permettrait d'autonomiser et de perenniser assiste a la revision d'une lecon de conjugaison de les activites alpha tandis que Y'AEC inter- verbes du ler et du 3eme groupes comme a l'ecole viendrait au niveau des sous-prefectures pour primaire) alors meme que le pourcentage de ceux qui jouer le r6le d'interface et de representativite reintegrent le formel est tres faible (7 %). entre les communautes a la base, les groupe- Il nous semble qu'il devrait y avoir deux struc- ments d'educateurs et les autorites de l'educa- tures distinctes, l'une pour l'objectif pr6formation ou tion et autres intervenants. formation professionnelle, l'autre pour l'objectif de reinsertion scolaire, s'inspirant du programme du * 11 a exist6 en Guinee, notamment sous la premiere systeme formel et pouvant etre confiee a ce dernier Republique, une alphabetisation qui etait une des passerelles devraient etre mises en place entre ces alphabetisation de masse, sans grande retomb6e deux voies de formation. aussi bien du point de vue de l'impact que de la perennite. Les strategies etaient peu adaptees. L'alphabetisation, volet de projets de C'est l'un des scandales qui aura marque developpement negativement plusieurs promotions d'eleves et It s'agit le plus souvent de projets int6gres menes 6tudiants de l'6poque, aujourd'hui en fonction. Ce par certaines ONG (CAOPA, EUPD, Aide et Action) sont pour la plupart aujourd'hui des travailleurs et des programmes de developpement qui font dont la qualite des prestations laisse a desirer. SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 73 * Le SNA a divorce avec le passe, meme si l'on * Dans les centres communautaires, les centres enregistre encore, pour des raisons de moyens ou NAFA et centres d'alphab6tisation profession- de personnes, des insuffisances. Heureusement nalisante, on emploie l'alphab6tisation comme que l'UNICEF, la Banque Mondiale, l'etude support a l'amelioration des moyens de subsis- financee par IIZ/DVV ainsi les ONG en general, tance et des competences. Cette alphab6tisation proposent tous la strategie present6e dans le permet parfois une plus grande reconnaissance chapitre I a savoir: au sein de la societe et plus de confiance en soi. Elle est bien accueillie et elle constitue un outil * La conception et lItlaboration de la politique indispensable a la motivation et a la reussite dans nationale d'alphabetisation et le suivi de sa les apprentissages de metier. mise en ceuvre; L'integration du francais, au-dela de la langue * L'elaboration des methodes des strategies et initiale d'apprentissage de la lecture et de l'ecri- des programmes d'alphabetisation des diffe- ture, est egaleinent bien accueilli et permet a rents groupes concernes; I'apprenant de sortir de son terroir pour etre reconnu et utile dans d'autres horizons. Un * La conception et l'e]aboration du materiel apprentissage autodidacte est possible etant don- d'alphabetisation et de post-alphabetisation, nee la plus grande possibilite d'acces a des docu- son experimentation et son evaluation; ments en francais qu'en langue locale. * Le suivi/appui et l'evaluation des activites * 11 existe une liste exhaustive de livrets elabores d'alphabetisation. par les ONG et le SNA. La plupart de ces livrets sont des livrets de lecture mais quelquefois ils * La presque totalite des ONG de Guinee tra- sont thematiques. En matiere d'alphabetisation vaillent sur le terrain dans l'apprentissage visant fonctionnelle, certains portent sur des sujets les moyens de subsistance et quelques fois pour divers (agriculture, sante, environnement, etc.) un savoir et un savoir etre favorables a l'ame- selon ]'activite principale de l'organisme d'appui lioration des conditions de vie. Toute font de ayant commande l'laboration du document. l'alphabetisation dans l'objectif d'une ameliora- tion des conditions de subsistance ou tout * Les difficult6s exposees par la majorite des simplement des conditions d'existence. operateurs sont d'ordre logistique et financiere, exception faite des ONG etrangeres qui ren- . L'alphabktisation fonctionnelle et profession- contrent des difficultes d'ordre socio-economi- nalisante est pratiquement generalisee. Mal- que au niveau des apprenants. heureusement, au stade actuel, tout le monde s'accorde a admettre que celle-ci s'arrete en * Enfin, la combinaison des deux approches << for- chemin dans la plupart des cas car (i) les sup- mation pour obtenir, accroitre ou ameliorer les ports post alpha manquent cruellement meme si moyens de subsistance et l'alphab6tisation et par endroit, il existe quelque publication, formation generale comme base a l'acces >> est (ii) l'activite est tres liee au financement, et deja combine en Guinee. Pour cela, on peut se (iii) comme on \vient de le voir, la strategie GEV rejouir de constater que cela se materialise une et AEC n'est que peu d6veloppee par les fois de plus a travers le projet EPT actuellement operateurs. en negociation avec la Banque Mondiale. Annex 3 Cases from Kenya Anna P. Mwangi Abbreviations Executive summary BTL Bible Translation and Literacy This study undertook a critical examination of the DAE Department of Adult Education use in Kenya of two specific educational program DIT Directorate of Industrial Training strategies. The first of these incorporates livelihood GoK Government of Kenya skills as part of literacy education, while the second GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische incorporates literacy skills as part of livelihood Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH training, and has been termed the "literacy second German Agency for Technical approach." Co-operation The study was based on extensive consultation FL Functional literacy with key agencies and organizations that have sup- IFAD International Fund for Agricultural ported skills development in Kenya and on a review Development of both unpublished and published documentation. ILO International Labour Organisation A fact to bear in mind during this account is that KDDP Kilifi District Development Programme the official rates of illiteracy in Kenya are much MEHRD Ministry of Education and Human lower than those in the other three "case" coun- Resources Development tries: in 1997, they were estimated at 13 percent for NFE Non-formal Education men and 28 percent for women over the age of 15 NGO Non-governmental Organisation years. This difference is reflected in the observa- NPEP National Poverty Eradication Plan tion by FAO, SIDA, and the Kenya Agriculture PLP Post-Literacy Project Research Institute (KARI) that the farmers in the REFLECT Regenerated Freirian Literacy through Farmer Field Schools in the Central Province Empowering Community Tech- needed no instruction in literacy or numeracy, as niques all the participating farmers could read and write SRDP Special Rural Development Programme Swahili, and some could manage English. Most of UBEP Undugu Basic Education Project the difference is explained not by the govern- UNDP United Nations Development Pro- ment's literacy programs, but by its success in pro- gramme moting the virtual universalization of primary UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific schooling. and Cultural Organisation The main provider of adult literacy in Kenya is UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund the Department of Adult Education (DAE) in the USK Undugu Society of Kenya Ministry of Labor and Human Resource Develop- WTO World Trade Organisation ment. In spite of ambitious policy goals to eradicate 74 SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 75 illiteracy, the government's literacy program stratified nature of Kenyan society must be taken remains severely under-financed. Although the into consideration in an effort to create programs government's allocation is supplemented by inter- that are relevant to all sections of society. national donor agencies, international and local NGOs, and community and individual contribu- * Funding for adult education programs needs to tions and reaches all corners of the country through be increased. This indicates the need for more the government's administrative system, the num- studies to demonstrate how literacy programs bers actually enrolled are too few to reduce the rates result in real returns and thus to encourage of illiteracy substantially. increased government resource allocation. The under-financing of adult literacy programs is reflected in numerous other constraints: a lack of * Programs need to be more sustainable in order to incentives for instructors leading to a lack of skilled ensure that they do not become redundant prior instructors and unreliability among those who are to fulfilling their objectives. In addition, coordi- available, a lack of suitable teaching materials, a nation between the different service providers lack of adequate learning facilities, and unsurpris- must be improved to ensure effective delivery of ingly high drop out rates. services. Attempts have been made to promote functional literacy through the introduction of economic and Literacy and livelihoods social projects as components of adult education programs. Adult learners are expected to improve The first literacy campaign (1967) their skills in areas such as agriculture, livestock rearing, home economics, and small-scale business, The first National Literacy Campaign was as they learn to read and write. launched in 1967. An evaluation in 1971 concluded The study found that the "literacy second that, despite several weaknesses and shortcoming, approach" has not been prominent in the Kenyan those sections of the campaign that had adopted context. Available vocational or livelihood training the functional approach, combining literacy learn- programs required a Primary School Leaving Cer- ing and acquisition of other practical skills, had tificate as an educational prerequisite, so that basic proven the most suitable for the design of an over- literacy does not feature in curricula. all national literacy strategy. Following this, a On the other hand, the findings of the study indi- work-oriented literacy project was launched in cate that adult literacy education programs tend to 1972 as an integral part of the Special Rural Devel- be more effective if they incorporate livelihood opment Program (SRDP) in six districts in the skills training. Programs that did so had higher country. On the model of this effort, income-gener- attendance rates and lower drop out rates and ating projects became an essential component of lit- received better ratings on average from their partic- eracy classes. ipants than programs that focused solely on the provision of literacy and numeracy skills. The second literacy campaign (1979) The study generated several recommendations, which should help improve the effectiveness of The 1978 Gachathi Report on the objectives and both livelihood and literacy skills training: policies of education recommended the develop- ment of a National Literacy Campaign Program to * Programs should be more responsive and partici- eradicate illiteracy and to integrate literacy pro- patory, encouraging clients to articulate their needs grams into development projects, a move in line to ensure program relevance to participants. with the literacy training with livelihood compo- nents approach. Accordingly, the approach pro- * Programs should be put into contexts to enable moted by the Department of Adult Education courses and curricula to be shaped to meet the aimed at establishing systematic links between lit- requirements of participants. The diverse and eracy teaching and the everyday activities of the 76 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES participants. The "functionality" of the program enterprises such as poultry keeping, piggery, bee included the following features: keeping, crop production and crafts. Any proposed functional adult literacy program needs to respond * The literacy materials are locally designed and to such needs in very practical ways. The projects their content reflects local socio-cultural condi- reciprocally reinforce the need for literacy, as they tions and economic activities. demand proper record keeping, search for further information, and general business communication * Each group of learners is encouraged to under- (Kiogora & Wambugu 2000: 2). take some form of collective project work as an Despite these policies and ambitious goals, the integral element of their learning. Such projects financing and implementation of the National Liter- can be directly income-generating for the learn- acy Campaign and other literacy programs have ers or for community improvement or just for fallen far short of hopes. A large factor in the imper- entertainment. fect realization of the functional approach is that most literacy teachers are primary school teachers who * Teachers are encouraged to invite local officers of assist the DAE in teaching adult learners as part-time different development sectors to address their lit- instructors. They have neither the time nor the expert- eracy learners on topics related to their respec- ise to instruct people in ways to generate income or to tive fields of competence. start and run small businesses successfully. Further, in 1996, the then Director of Adult Education, David Such activities are expected to help learners Kirui, disclosed that out of the 8,000 full and part- acquire skills for home management and in areas time teachers employed by the DAE, only 2,000 were such as agriculture, livestock rearing, poultry keep- qualified (Daily Nation 10/08/96). ing, and small-scale business. Unfortunately, due to Added to all this are the facts that the teachers lack of start-up money, most literacy classes do not and learners do not have adequate teaching and fully incorporate these activities. learning materials to match the "functional" aims: However, the Department of Adult Education lower primary school textbooks are often the only has been able to secure the collaboration of such instructional materials at hand. Lack of training, dis- ministries as Agriculture and Health in producing satisfaction at the level of reward for teaching, and learning and reading materials that support the absence of prospects for any kind of advancement functional approach. tend to exacerbate the situation, while the absence of The functional approach appeals to adult learn- decent learning spaces does not help matters. ers, as evidenced by the reports from 11 of 15 focus group discussions held with prospective partici- International and local NGOs pants and local leaders. The general view linked lit- eracy with the ability to start and manage small The role of NGOs in supplementing the govern- businesses and commercial farming. Literacy would ment's efforts and in promoting innovative ap- help in keeping proper records, calculating profits, proaches to literacy education should not be under- and using different measures correctly. One group estimated. They have stabilized literacy centers, observed that, if learners were taking practical sub- initiated new strategies, and mobilized citizens for jects like animal husbandry, bookkeeping, and child- participation in adult basic education (Patel care, they would be more motivated to enroll. 1999: 8-9). Further, through their own programs, Another group expressed similar sentiments ; the NGOs supplement the efforts of the government in chairman of the Village Development Unit promoting adult literacy education. In Kenya, explained that, if literacy would support income ACTIONAID, Plan International, Literacy and generation, people would spend less time looking Evangelism, Bible Translation and Literacy, the for casual employment and would be available for Kenya Adult Education Association, and Kenya classes. They would also be able to contribute to the Adult Learners Association have contributed signif- cost of the literacy program. They mentioned micro- icantly over the years in promoting adult literacy. SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 77 The small and focused literacy programs of rant and lazy and are categorized as people with NGOs are often much more effective than those of plenty of time to do nothing. As farmers, most the government in imparting critical literacy skills people in Tukjowi do not attach any importance to and empowering adult learners. Here is only one adult education, which they see as having little or example of an NGO: nothing to do with their daily lives. Similarly, in ACTION AID-Kenya (AAK) started the Kibwezi Kikambala Division, Kilifi District, Coast Province, REFLECT Literacy Development Program in 1989. the community displays negative attitudes towards The emphasis of the program was functional liter- adult learners who, they claim, spend more time at acy - providing literacy and skills for the learners to literacy classes than they do with their families enhance their capacities to develop solutions to (Nyawana 1999). Negative attitudes towards adult practical problems. AAK organizes income-generat- education among the general populace have also ing projects, which include irrigated horticultural been cited as one of the primary factors discourag- production, tree nurseries, goat rearing, poultry ing potential and continuing adult learners at in keeping, and basket weaving. These projects have Kamariny Division, Keiyo District; Rift Valley tended to provide a critical binding action for the Province (Moturi 2000). groups and their participation in the literacy pro- On the other hand, people in Siala Center value gram is noted to be high. This has also significantly education more than those in Tukjowi do, even improved the men's participation rate in the liter- though the two centers are not too far from each acy centers. other and are in the same division Fujisawa By 1995 AAK was supporting 72 FAL centers in (2000:23). Their positive attitudes may be attrib- Kibwezi with an enrollment of 585 learners, uted to the fact that many of them are employed or between eight and 10 percent. The AAK support operate their own businesses, and they are able to included training of teachers and supply of learning assess and appreciate the value of functional adult materials. The Kibwezi FAL Program was based on education. Furthermore, in that Center, prominent Freire's methodology (psychosocial method). A Par- members of the community are regularly invited ticipatory Review Report of July 1996 noted that to participate in learning programs. For instance, while the FAL program has been successful and its educated women regularly attend classes to impacts were visible, it recommended that AAK encourage other female learners. Literacy is also should take up ActionAid's revised Freirean promoted through the local Seventh Day Adven- method, REFLECT. tist Church, and the program supervisor is often a AAK commenced implementation of the member of the community). This level of interest REFLECT method in Kibwezi on a pilot basis in has been linked to the fact that a former cabinet 1996. After this successful pilot phase, it expanded minister created awareness of the important role to other centers and in 2000 there were 751 partici- adult education in providing people with educa- pants in the program. Part of the success of the tional opportunities to raise the living standard of REFLECT circles in Kibwezi is attributable to the the community. care AAK takes in ensuring that the instructors are Community attitudes have been positive toward trained and well equipped to implement their new class projects, which incorporate an element of teaching method. income generation into literacy classes. According to Kering, for literacy projects to succeed, they must Attitudes of local communities toward incorporate an income-generating approach be- literacy and livelihood projects cause this enables the community to discern the benefits of participation. Kering noted that, on aver- Community attitudes toward literacy projects vary. age, members of the public exhibited negative atti- In a study on Tukjowi Center, in Rongo Division of tudes towards adult education classes. However, Nyanza Province, Fujisawa (2000: 22) notes that the this attitude was modified and tended to be more attitude towards adult education in the community positive toward projects that incorporated liveli- is quite negative. Adult learners are seen as igno- hood components. Fifty-five percent of the mem- 78 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES bers of the public and users of adult centers in The objective of this program is to provide func- Keringet viewed class projects as one way of tional literacy and practical skills-training opportu- improving their standard of living and contributing nities for children in especially difficult circum- to development. This has resulted in extremely stances, particularly street children and those in the effective learner motivation and in the maintenance slums of Nairobi. The program has three phases of a constant attendance record (Kering 2000). and each phase lasts for one year. After phase three, In conclusion, literacy classes that include an the learners receive vocational training in carpentry, income-generation component appear to be more sheet metal, and tailoring. The subjects offered in effective than standard adult education courses. phases one to three are similar to those in primary The former have attracted many adult literacy stu- schools. The success of UBEP is attributed to sound dents, many of whom have left regular programs of management and a high level of community adult study for the chance to attend a course that involvement. Management support from the Min- they perceive to offer future economic benefits. This istry of Education was called for in such areas as suggests that incorporating livelihoods projects into curriculum development, monitoring, inspection, literacy classes acts as a pull factor for a large sec- and supervision. tion of the low-income population because it pro- The study reported the following findings: vides the opportunity to study and also acknowl- edges the importance of being able to make a living * Undugu Basic Education Program is meeting the (Mwale 1998). learning needs of students in reading, writing, and practical skills. Out-of-school youth * Learners use the skills they acquire from UBEP to A new phenomenon that is causing great concern in generate income. Kenya is the fact that while the number of adult illit- erate people is decreasing, the number of illiterate * UBEP has contributed to the reduction of educa- young adults is increasing. This is a direct result of tion wastage and to the rehabilitation of street a growing number of families unable to provide children. basic needs for their children. A positive recent development is the increasing number of local and * Lack of adequate physical, teaching and learning international NGOs beginning to get involved in facilities was reported. alleviating the plight of street children and taking care of their basic needs. One of the most active * UBEP is dependent on donor funding. This called Kenyan NGOs in the field of children and young the sustainability of the program into question adults in especially difficult circumstances is the (Thompson 2001: 18). Undugu Society of Kenya (USK). As part of the implementation of its Co-opera- Bible Translation and Literacy tion Action Strategies in Basic Education (CASE) Africa Project, the UNESCO sub-regional office for Bible Translation and Literacy (BTL) is a Christian Southern Africa wanted to identify and document charitable organization, incorporated in Kenya in innovative educational experiences in key areas in 1981 and registered as an NGO. It is a good exam- basic education. Functional literacy was one of the ple of the new trend developing in Kenya of NGOs key areas identified, with particular focus on whose primary concern had initially been solely lit- processes of the empowerment of disadvantaged eracy but are now changing their policies to incor- youth to survive and overcome economic pressures. porate livelihood training BTL also provides a good The CASE Africa Project carried out an in-depth example of management that closely involves the study on the Undugu Basic Education Project community, collaborates with other organizations, (UBEP), a non-formal education program targeted and works with minimal staff at the headquarters at street children. but expands (bottom-heavy) at the community SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 79 level. It is also a good example of what a small but actual work carried out by this organization is done dedicated staff can achieve with limited resources. in the field. This is where most of its staff members A typical BTL project would make contact with are stationed. BTL has managed to develop a rea- all the churches in the area and with local and divi- sonably substantial project system that includes sional District Development Committees. The local supporting committees, project staffs, the objectives would be to: inclusion of voluntary expatriate personnel, and a reasonably strong support structure. * Analvze the language and produce a good alpha- Despite evident program weaknesses, BTL has bet. considerable promise as a delivery vehicle for liter- acy for the following reasons: the staff commitment, * Assist local people to develop their language development of the local infrastructures, and the in a written form under the auspices of a lan- fact it occupies a niche no one seems to be filling in guage committee. This would help give them a Kenya. A board of directors are elected from BTL greater appreciation of their language and cul- members manages the operations and policies of the tural heritage. organization. The general secretary is the chief exec- utive officer and reports to the board of directors. * Assess the community literacy needs. Assist in The various programs undertaken by BTL are coor- the development of primers and literacy materi- dinated by program coordinators. Each project area als and prepare an adequate literacy program to has an operational base in the language group with provide functional literacy skills to a critical mass a project leader, who develops a team to work with. in the community. Although BTL projects started with basic adult literacy, following recommendations from an evalu- * Assist the church to translate portions of the ation done in 1996, there is now more emphasis on Scripture to meet church needs. Normally the transition literacy programs. The transition literacy Newv Testament and portions of the Old Testa- takes less time, and BTL has been able to recruit vol- ment are translated, but that wvould depend on unteer teachers because they do not need to put in the needs of the churches and the users of the many hours, as opposed to the basic literacy pro- Scriptures. gram, which takes up a whole year. BTL has evolved from having literacy compo- * Work with the local churches to foster the use of nents of only transition literacy, basic literacy, and translated Scriptures. functional literacy, to literacy components using the literacy and livelihood approach. The literacy with * Train literacy workers and translators in the com- livelihood component is expected to: munity to continue literacy and translation work as an ongoing church ministry. * Integrate basic literacy with community develop- ment activities. This may build a motivation for * Motivate the community to set up self-sustaining the learners who may realize immediate gains and self-managing systems that would enable from the program, but it may not necessarily them to respond to their felt needs in community motivate the teachers. development. When it was not possible to assist directly, then assist indirectly by involving other * Integrate basic literacy with income-generating community development agencies that could projects. This may be aimed at raising income to respond to the felt needs of the community. support the program by providing money to offer incentives to the teachers. The challenge is BTL's coordinating office is in Nairobi with a to have income-generating-programs that would skeleton staff for administration and consultancy generate enough income to support the teachers. services. The BTL staff is a combination of salaried The learners, too, may want to have an income, Kenyans and volunteer expatriates. However, the given the level of poverty of learners in the proj- 80 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES ect. Management and accounting are a challenge, the Thika PLAN operational areas are called Village and money for such income-generating projects Development Units (VDUs). A VDU's mandate is to may be needed from other funding agencies out- take effective responsibility for the development side the traditional BTL funders. process of their communities-with support from PLAN-from initiation, planning, and design, to Approach local NGOs that have interest in pro- implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of all moting basic adult literacy. They may assist in projects in their villages. In essence, the effective partnering with the community in many ways, management of the entire project cycle is the current such as providing the seed money for the challenge facing the VDUs, given the past prevalent income-generating projects. culture of dependency on PLAN funds. This approach to literacy is still at the early Vignettes of literacy groups1 stages of development and BTL is currently involved in establishing structures that will help Following are the summarized findings of some develop and establish it at the projects level. Diploma in Adult Education candidates from the University of Nairobi. These are mature students PLAN International with wide experience in the area of adult education. The studies have been conducted in all provinces of l'LAN International is an example of collaboration the country, starting from the capital city to the far- between the government and an international thest corners of the ASAL (arid and semi-arid lands) NGO. Furthermore, it is an example of involving areas. Most of them focus on and evaluate the even the poorest members of the community in cost extent to which livelihood projects have been inte- sharing. PLAN addresses five interrelated areas of grated in the FL program of DAE. These examples focus, which lay the groundwork for its community are offered to give the reader a direct impression of development interventions. These are growing up how the literacy program works on the ground and and health; learning; habitat; livelihood; and build- also to answer questions on as rates of attendance, ing relationships. Adult literacy falls under the dropouts and causes, psycho-social effects of the learning domain. program on the learners, approaches used to iden- Under the learning domain, PLAN recognizes tify and mobilize learners, and combining and bal- education for adults and children alike as a process ancing literacy content with livelihood content. that enables individuals, families, and communities acquire basic tools needed to access information for Keringet Division, Nakuru District, Rift their empowerment. This means that PLAN sees Valley Province (A study by Kering, 2000) both formal and nonformal education as powerful tools for preparing community members to acquire In Keringet division, many government and non-gov- essential life skills, which in turn result in improved ernmental agencies, provide some form of adult edu- understanding of and interaction with their social cation. These programs mainly take the form of exten- and physical environments. sion programs run by government ministries in the PLAN works directly with children, their fami- areas of health, agriculture, livestock development, lies, and communities to design, implement, and culture, and social services. These programs provide evaluate development projects. To achieve this different services. NGOs have similarly based social objective, PLAN has incorporated Community welfare and education programs aimed at improving Based Organizations (CBOs) as partners in the pro- the quality of life of the client communities. gram delivery. This support takes the form of tech- Official policy directs that the Department of nical assistance, financing,and capacity-building. Adult Education should plan, organise and lay Through this support, it is hoped that CBOs will in down strategies for the implementation of pro- the long run be self-sustaining and be effective vehi- grams. The department is also responsible for pro- cles for aiding development from below. CBOs in viding tangible resources in the form of finance and SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 81 materials. The content of literacy materials is sup- group. The projects served to maintain learner posed to be based on the socio-economic and cul- interest and motivated participants to complete the tural activities of the learners' environment. In real- program. Learners benefited from the literacy skills ity, the department is handicapped in that it has in the following ways: been allocated too small a share of the total budget available for educational resources. Keringet has Econzomically not received any material resources for a long time. * They used the skills they acquired to make fire- Teachers often have to contribute personal funds to less cookers, which they sold. meet the International literacy Day expenses. The upshot is that, of a total estimated population * Those who were engaged in business were able of 11,084 illiterate adults in Keringet division, there to calculate their profit or loss margins. is a current enrollment of 17 male and 126 female learners, 143 learners in all in literacy classes, * Those who were engaged in agriculture have amounting to 1.3 percent of the target group. raised their production as a result of their ability Teaching is conducted by unskilled or semi-skilled to use new technology. This has resulted in sur- teachers. Just over half, 55 percent, of the classes do not plus yields, which can be sold as a means of gen- attempt to link their learning activities with livelihoods erating extra income. or other development. The other 45 percent try to moti- vate learners by integrating their teaching with other Socially development activities such as. farming, knitting, and * Working in the groups ensured more intensive merry-go-round (revolving loan fund). Among 11 cen- learner interaction and encouraged participants ters observed, one uses a primer and one uses a text- to draw on each other's experiences. book; five use improvised materials, and four use pre- primary materials. This is one clear indicator of the Problems encountered poor standards the DAE maintains in equipping liter- Four out of nine teachers complained about the lack acy centers. Adult teachers and the institutions where of teaching/learning materials. Three teachers they teach constitute 82 percent of material providers, stated there was no community support for their while the department provides only 18 percent. courses. Four teachers said that there were inade- Seven of the 11 literacy centers have invited quate facilities. All nine teachers indicated that the guest speakers. It has been noted that guest speak- learners decide on what they should learn. How- ers enhance the performance of the teachers and ever, teachers stressed that a post literacy program motivate the learners. for the neo-literates should be started so that they do not relapse into illiteracy. In addition, they felt that Kakamega Municipality Division, Western an adult literacy curriculum should be designed. Province (A study by Owenga, S. Violet) The learners, meanwhile, said they had joined liter- acy classes primarily to learn how to read and write In the Kakamega Municipality division the enroll- (4), to learn business (3), to socialize (3), to learn to care rnent totalled 295 adult learners-126 men and 169 for their family's health (2), or because they lacked women (Statistics at year-end 1999). Eight adult money for formal education (2). When asked whether education centers had class projects, and one did they were able to read and write, all the learners said not. The projects included Merry-go-round (revolv- yes. Twelve of them had taken proficiency tests ing loan fund), Making of fireless cookers, and between 1978-1984; one had not passed. Two of the Broom making. interviewees had not sat for the test. Learners were Most learners reacted positively to the projects, asked how they were using the knowledge and skills and they were perceived as beneficial because a lot acquired in literacy classes. The following responses of income was generated for those who had partici- were received in order of frequency: pated in economic activities. Participants also bene- fited socially because the projects created a cohesive * Improved farming (4) 82 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES * Reading and writing own letters and keeping to communicate with different customers. In addi- records (3) tion, he could now read measurements and evalu- ate his progress. He could take stock of his * Started business (3) business, keep written records, and conduct trans- actions with customers by writing out orders. A • Furthering education (2) female interviewee show sold horticultural pro- duce attended literacy classes between 1991 and * Read doctors prescription (1) 1993. She said she had learned how to calculate whether her business was yielding a profit or a * Improved communication through socializa- loss. Consequently, since she became literate, her tion (1) business has improved. When asked how literacy contributed to their Izava Location, Vihiga District Western roles and responsibilities, the participants gave Province (A study by Luyayi, V.E.R.) these responses: This study provides an example of the parallel exis- * As fathers, learners felt they could now more tence of income-generating projects and literacy effectively monitor their children's progress in projects and of learners making use of both pro- school. Their increased income was budgeted grams. It would be interesting to know if the users towards paying school fees for their children and became members first of the income-generation providing for their families' basic needs. Several project or the literacy program. Unfortunately, the of them stated that they no longer believed in study does not document this. witchcraft and now took any member of their Vihiga District has a total 110 of literacy centers family that was sick to hospital. They were now with 26 full-time teachers, 69 part-time teachers, 13 also able to keep family records. self-help teachers, and two NGO teachers. Only 10 out of 110 have income-generating projects. Izava * As mothers, learners felt they were better location has 10 centers with only three income-gen- equipped to care for their health of their families eration projects. There are two full-time teachers, by preparing a balanced diet. They were now five part-time teachers and one self-help teacher. taking their children for immunization and keep- The location also has more than 20 women's ing homesteads clean. They also knew how to groups, according to statistics in the office of the budget for their family needs. They could supple- social development officer. ment family income by starting a small business. Three centers have enrollments of more than 51 learners, and two centers have enrollment figures * As maids, learners believed they could now do of between 41 and 50 students. One center has their jobs more effectively by keeping the houses enrolled 31-40 learners, one have up to 20 and clean and preventing diseases. They could not be another has up to 30. However, in five of the cen- abused as they were now aware of their rights ters a maximum of only ten learners attend classes. and, in return, they could now not misuse the Three centers record attendance of between lland resources that their employer had put at their 20, one center records attendance of between 21 disposal. and 30, and one of between 31 and 40. In other words, half of the classes have fewer than 10 of The researcher also interviewed a carpenter who their learners actually attending. Findings showed ran a wood workshop and who had attended an that literacy learners were not attending classes adult education center between 1982 and 1983. He daily, but 60 percent of the learners attend three responded that the knowledge acquired in the lit- times a week. The findings further show that on the eracy classes had helped him in his business days learners are not attending classes, they go to because it had given him the confidence and ability the market to sell their wares or participate in SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 83 income-generating activities organized by only nine are functioning. The failure in promoting women's groups. income-generating activities in many instances has Class projects include cow keeping, merry-go- been attributed to the women's groups themselves round, and vegetable farming. These projects and blamed on the age and the illiteracy of the encourage learners to attend classes and to have their members and the leaders' insufficient leadership own source of income. Findings indicated that 90 skills due to illiteracy. percent of learners in classes with class projects ben- Interviews with some members of the nine sur- efited in the form of income after selling their prod- viving groups revealed that they meet to undertake ucts. The remaining 10percent were not sure whether sewing, weaving, tailoring, bee keeping, growing the project had helped them. The study found that vegetables, renting houses, embroidery, cooking, centers with projects had 80 percent attendance rates, and other minor activities. while centers without projects had only 20 percent attendance rates. Observation indicated that incorpo- Reasons given for joining the women groups rating projects into adult education classes encour- included: aged learners to attend in larger numbers. * Buying plots for commercial purposes (20) Kikambala Division, Kilifi District, Coast Province (A study by Nyawana, John, 1998) * Learning how to sew and weaving baskets (15) This study is a good example of a concern expressed * Learning better methods of growing vegetables earlier about the rising number of illiterate young (10) adults. The increasing number of underage learners may limit implementation of livelihoods projects in * Learning how to read and write (5) functional literacy classes. The findings of the study indicate that 27.5 per- Achievements cent of the learners were between the ages of 21and 30 years and 25 percent were in the 10-20 year * Made baskets for their own use and sale (6) bracket. Learners at this age who attain the first level of literacy usually want to continue learning * Earned money to pay school fees from growing and are interested in education will offer them vegetables(10) employment opportunities or daily life skills. They are most interested in learning about business skills, * Literacy (3) health care, and home economics. Problems encountered by the members of the Moyale location, Central Division of group: Moyale District, North Eastern Province (A study by Shariff, Omar) * Illiteracy (20) Moyale District is situated in the far north and is * Lack of enough finance (15) bordered by Ethiopia. The majority of people are pastoralists and practise nomadic lifestyles. Pros- * Poor leadership (18) perous businesses are found in the border town of Moyale, which is also the district headquarters. * Lack of security (10) Women's group projects were started in 1975. They engaged not only in sewing, weaving, buying plots, * Lack of combined effort from other officers (12) growing vegetables, and cookery, but also in spear- heading educational activities in all fields of social Illiteracy was the most disturbing issue to both life. Success was not universal: out of 29 projects leaders and members of the projects. Most of the 84 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES active members do not know to read or write. The planned in such a way that the learners make rapid leaders also quoted the same problem of illiteracy, progress and are able to use their new skills quickly. which resulted in poor leadership. Even if they This encourages them to continue. attend seminars or courses organized by some Teachers who are not capable of incorporating NGOs, the participants do not get the full informa- such activities in their classes may lose most of tion, as they cannot record the discussions. theirclass members in due course. The learners were asked their reasons for joining Mwatate Division, Taita Taveta District adult literacy classes. Among those interviewed, 40 (A study by Mwale, C.J., 1998) percent had class projects and 60 percent had no projects. Of the 40 percent, 41.7 percent said that Virtually every literacy project in every country they used the money from selling their project items starts with over enthusiasm and over subscription to buy their writing materials, as well as to meet of enrollment where people would indeed like to their children's and other family needs. Twenty-five be literate. However, when they attend classes for percent relied on these projects as their sole source a certain period and find that the program does of income, while 33.3 percent said that they not provide any immediate benefit or any clear acquired knowledge and skills on the project. prospect for the future, they develop a negative Respondents suggested that in order to sustain attitude and hence they start dropping out. class attendance, each class should start an income- In many cases where literacy education is not generating project by: associated with learning of survival skills, partici- pants withdraw. This has become a major problem. * Holding seminars for adult learners on project Daily attendance of the adult learners is extremely management. low. The majority of the learners who attend literacy classes belong to the deprived group. They join these * Visiting other centers that have started projects in classes with a hope that their economic situation will orderto learn form them. be improved. If literacy does not cater for their needs, they will abandon classes. Experience has shown * Having government and NGOs provide funds that the most vibrant and sustainable literacy classes for these ventures because financial assistance is are those that have income-generating activities. their major problem. Economic projects, therefore, will solve the problem of dropout and poor attendance in literacy classes. * Initiating fund-raising specifically for adult liter- It is evident that in most literacy centers the acy center projects, so that they can start such learners are mainly female with only one or two projects and attract others to class. males. In Kenya women join together in groups for the common purpose of securing and promoting Reasons for dropping-out their socio-economic survival. The largest proportion of the dropouts (37.5 per- * Apart from increasing women's skills, the activi- cent) said they were bored with being taught only ties also Hold the members together reading and writing. Twenty-five percent said that they had other work to attend to, and 25 percent * Aim at improving the welfare of the group said that their center had no project, which was members their main interest. Some 6.25 percent said that by the time they dropped out, they had learned how to * Create an atmosphere for learning other new read and write. The remaining 6.25 percent said that things, and have many benefits. they did not see the use. This survey shows that what they were taught in Learners are motivated when they see the results class could not meet the learners' needs. Some 87.5 of work-oriented literacy because it is usually percent of the drop-out respondents have since SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIV7ELIHOODS 85 joined other groups with income-generating proj- an extension officer to train the women in better ects that are not linked to literacy classes. Clearly, methods of cow care. While the agricultural exten- these members were very interested in such proj- sion officer remained employed by the government, ects, but since they were not available in their liter- the donor (HELINAS) topped up his salary for the acy center, they were forced to drop out and join extra work he was doing for the group. Later on, other groups. This evidence links unsustainable HELINAS donated a project vehicle, which they classes to lack of income-generating projects. Four- used to deliver the milk and to hire to the public to teen out of 16 dropout respondents said that they raise additional funds. Furthermore, a second would be willing to go back to the literacy class if trainer was employed to train the women in home such projects were started. economics. Of the 10 literacy teachers interviewed, four had As the group attracted more members, some of class projects and six did not. It was observed that whom were illiterate, it became evident that a liter- in centers with projects, the attendance was higher acy class was needed to enable these non-literate than in centers without projects. members keep records and receive training in health, agriculture, and livestock rearing. These Livelihood training with literacy components classes were also made available for any other members of the local community. Although there is indeed much training for liveli- With financial assistance from CARE Kenya, the hoods and employment, little of it caters to people Kenya Adult Education Association developed a who have not had much schooling and who are to functional literacy training curriculum, specifically all intents and purposes illiterate. However, the designed for the KWG literacy classes. This curricu- Karungu Women's Group provides an interesting lum was designed with the participation of repre- exception. sentative members of KWG, using the task-oriented method. The Karungu Women's Group The group has now expanded with over 400 members and also has male members. Perhaps, the The Karungu Women's Group (KWG) started in best unexpected result of the success of this group is 1981 as an income-generating project but later not only the members of the group but also the incorporated literacy training as a service to new community in general benefit from its activities. members and to the community in general. The A multi-purpose building was built, housing a initiators were a few local women who had some dispensary, pharmacy, agro-vet shop, TV/video, basic primary education. In 1982, the group was classrooms for the literacy class and basic education registered as a self-help group in the Ministry of classes as well as some utility rooms. In this way, Culture and Social Services. They approached the the group provides, for a minimal fee, important Kenya Adult Education Association (KAEA) to services to the surrounding community. Further- help them to write a proposal to the Hellenic Insti- more, when the Ministry of Livestock Development tute for International Co-operation (HELINAS) discontinued the services of artificial insemination for a loan to construct a building for the group's for livestock in the districts, two members of the activities. group were trained as AIs and provide the needed Through hard work and with the help of the services to all members of the community. community, they managed to construct the ground The project is run by a management committee, floor of the building. With the help of HELINAS, which includes members of the group and of the the group started a cow project: some members of KAEA Executive. Narrative and financial reports the group were given a grade cow-in-calf and when are sent to KAEA quarterly. KAEA evaluates the the cow calved, the calf would be given to a project regularly and sends reports to the donor. member of the group who had not received a cow KAEA also organizes exchange visits between this previously. With the help of KAEA, the group group and other groups to enrich their experiences approached the Ministry of Agriculture to provide and generate new ideas. 86 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES Conclusions References Perhaps the most important observation on adult lit- Abagi, Okwach. 2000. Situational Analysis of the Edulca- eracy programs in Kenyais one that helps to explain tional Sector in Kenya: Background Docuimlenit preparedfot their lack of effectiveness: most programs have been CARE-Kenya. Nairobi: Institute of Policy Analysis and Research/CARE Kenya. largely confined to the education sector. Kenya Carron, G., K. Mwiria & G. Righa. 1989. The Funsctioniing appears to be a firm believer in literacy for literacy's and Effects of the Kenyan Literacy Program, IIEP Research sake. However, the findings of the study suggest Report No. 76. Paris: UNESCO International Institute that such a strategy is misplaced. Literacy programs for Educational Planning. should not be confined simply to issues of educa- Faulu Kenya Limited. Informtiation Brief on FaulJu Keniya tion. They would be considerably more effective if Limited (an undated office document). they were embedded within the wider framework of Fujisawa, Miki. 2001. Rural Women's Perspective on Aiult . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~Literacu Education anid Developvment in Kenva,7 A paper both individual and community development. After y E a presented at the annual conference of the Comparative all, literacy is expected to contribute to more than andsInternationalaEducationfSocety. Washingto,. ' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~and International Education SocietV. Washington, D.C. simply educational achievements. March 14-17. Literacy skills contribute not only to peoples' Gachathi, P. 1978. Report on the National Coninittee on tfhe economic opportunities and financial capital, but Objectives and Policies of Education. Nairobi: Govern- also to their self-esteem and confidence to partici- ment Printer. pate in public affairs. A willingness to do a job is Govemment of Kenya. 1996. Kenya Economic Reforms fer even more crucial than the knowledge and skill 1996-1998: The Policy Framework Paper. Prepared by the with which to do it. A good general education lays Government of Kenya in Collaboration with the Inter- national Monetary Fund and the World Bank, October. an essential foundation for training and employ- Katwon Mone.and DMc i. and "Ke ny's Lit,ercyoPro Kalweo, J. I. and D. Macharia. n.d. "Kenya's Literacv 1'ro- ment, increased earnings, and employee mobility, gram from the 1960s into thel980s." In H. S. Bhola, J. Furthermore, it should also be noted that people's Muller & O.P. Dijkstia. The Prowise of Litcracil: Cant- livelihoods are not static, but change according to paigns, Programs and Projects. Baden-Baden: DSE, their circumstances. Literacy programs embedded Nomos Verlags-gesellschaft. in livelihood skills and training therefore must also KPLP. 2000. Kilifi District Development Program: Informa- be flexible and adaptable to meet changing needs. tion Folder. August KPLP. PLP News. A newsletter of The emphasis on livelihoods as a strategy in the Kenya Post Literacy Project. .. . , ,. 2001. Kilifi District Development P,.,. Creating poverty eradication is a positive step in the right a Dt1T. .- March. Kilifi: KPLP. direction. However, if it is not integrated with pro- . n.d. Terms of Reference for the Project Progress viding opportunities for basic education, it may not Review, Kenya Post-Literacy Project: Coammnnitii Learning achieve its aims. In discussions with a number of Resource Centers. project officers who provide excellent services in the Moturi, W. Kinara. 2000. Assessing Factors Contribufting to field of vocational training, it became clear that Low Attendance in Adult Education Classes in Katmarinl while the illiterate population forms the vast major- Division of Keiyo District. Unpublished dissertation ity of the poorest people, they are often not submitted for the award of Diploma in Adult Educa- tion from the University of Nairobi. involved, for various reasons, in the development Murage, Cyrus. 2001. Literacy Training with Livelihood programs. A major reason is that they cannot fully Component. June, Nairobi. participate in the skills training programs, since Ng'ang'a, S. Ngigi. 2000. Assessment of Factors C. -n n such programs demand some level of basic educa- ing to Low Enrollment Rate in Adult Literacy Classes in tion. Secondly, a high percentage of illiterate people Makadara Division (Nairobi Province). Unpublished dis- feel intimidated by the bureaucracy, which involves sertation submitted for the Award of a Diploma in filling out various forms. Adult Education to the University of Nairobi. In conclusion, we may say that literacy and liveli- Ole, Kwallah. Sammy in The Flash, December Issue. hoods should be fully integrated if they are to Nairobi: Undugu Society of Kenya. OXFAM. 2001. 01 and OGB: SCOs the latest wording. achieve their goals. Office document stipulating O.rfam's objectives and areas of interest. 9th April 2001. SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 87 Patel, Ila. 1999. End-of-Decade Assessment of Jomitiecn Goals: Thompson, Ekundayo J.D. 1999. Kenya Post-Literacy Pro- Emerginzg Trends in Adult Literacy Policies and Practice in ject: Three Years on 1996-1999. Nairobi: German Agency Africa and Asia. NGO Perspective. Draft Synthesis Doc- for Technical Co-operation (GTZ). ument. Mumbai. ASPBAE. . 2001. Non-Formal Education in Urban Keniya: Find- Pendekezo, Letu. 2000. Program for the Rehabilitation of ings of a Study in Kisimu, Mombasa and Nairobi. Nairobi. Street Girls and thieir Families. Kenya. 2000. Annual Nar- German Technical Co-operation (GTZ). rative Report Covering the Period Dec 1999 through Wema Center. 1998. A Rehabilitation Program for Street Nov. 31, 2000. Submitted to Oxfam (GB). Girls. Progress Report to Oxfam as of October, 1998. . 2000. Proposal for the Relabilitation of Street Girls and their Families. Kenya, East Africa, Dec 1, 1999-November 30, 2000. Submitted to Oxfam (GB). 1. Language used is often that of the respondents or the Republic of Kenya. 1973. Report on Special Rurol Develop- researchers. niienit P, ., Unpublished report. Annex 4 Cases from Senegal OumarSALL (Original French Version) Introduction L'acces aux fonctions et emplois dans le secteur -moderne d6pend, dans une large mesure, de la plus ans cette etude sur le Senegal, nous nous ou moins bonne maitrise du Francais. P int6resserons principalement aux aspects Cependant, la faiblesse des ressources budge- << contenus et approches >> de l'alphabetisa- taires disponibles, ajout6e aux insuffisances et tion et de la formation des adultes dans les langues lacunes du systeme formel rend de plus en plus nationales ; en d'autre termes, au secteur de difficile l'acces de tous a l'education, a la formation l'6ducation non formelle. et a l'emploi. L'activite d'alphab6tisation au S6negal remonte Que faire alors de tous ces adultes, femmes et a plusieurs decennies, avec les experiences entre- hommes illettr6s qui constituent la force de travail prises par les precurseurs de l'ARP (Association et sur lesquels doit reposer le d6veloppement pour la Renaissance du Pulaar) et autres militants economique et social du pays ? des langues nationales et de l'education des Comment leur donner les competences qui leur adultes. permettraient d'ameliorer la productivite de leur Cependant, les Etats Gen6raux de l'Education et travail ? de la Formation, qui se sont tenus en 1981, consti- Quels mecanismes institutionnels doivent etre tuent le repere le plus net pour situer historique- mobilises, quelles approches adopter liant la forma- ment l'intervention systematique de 1'Etat dans ce tion et les moyens de subsistance des apprenants ? domaine, ainsi que la participation active des ONG L'Education Non Formelle tente d'apporter une r&- oeuvrant en matiere de formation et de develop- ponse a ces interrogations, a travers differents pro- pement. grammes d'alphabetisation et de formation des Signalons qu'en 1983, un decret presidentiel a adultes. officiellement fixe les regles de transcription de six Sur le plan institutionnel, le secteur de l'Education langues nationales, a savoir: le Wolof, le Pulaar, le Non Formelle est place sous la responsabilite et la Sereer, le Joola, le Mandinka, et le Soninke. tutelle d'un departement ministeriel aux domaines A c6te de ces langues, parlees par les diff6rentes de competences d6sormais elargis. En effet, d'impor- composantes de la population, on retrouve le tantes mutations viennent renforcer le secteur de l'al- Francais qui est la langue officielle du pays. phabetisation qui est passe du statut de < Ministere L'enseignement formel dans les etablissements de1lgue >> a celui de << Ministere de l'Enseignement primaires, secondaires et superieurs, ainsi que dans Technique, de la Formation Professionnelle, de les ecoles de formation technique et professionnelle l'Alphabetisation et des Langues nationales >>. est dispense en langue francaise. 88 SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 89 Dans cette formulation actuelle, la connexion En ce qui concerne la premiee strat6gie, nous avec la formation professionnelle se trouve claire- pr6senterons deux experiences menees grace a ment 6tablie. Une telle approche institutionnelle de l'imp]ication d'organisations non gouvernemen- la question, aussi clairement exprim6e, est tout a tales d'alphabetisation et de d6veloppement, en fait nouvelle au Senegal et epouse parfaitement la partenariat avec des structures ext6rieures simi- problematique de notre 6tude. laires. Toutes les deux mettent 1'accent sur une Elle semble 6galement indiquer un renforcement alphab6tisation tourn6e vers l'amelioration des et une amplification de la d6marche du , faire- conditions de vies des apprenants, compos6s en faire >' de rigueur depuis bientot quelques annees, majorite de femmes rurales des r6gions de Louga particulierement depuis le d6marrage du Projet (avec ANAFA) et Fatick-Kaolack (avec ALPHA PAPF (Projet d'Alphab6tisation Priorite Femmes). FEMMES). Nous mentionnerons aussi brievement Actuellement, les activit6s d'alphab6tisation d'autres cas. sont men6es principalement par quatre cat6gories En ce qui concerne la deuxieme strat6gie, nous d'intervenants: avons retenu le cas d'une societ6 de d6veloppement qui a integr6 dans sa d6marche l'alphab6tisation * L'Etat et les structures decentralises; des populations de sa zone d'intervention. Enfin, des experiences etudiees nous tirerons une * Les Projets Nationaux de d6veloppement; s6rie de recommandations destin6es aux profes- sionnels et autres intervenants de l'Education Non * Les Societ6s parapubliques Nationales; Formelle en Afrique SubSaharienne. * Les Organisations Non Gouvernementales na- Formation ( lettree >) avec composantes tionales ou etrangeres. moyens de subsistance Cependant, le defi a relever est celui de la per- Au Sen6gal, beaucoup d'ONG et de Projets par- tinence et de l'efficacite des programmes d'alpha- ticipent activement a la promotion et au d6veloppe- bMtisation, de leur impact positif sur le vecu des ment des communaut6s de base, en particulier par apprenants. des activit6s d'alphab6tisation, accompagnees Or, la situation des apprenants, dont la majorit6 g6n6ralement d'activit6s g6neratrices de revenus. est constitu6e de femmes, est caracterisee par une Ces diff6rentes experiences se d6roulent dans un certaine pr6carite des conditions d'existence. Ce qui contexte en pleine mutation. pose d'embl6e la question de la liaison entre les pro- grammes d'alphab6tisation et les moyens de Contexte subsistance. Autrement dit, il est indispensable d'articuler les La longue tradition de multipartisme au S6negal a programmes d'alphabetisation avec les strategies finalement d6bouch6, le 19 Mars 2000, apres de lutte contre la pauvrete. beaucoup de p6ripeties, a ce qu'il est convenu Ne devrait-on pas, d'ailleurs, aller plutot vers la d'appeler l'alternance politique a la tee de l'Etat. Le notion de - Formation pour le d6veloppement > ? pays franchit une nouvelle 6tape dans la Nous examinerons successivement ici les deux consolidation d6mocratique. principales strategies qui sont: De fait, le principe de continuit6 et le maintien de certains grands programmes, inities avec l'appui de * Une formation < lettr6e > integrant des moyens partenaires au developpement, font que dans le de subsistance; domaine de l'alphabetisation et de la formation, les options ont et6 confirm6es, voire renforc6es. * Une formation aux moyens de subsistance A partir des ann6es 90, beaucoup de partenaires integrant une formation << lettr6e >» . au d6veloppement ont consacr6 de nouvelles res- 90 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES sources au financement de l'alphabetisation, en par- de productivite. Cette situation d'insuffisance de la ticulier celle des femmes. Ces dernires se sont sou- productivite est due, dans une large mesure, a un vent organisees dans des structures denommees faible niveau de formation et de qualification. D'oii GPF (Groupements de Promotion Feminine). toute l'importance d'une activite de renforcement Les groupements de femmes, dont le nombre d6- dans ce domaine. passe aujourd'hui 5.000, sont a leur tour organis6s Aussi bien en ville que dans les campagnes, le dans une structure federative, la Federation Natio- manque de qualification technique se fait sentir et nale des Groupements de Promotion Feminine. Celle- limite considerablement la qualite du travail et le ci compte des structures decentralisees au niveau des niveau de la productivite. regions et des d6partements, voire des arrondisse- Sur le plan des orientations, on remarque de ments et des communautes rurales du Senegal. fortes tendances a la decentralisation des activites, y La Federation des Groupements de Promotion compris dans le domaine de l'alphabetisation et de Feminine represente une formidable force sociale sur la formation par le principe du <« faire-faire >>. laquelle il est possible de compter pour modifier fon- Dans le meme temps, une demande sociale de damentalement les paramrtres de la situation so- plus en plus << imperieuse >> et pressante se mani- ciale, culturelle et economique du pays, caracterisee feste on observe une grande volonte de participa- par la precarite et l'insuffisance de la productivite. tion citoyenne, sous l'6gide d'une << Societe Civile >> La plupart des structures intervenant a la base naissante. dans le domaine de la formation et du developpe- Pourtant, des milliers de personnes adultes ment considerent les groupements feminins comme restent encore dans une situation marquee par une structure adapt6e au deploiement durable de I'analphabetisme qui est un e1lment caracteristique leurs activit6s. du sous-developpement economique et social. C'est ainsi que de nombreux Projets et Pro- I1 n'y a pas encore de solution pertinente a cet grammes ont ete mis en place pour soutenir la lutte important probleme qui, pourtant, conditionne contre l'analphabetisme et les mauvaises conditions dans une large mesure le devenir des Etats de vie des populations, surtout chez les femmes. En africains. effet, la lutte contre la pauvrete ne peut avoir d'effi- La lutte contre l'analphabetisme ne peut etre cacite sans prise en compte de l'une de ses dimen- engagee sans aller de pair avec celle de la promotion sions les plus fondamentales, a savoir la formation. individuelle des apprenants et de leur motivation. Telle semble etre la perception de nombre d'ONG et * Programme Elargi de Lutte Contre la Pauvrete Projets parmi lesquels on peut citer: PELCP; * Le PAPF << Projet d'Alphabetisation Priorite * Programme d'Action Decennal de la Femme, Femmes > qui, dans sa phase actuelle dite Inte- suite a la Conference Mondiale de Pekin sur les gree, semble aller dans la direction qui fait l'objet femmes; de notre pr&ente etude. Cependant, cette expe- rience n'en est qu'a son debut, ce qui fait qu'on * Programme Decennal de l'Education et de la ne dispose pas encore de documentation perti- Formation PDEF; nente utilement exploitable. * Projet D6veloppement des Groupements de * L'interet de cette experience du PAPF est que lors Promotion Feminine; de sa phase de lancement et d'extension au niveau des regions concernees par le Pro- * Projet de Developpement des Ressources gramme, il ne s'est d'abord agi que de donner Humaines. des capacites instrumentales dans une perspec- tive << fonctionnelle >> et de post-alphabetisation. Le secteur formel est marque par un tres grand Aucune composante <( moyens de subsistance >> taux de chomage en meme temps qu'un faible taux n'6tait prise en consideration ; il n'y avait alors SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 91 aucune activit6 de soutien economique pour Les deux Projets travaillent sur les deux leviers am4Aiorer le v&u quotidien des apprenants que sont: les elements de formation et 1' integration (composes a plus de 75 '0o de femmes dont l'age des moyens de subsistance ayant comme finalite xarie de 15 a 45 ans). C'est d'ailleurs lors du l'am6lioration des conditions de vie des apprenants, deroulement du programme que la necessite dont la grande majorite est composee de femmes d'integrer des activites generatrices de revenus organisees au sein des Groupements de Promotion s'est imposee. Feminine au niveau des regions. Les composantes < moyens de subsistance * Projet Alpha-Femmes qui intervient dans les trouvent un support d'application dans la mise en regions de Fatick et de Kaolack, grace a l'appui oeuvre d'activites economiques concretes qui de la cooperation allemande. renforcent et ameliorent considerablement les conditions de vie des personnes ben6ficiant des * Organisation ANAFA (Association Nationale activites d'alphabetisation et de formation. pour l'Alphabetisation et la Formation de Le Projet de D6veloppement des Groupements Adultes) dans la region de Louga. de Promotion Feminine dans la Region de Louga a demarre dans un contexte marque par la recon- * TOSTAN qui intervient dans plusieurs regions naissance, un peu partout dans le pays, du role que du S6n6gal. les femmes peuvent et doivent jouer dans le developpement economique et social du Senegal. Pour illustrer la strategie de formation integrant Les femmes rurales en particulier ont entame un une composante - moyens de subsistance ", nous processus d'organisation et ont cree des 1 structures retenons ici te cas de deux experiences deve- connues partout sous la denomination de Groupe- Iopp6es au niveau des regions dites < de l'inte- ments de Promotion Feminine. rieur - par des structures d'education non for- L'essentiel des travaux domestiques, (produc- melle. Il s'agit de tives et de reproduction) reposent sur elles. Elle sont par consequent de veritables << protagonistes du 1. Projet de Dvelloppeinent des Groupements de developpement >>. Promotion Feminines de la Region de Louga Pour qu'elles puissent jouer veritablement et avec ANAFA (Association Nationale pour pleinement leur r6le, il est n6cessaire de leur fournir, l'Alphabetisation et la Formation des Adultes simultanement, les deux instruments que sont: une de Louga). formation de qualit6 (y compris organisationnelle) et des moyens de production economique. 2. Projet Alplha-Femmes dans les Regions de Les efforts de formation, dans cette double Fatick et Kaolack. L'approche retenue par les approche apportent en effet une r6ponse a leurs deux Projets (ANAFA-Louga et Alpha-Femme pr6occupations, leurs attentes et leurs demandes. 4 Fatick et Kaolack) est bien de lier alphabeti- La preuve en est donnee par leur forte adhesion aux sation et sa lutte contre la pauvrete, et cela programmes. aussi bien quant aux regions concernees (les Le Projet de developpement des groupements de plus desheritees du pays) qu'aux cat6gories de promotion Feminine dans la Region de Louga, ainsi population (les femmes, couche a la fois que celui d'Alpha-Femmes dans les regions de v ulnerable et determinante dans la lutte contre Fatick et kaolack viennent en appui a la politique de le sous-developpement du Senegal). promotion de la femme, engagee par les pouvoirs publics du Sen6gal depuis d6jA plusieurs annees. lies deux projets presentent beaucoup de simili- La promotion de la femme recouvre, entre autres, tudes sous l'angle de la presente etude. D'ou l'in- les aspects 116s a la valorisation des ressources hu- tere^t qu'ils representent dans une certaine mesure maines, l1'ducation, l'organisation et l'amelioration comme modeles d'approche pour la communaute des conditions de vie et le statut des beneficiaires. des praticiens de l'education des adultes. Dans le cadre de leurs Groupements, elles se posent 92 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES de plus en plus comme protagonistes actives, du Outre ces moyens mat6riels, l'alphabetiseur dis- developpement. pose d'un support pedagogique, le Manuel ou La volonte des femmes d'apprendre est forte, << guide du moniteur >>. mais elles posent le probleme simplement en ces Le financement des projets economiques est termes: A quoi sert-il d'apprendre a lire et 6crire si egalement assur6 grace aux partenaires techniques. on sait que l'on n'aura ni la possibilit6 ni les moyens Les activites des femmes consistent a mettre en de mettre en pratique notre savoir-faire ? place des banques de c6reales villageoises, des I1 se manifeste effectivement, un besoin de plus equipements qui allegent les travaux des femmes, en plus pressant de formation au benefice des des boutiques d'approvisionnement. femmes qui demandent une formation utilitaire prenant s6rieusement en compte leurs motivations Sur le plan logistique (Projet ANAFA): mais aussi s'insere dans des activites socio-eco- nomiques d'accompagnement. Des voitures sont egalement mises a disposition De telles activites necessitent la mobilisation de pour effectuer les missions de suivi rapproche aussi beaucoup de ressources tant sur le plan humain que bien du programme de formation que des activit6s materiel. economiques, les supervisions et les contr6les sur le terrain. Sur le plan humain: Aussi bien dans le cas d'ANAFA que d'ALPHA FEMMES, une structure ayant 1'6quipement ade- Pour ce qui est du Projet ANAFA, une equipe de quat se trouve au niveau de la R6gion d'interven- volontaires est constitu6e qui prend en charge les tion pour assurer un suivi et une execution correcte programmes de formation. des activites. Elle est composee de: Partenariat avec les structures d'appui * des alphabetiseurs (de 20 a 30 selon les annees); Beaucoup de partenaires au developpement, en * des superviseurs (1 superviseur pour 10 alphab& accord avec les autorites de la Direction de l'Alpha- tiseurs); betisation et de l'Education de Base, apportent un appui institutionnel et financier qui permet aux * d'un coordinateur, responsable du Projet. structures d'intervention de proceder non seule- ment a la formation des apprenants dans le Pour ce qui concerne l'experience de ANAFA, les domaine de la lecture et de l'ecriture, mais aussi a la alphabetiseurs sont des jeunes ayant d6ja atteint au mise en place d'activit6s qui puissent ameliorer moins le niveau de l'enseignement secondaire et leurs conditions d'existence. quis'engagent, pour la duree du Programme de for- C'est ainsi que des activites generatrices de mation, a servir comme alphab6tiseurs au niveau des revenus (unites de transformation des c6reales localites touchees par le Projet. Ils recoivent une for- locales, unites et espaces de commercialisation, mation qui leur permettra d'effectuer convenable- caisses d'epargne et de credit, embouche ovine) ont ment le travail. pu etre mises a la disposition des groupements de La structure se compose 6galement de super- femmes. C'est le cas pour le Projet ALPHA viseurs charges d'appuyer p6dagogiquement les FEMMES qui ben6ficie du soutien de la cooperation alphab6tiseurs sur le terrain, deux fois par mois. allemande par le canal de la GTZ (Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit). Sur le plan materiel (Projet ANAFA): De meme, ANAFA a pu realiser ses programmes d'alphabetisation et d'activites de promotion econo- Des supports didactiques sont mis en place: livres, mique grace au partenariat technique avec une cahiers d'apprentissage et d'exercices, ecritoires, ONG 6trangere, la CISV, et au financement de tables, tableaux, locaux pour faire les cours. l'Union Europeenne et d'OXFAM-Grande Bretagne. SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 93 Participation en nature des populations Groupements) un appui en matiere de formation, beneficiaires sous-tendue par une activit6 a caractere economi- que et un renforcement sur le plan organisationnel. Les populations apportent une contribution aux Au prealable, ANAFA, tout comme ALPHA programmes par l'hebergement des moniteurs qui FEMMES, ont procde6 a des enquees et etudes de sont generalement bien integres au milieu et par un milieux pour determiner les contours de la apport forfaitaire dans le cadre de certaines activites demande et la pertinence des besoins. economiques. Dans le dispositif du Projet, il est prevu de De meme, elles mettent a la disposition des soutenir les efforts d'auto promotion des cibles. Les programmes les locaux necessaires. activit6s de developpement sont soutenues et accompagnees par l'alphabetisation et la formation. Choix des organisations pour 1'61aboration Mais en tout etat de cause, les beneficiaires pour d'un projet, mise en place d'une cooperation l'essentiel, adherent a l'initiative qui est donc prise et d'un soutien institutionnel de maniere participative et consensuelle. Les associations de langues et les organisations de Identification et mobilisation des apprenants la societe civile ont ete actives depuis de longues annees dans le domaine de I'alphabetisation. Dans un premier temps, des assemblees generales Tout recemment, le Gouvernement du S6negal a d'information et de sensibilisation sont tenues au initie la politique du << faire-faire >> dans ce domaine, niveau de toutes les localites touchees par le Projet sur la base d'un cahier des charges. aussi bien dans le cas d'ANAFA-louga que Une experience de cette demarche a et le demar- d'Alpha-Femmes. Des tourn6es de sensibilisation rage du Projet d'Alphabetisation Priorite Femmes sont regulierement organisees dans le but d'iden- (PAPF), finance par la Banque Mondiale. tifier les personnes volontaires pour participer aux Toutes les organisations juridiquement recon- s6ances de formation. nues sont habilitees a postuler la conduite d'une Leurs coordonnees sont enregistr6es dans des partie de ce Projet. Les couts de fonctionnement carnets de classes ou figurent lenom de la localite, sont assures sur les fonds publiques qui fournissent les noms et prenoms des apprenants, leur age, ainsi un appui institutionnel a des associations qui leur sexe. se professionnalisent de plus en plus dans cette La mobilisation des apprenants se fait sur la base activite. ANAFA a pu beneficier de cette opportu- du volontariat, mais les candidats prennent un nite pour enrichir son experience. certain nombre d'engagements qui garantissent Dans les cas qui nous interesse ici, c'est a la suite l'assiduite aux seances d'alphabetisation et de d'un appel d'offre que les organisations sont formation jusqu'a la fin du programme. retenues pour entreprendre le Projet. Elles sont De plus, les apprenants mettent sur pied dans selectionnees en fonction principalement de leur chaque centre d'alphab6tisation un comite de capacite a conduire de tels programmes et de leur gestion de la classe. Ce comit6 est charge de main- bonne insertion dans le milieu. Un cadre de tenir la mobilisation et de renforcer la motivation, partenariat est mis en place pour garantir le respect tout en veillant sur la discipline. des engagements de la part des differentes parties impliquees. Centres d'interet des apprenants, leurs attentes et leurs besoins Origine de l'initiative Le contenu de la formation comporte toujours un Ce sont les populations appuy6es aussi bien par aspect << normatif >>, a savoir, les capacites instru- ALPHA FEMMES que par ANAFA-Louga qui mentales a acqu6rir en lecture, ecriture et en calcul. sollicitent, a travers leurs structures organisation- Ce contenu peut, pour ainsi dire, etre considere nelles (Groupements Feminins et Fe6dration des comme < obligatoire >> pour tout apprentissage. 94 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES Outre cet aspect didactique, les centres d'int6r&t Les activit6s de post-alphabetisation visent des apprenants sont identifies de maniere partici- justement a renforcer certains aspects des capacit6s pative, a l'occasion des rencontres d'animation et de qui ont et acquises lors de la phase d'alphab6ti- sensibilisation avec les beneficiaires. sation proprement dite. A cette occasion, la curiosite des apprenants se manifeste par exemple tres fortement. Ils expriment Identification, formation et soutien leur besoin de connaitre des el6ments de geo- des formateurs graphie et des sources de financement qui permet- traient une amelioration croissante de leurs Recrutes parmi les jeunes (garcons et filles) conditions de vie. C'est egalement lors de ces ren- dipl6m6s au ch6mage, sur la base de leurs compe- contres que les apprenants fixent les lieux de de for- tences (pedagogie, communication sociale, tech- mation, les jours et les horaires des cours. nicite), et de leur engagement personnel, les Des discussions sont engag&es pour conformer alphabetiseurs de ANAFA vivent au village durant les horaires aux normes g6neralement admises en toute la duree du programme. Cette proximite leur termes de duree minimale pour un programme permet a la fois de connaitre et d'adapter leur d'alphabetisation (au moins 300 heures). pratique aux r6alites villageoises et d'entretenir des Les besoins des beneficiaires sont donc deter- relations soutenues avec l'ensemble des com- mines, aussi bien par ANAFA-Louga que par posantes de la communaute. Cette position leur Alpha-Femmes, de facon participative. confere un role de facilitateur et de regulateur des changements sociaux vises. Evolution des attentes des participants Pour certains, c'est aussi un apprentissage de la vie, puisqu'ils decouvrent, parfois pour la premiere Pour connaitre les attentes des apprenants et ce qui fois, la realite du milieu rural. Cette experience per- peut etre un plus pour eux, les Projets (ANAFA- met a ANAFA-Louga de contribuer a la lutte contre Louga et Alpha-Femmes) effectuent des etudes de les prejuges entretenus entre ville et campagne. milieu et des enquetes de terrain. De plus, pendant Des s6minaires de formation des formateurs sont toute la dur6e de la phase initiale, le moniteur et le organises pour donner aux moniteurs la capacit6 superviseur notent l'evolution de la demande de conduire les enseignements et d'etre en mesure suppl6mentaire en formation. d'evoluer dans un milieu compose d'adultes, grace Les Projets organisent en outre r6gulierement donc a la maitrise des elements de pedagogie des assemblees generales pour tester la conformit6 des adultes. de la demarche avec les attentes des populations Durant toute la duree des sessions d'alphabeti- concern6es par les programmes. En cas de besoin, sation, le moniteur recoit l'appui p6dagogique du des inflexions peuvent etre apport6es en cours superviseur qui, lui-meme, travaille sous la d'execution. direction d'un coordinateur du Projet. Des sessions de recyclage sont regulierement Amendement et adaptation au fur et a organisees a l'intention des moniteurs pour ren- mesure de la mise en cuvre du Projet forcer et completer leurs capacites. Ceci est fondamental pour la bonne reussite d'un Dans la mesure du possible, le programme de programme d'alphabetisation. En effet, il est formation en lecture et ecriture prend en compte la indispensable d'accorder un grand soin a la for- finalit6 qui est de donner aux apprenants des mation des formateurs charg6s en derniere instance capacit6s pratiques etroitement liees a leurs de dispenser les cours aux apprenants. conditions de vie. Mais au fur et a mesure de son C'est sans doute un des plus grands facteurs deroulement, le programme evolue et integre des d'efficacite pour la reussite d'un programme elements que les apprenants considerent comme d'alphab6tisation. essentiels dans le cadre de leur vecu quotidien ou Alpha-Femmes choisit de travailler avec des a venir. << operateurs >> evoluant dans ses regions d'interven- SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 95 tion (Fatick et Kaolack). Le Plrojet assiste egalement Systeme interne et externe de controle, les operateurs dans l'estimation des couts et dans la 6valuation formative, validation des planification financiere, ce qui constitue en soi un connaissances, evaluation finale, appui institutionnel appr6ciable. L'objectif vise ici feedback, adaptation est renforcer les capacit6s des intervenants dans le secteur de l'Education Non Formelle au S6negal. Le Projet ANAFA-Louga met en place un systeme Donc, Alpha-Femmes met en pratique, au niveau de supervision: deux fois par mois les taux de local, la politique du << faire-faire , telle que deja pr6sence, les absences et abandons sont enregistres, initi6e par le Gouvernement du Sen6gal au niveau les superviseurs suivent egalement le niveau des central. motivations (sur le plan domestique, sanitaire, social, et autres), ainsi que le niveau de progression Articulation entre enseignement general atteint par les apprenants. Ce syst&me permet aussi et formation visant d'amelioration des de deceler les insuffisances et autres difficult6s qui moyens de subsistance se pr6sentent et de proposer des solutions aux apprenants et a l'alphabetiseur. Le contenu des seances de formation est concu de La supervision est egalement un moment de facon a permettre aux apprenants de se familiariser renforcer la mobilisation, le dialogue avec les avec les moyens de promotion socio-6conomique populations. Elle permet de deceler les 6ventuelles necessaires a une amerlioration de leur situation. La difficultes de quelque nature qu'elles soient et d'y m6thode d'enseignement est toujours associee a apporter la solution la plus approprike possible. une animation portant sur les preoccupation du Elie est une occasion pour mesurer les progres grotupe d'apprenants. r6alis6s dans la gestion des activites de promotion C'est ainsi qu'une formation specifique est tou- mises en place par le Projet (Ligne de credits, petits jours associee au programme g6neral d'initiation projets economiques, fonctionnement de la struc- stricto sensu a la lecture, a l'6criture et au calcul. Au ture organisationnelle, etc.). niveau du Projet de D6veloppement des Groupe- Des carnets individuels d'evaluation permanente ments Feminins de Louga, les activit6s g6neratrices permettent au moniteur de suivre les performances de revenus sont mises en place apres la premi&re de chaque apprenant et le niveau de progression de session d'alphab6tisation. Tandis que Alpha- la classe en g6n6ral. Femmes met des le demarrage des cours un petit Cela lui permet d'accorder une plus grande fonds 5.000 cfa pour chaque centre d'alphab6ti- attention aux personnes qui rencontrent le plus de sation ouxert. difficult6. Des tests A mi-parcours et A la fin de la session M6thodes et mat6riels d'instruction sont organis6s pour voir les r6sultats obtenus par les apprenants. Les mat6riels d'instruction relatifs aux contenus Tout le long du processus d'appui aux initiatives d'enseignement general sont produits par des 6conomiques, un suivi est effectue sur le terrain structures specialisees en la matiere ; on note, il est pour accompagner les efforts fournis par les vrai, une certaine insuffisance dans le domaine de la ben6ficiaires, surtout en matiere d'autonomie. production et de l'dition en langues nationales. Une partie des couts de ces materiels est prise en R6sultats en termes de frequentation, charge par les apprenants. Cela illustre le niveau d'achevement et taux de <> d'engagement et de motivation des b6n6ficiaires de ces programmes de formation. Les taux de frequentation sont assez elev6s et Quant aux moyens de soutien economique pour avoisinent souvent plus de 70 % des effectifs du les actixit6s g6n6ratrices de revenus, ils sont assur6s Projet de Developpement des GPF de Louga. Les par le Projet, avec tgalement une participation abandons constat6s sont tres faibles dans l'en- forfaitaire des b6n6ficiaires. semble. Les abandons sont g6neralement dus A la 96 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES sante (il n'est pas rare, par exemple, que les femmes femmes a negocier, a prendre des decisions soient en 6tat de grossesse en cours de programme). communes, a faire face ensemble aux difficultes qui Le nombre total de personnes impliquees dans le se presentent. Ces acquis pr6sentent un premier programme de Alpha-Femmes de 1997 a 2000 s'est pas vers l'autonomie et la prise de conscience e1eve a 5 685 adultes. realiste des forces et faiblesses de la classe en tant Pour ce qui du Projet de Developpement des que groupe. Groupements de Promotion Feminines dans la Une forme de democratie elementaire se met Region de Louga, le nombre s'eleve a 5 530 femmes ainsi en place, fondee sur le choix electif et libre des avec un taux de reussite de 76,6 % et un taux dirigeantes et responsables des activites du d'abandon de 12 %. Groupement. Resultats en termes d'utilisation de Resultats en termes d'effets sur les l'apprentissage apprenants et les groupes en matiere de revenus, de qualite de vie, et sur 11 est evident que les acquis des apprentissages ne le plan psycho-social peuvent etre maintenus que s'ils sont regulierement utilis6s par les apprenantes. C'est le cas lorsque des Les apprenants savent mieux gerer leurs revenus ouvrages sont disponibles en langues nationales. et conduire leurs activites 6conomiques avec beau- C'est le cas egalement lorsque la gestion quoti- coup plus d'autonomie et de contance, ce qui dienne d'une activite economique fait l'objet de accroit le niveau de confiance des femmes en elles- documents ecrits. mrnmes. La premrire mesure prise par Alpha-Femmes est En outre, l'organisation interne des groupements de mettre de petites bibliotheques d'une vingtaine est nettement am6lioree, grace a une plus grande d'ouvrages a la disposition des apprenantes afin democratie dans les modes de fonctionnement du qu'elles se perfectionnent en lecture ou, tout groupement. simplement, se familiarisent avec le medium ecrit. L'introduction d'une gestion ecrite des activites Le choix des livres est assez vari6 pour r6pondre 6conomiques collectives, dans des documents aux interets individuels de tous (poemes, contes, accessibles a toute personne sachant lire, est une documents techniques sur la sante, l'elevage, l'agri- donn6e fondamentale pour promouvoir les prin- culture, bandes dessinees, etc.). cipes de la transparence et introduire les notions de La gestion de leurs activit6s se trouvent egale- rentabilite economique. ment sensiblement ameiorke sur le plan qualitatif. Les mesures d'hygiene et de prevention dans le Au terme de l'apprentissage, dont la duree est de domaine de la sante sont de plus en plus integrees douze mois pour le Projet de Developpement des dans les habitudes courantes. Groupements de Promotion F6minine avec Le statut social et 6conomique de la femme se ANAFA-Louga, les femmes commencent a tenir un trouve fortement revalorise. Une perception nou- cahier de caisse, remplir des requs et des d6charges, velle de la femme se repand. Le groupement des ouvrir un compte en banque. femmes atteint de ce fait un niveau de fonction- L'usage et la manipulation, par exemple, de la nalite beaucoup plus grand. montre pour lire l'heure et du telephone constitue Dans la plupart des villages oii intervient le des utilisations pratiques que les apprenantes Projet ANAFA-Louga, l'habitude se cree de prendre accueillent favorablement. exemple sur le groupement des femmes. La maitrise du calendrier, aussi banale que cela II ne faut pas perdre de vue que le niveau de puisse etre pour quelqu'un qui a frequente l'cole, socialisation est tres eleve chez les femmes rurales n'en constitue pas moins pour la << neo-alphabete > out la personne est fortement impregnee des valeurs un acquis tres important. du groupe. Au niveau du savoir-etre, la mise en place de la Ces resultats sont egalement constates au niveau classe et de l'activite economique amene les des villages appuyes par Alpha-Femmes. SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 97 Les avantages d'une << alphabetisation Cette activite s'est accompagnee d'une grande integre>> production de supports et a ouvert la voie a l'elabo- ration d'un programme de formation similaire inti- L'experience de ANAFA dans la Region de Louga fait tule le PADEN (Projet d'Alphabetisation Des Elus et apparaitre concretement une synergie des activites Notables locaux) lequel met l'accent beaucoup plus d'education et de formation avec celles de develop- sur le renforcement des capacit6s des elus, dans le pement socio-economique (sante, environnement, cadre de la decentralisation administrative et locale. citoyennete, activites generatrices de revenus, Indirectement, il donne aux elus locaux 1 des possi- renforcement organisationnel et institutionnel). bilites accrues de prendre plus tard en charge les La plupart des apprenants posent toujours la problemes de developpement de leurs localites. question de savoir a quoi servira finalement la En revanche, les societes de developpement ont formation, sans une application concrete dans les commence par prendre en charge les preoccupa- differents actes de la vie. Gen6ralement, l'adulte tions de subsistances des populations en y integrant n'aime pas < perdre son temps >>. une formation < lettree >>. Autrement dit, la lutte contre l'analphabetisme des femmes c'est aussi la lutte pour la transforma- Formation aux moyens de subsistances tion des rapports sociaux fondes sur l'inegalite des integrant lecture et ecriture sexes, de leurs bases infra-structurelles et de leurs prolongements institutionnels et id6ologiques. Sur une longue periode, les Pouvoirs Publics ont L'alphab6tisation et la formation peuvent y pris d'importantes initiatives institutionnelles contribuer, mais elles sont loin de suffire a elles destinees a traduire concretement sur le terrain la seules. I1 est donc important de proceder a une volonte politique d'alphabetisation au Senegal. reflexion riche et approfondie sur les connexions a C'est ainsi que des structures d'Etat ont pu etre faire entre l'alphabetisation d'une part, et Emploi, mises en place Production, Sante, Population, Environnement, Democratie et Culture d'autre part. * La Direction de l'Alphabetisation et de De la ont emerg6 des approches, des pro- l'Education de Base grammes et des projets d'alphab6tisation integr6e qui constituent des reponses strategiques et opera- * Le Ministere Del6gue Charg6 de la Promotion tionnelles a l'analyse multifactorielle de la situation des Langues Nationales et des besoins des apprenants, surtout des femmes. L'incorporation d'elements touchant les moyens * Ministere de l'Enseignement Technique, de la de subsistance a donc indeniablement pour effet Formation Professionnelle, de l'Alphabetisation d'augmenter la motivation des apprenants et et de langues nationales. d'assurer une plus grande assiduite aux cours d'alphabetisation. Parallelement a ces mesures d'envergure en Elle donne un contenu plus << utilitaire >> a matiere d'alphabetisation, des pratiques de for- I'activite de formation des adultes et reduit le taux mation et de qualification professionnelle ont et d'absence et d'abandon des auditrices. developpees par les pouvoirs publics princi- Une telle strategie de formation << lettree »> avec palement en direction des secteurs productifs une composante << moyens de subsistance >, se modernes. retrouve, a certains egards, developpee dans la Parmi les premieres societes parapubliques d'en- pratique par un certain nombre d'autres Projets et cadrement des agriculteurs a avoir introduit d'Organisations Non Gouvernementales parmi l'alphabetisation dans les programmes de develop- lesquelles-ci on peut citer la SEFEFOD qui a fait pement, on peut citer: d'importants efforts pour donner un contenu concret au processus de decentralisation et de < develop- * la SODEVA (Soci6te de Developpement et de pement des capacites ,> des elus locaux au Senegal. Vulgarisation Agricole) qui int ?rvenait dans la 98 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES zone de production arachidiere. Elle a incorpore * la modernisation des pratiques agricoles; des elements de formation destines a rendre les producteurs beaucoup plus performants. La * l'organisation et la responsabilisation des suppression des activit6s de cette structure a mis producteurs; fin a l'exp6rience. * la mise en place de programmes d'alphabetisa- * La SODESP (Societ6 de Developpement de la tion et de formation. zone Sylvo Pastorale) qui a egalement aujour- d'hui disparu. Elle 6tait active dans l'appui et Apres une dizaine d'ann6es de presence sur le l'encadrement des eleveurs. terrain, la SODEFITEX a finalement pris la resolu- tion de lancer un programme d'alphabetisation en * Toujours dans cette categorie de structures, on faveur des producteurs. peut parler de la SAED (Societe d'Am6nagement En effet, elle en etait arrivee a la conviction qu'un et d'Etude du Delta) qui intervient dans la partie des freins les plus importants a la responsabilisation Nord du Senegal, pour soutenir les producteurs des producteurs et a la modernisation de l'agricul- du riz dans la Vallee du Fleuve S6n6gal. ture etait assur6ment l'analphabetisme. C'est pourquoi la Societe a decide de demarrer, * Le PAPEL (Projet d'Appui a l'Elevage) au cours de la campagne 1983/84, un v aste programme d'alphabetisation et de formation des * La SODEFITEX (Societ6 de Developpement des producteurs. Fibres Textiles), soci6te d'Etat creee en 1974. Elle a pour mission le developpement de la filiere du Contexte coton et du mais dans la partie orientale du Senegal. Cette p6riode de demarrage du programme d'alphabetisation et de formation de la SODEFITEX Nous avons choisi de nous int6resser a cette correspond a la mise en place de ce qu'il est derniere structure a titre d'exemple de << formation convenu d'appeler, la < Nouvelle Politique Agri- visant les moyens de subsistances avec integration cole >> au Sen6gal, qui traversait une situation de d'el6ments de formation generale de base >>. profondes et difficiles reformes economiques alors Pendant pres d'une trentaine d'ann6es, la en cours dans tout le pays. SODEFITEX s'est consacree au developpement du Un des axes essentiels de cette Nouvelle secteur agricole en encadrant des producteurs de la Politique Agricole etait precisement <" la responsabi- zone cotonniere dans la Region du Sen6gal Oriental lisation des producteurs > du monde rural. et en realisant des investissements mat6riels et Le monde rural represente plus de 70 ¾/, de la financiers considerables. population en age de travailler. Mais malgre son La SODEFITEX d6pendait a ses d6buts du importance en termes de creation d'emplois, le taux Ministere du Developpement Rural et de l'Hydrau- d'analphabetisme y est tres grand. Certains avancent lique. Elle est actuellement sous tutelle du Ministere des chiffres qui depassent 80 '/o. de l'agriculture. Des sa creation par l'Etat du Senegal, Cette situation ne manque pas de se repercuter en 1974, comme societe mixte, la SODEFITEX s'est au niveau de la productivit6 du travail est donc sur assign6e, entre autres objectifs, d'ameliorer les les performances globales du secteur agricole. revenus des producteurs de coton de la Region et de Partant de ce constat, la plupart des structures stimuler la croissance 6conomique de la zone d'appui et d'encadrement du monde rural ont initie d'intervention, en misant notamment sur: des politiques d'accompagnement de leurs activites de production par des activites 'd'alphabetisation et * le renforcement du dispositif de vulgarisation et de formation. d'appui aux organisations de producteurs (plus La SODEFITEX s'etait fix6e comme objectif a de 80.000 personnes); moyen terme l'alphabetisation et la formation de 5 SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 99 agro-pasteurs pour chacune des 1740 Associations Les membres du personnel (agents-vulgatisa- de Base des Producteurs (APB) dans sa zone teurs et assistants superviseurs) disposent chacun (objectif atteint a hauteur de 78 %). d'un velomoteur pour assurer le suivi du pro- A long terme, la SODEFITEX ceuvre pour que gramme, l'animation des associations de villages, la chacune des 27.179 exploitations agricoles qu'elle formation gen6rale et la formation permanente et encadre dispose d'au moins une personne continue des techniciens paysans. <, lettree , en mesure de se comporter en agriculteur moderne susceptible de capitaliser les progres Nature des organisations qui entreprennent techniques et d'assurer une comptabilit6 et une pareille formation gestion rigoureuses. Les objectifs quantitatifs cit6s ci-dessus montrent La SODEFITEX est, comme d6ja indiqu6, une clairement tout ce qu'il reste encore a faire dans le societe mixte de d6veloppement. Mais le pro- domaine de la lutte contre l'illettrisme. Cela gramme de formation est assure actuellement grace n'enleve rien au merite de la SODEFITEX, et a la aux structures-relais des producteurs qui ont etabli pertinence de la direction choisie: donner des 6le- avec la soci6te un contrat de partenariat qui garantit ments de formation aux producteurs. la poursuite des activit6s deja engag6es. Mais il faut reconnaitre que le nombres de personnes touchees par I'alphabetisation Cooperation et soutien institutionnel comparativement a la masse des producteurs organises est naturellement encore tres faible pour Les organisations effectuent les programmes grace le moment. aux << n6o-alphabetises >> issus des villages auxquels la Societe garantit un soutien institutionnel dans le Ressources actuellement affectees : sur les cadre d'un partenariat. plan humain et materiel Origine de l'initiative Sur le plan humain, un personnel est mis en place chaque annee. A titre d'exemple, pour le pro- L'initiative de mettre en place un programme gramme de l'annee 1998/99, avec un effectif de d'alphabetisation est venue de la SODEFITEX, 2.898 auditeurs a alphab6tiser dans l'une des trois mais les producteurs ont tres vite adhere a ce langues nationales parmi les plus parl6es dans la projet. zone (le Wolof, le Mandinka, le Pulaar), la Au debut, les cours etaient assures par le per- SODEFITEX a engag6 117 moniteurs. sonnel technique de la Societ6, avant que les Ces moniteurs sont places sous la responsabilites villageois eux-memes ne prennent le relais comme de 26 superviseurs. En outre, il y a 6 responsables moniteurs. de programmes qui sont mobilises pour les besoins de la campagne d'alphabetisation 98/99. Identifier et mobiliser les apprenants La moyenne calculee sur une periode de 5 ann6es donne les chiffres suivants: 147 classes ouvertes par Les auditeurs sont choisis parmi les volontaires annee (donc, autant de moniteurs) pour 3528 du village qui abrite le centre d'alphabetisation. auditeurs. Ils peuvent aussi provenir des villages envi- Au tout debut, la periode d'alphabetisation se ronnants. deroulait sur 8 mois repartis sur un cycle de 2 Ces volontaires dont l'age est compris entre 20 et ann6es. Mais depuis 1990, une methode dite 40 ans, s'engagent devant l'assemblee villageoise a << intensive >> a 6te testee, puis g6n6ralisee a partir de suivre avec assiduite les cours d'alphabetisation. 1992. Elle se d6roule sur 4 mois, de Janvier a Avril, Leur interet pour les apprentissages est tres grand, a raison de 24 heures par semaine, soit 400 heures conscients qu'ils sont du fait que l'autonomie et le d'enseignement pour le cycle qui, lui, a 6t6 ramen6 progres dans leurs methodes culturales passent entre temps a une annee. necessairement par I'alphabetisation. 100 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES Centres d'int&r&t des apprenants, leurs Pour ce qui concerne les moyens d'accroissement attentes et leurs besoins de la production (donc des revenus), la SODEFITEX met a la disposition des apprenants des intrants Les centres d'interet des apprenants sont identifies agricoles (semences, materiel) et un systeme de grace aux multiples rencontres et assemblees que financement et de commercialisation, le tout, sur la les encadreurs de la Societe effectuent reguliere- base de contrats de partenariat sign6s avec les ment aupres de producteurs. Ils toument essen- organisations paysannes d6nomm6es Groupements tiellement autour du besoin de plus grande maitrise de Producteurs de Coton (GPC). des techniques et methodes modemes de pro- duction, ce qui determine dans une large mesure, le Systeme interne et externe de contr6le, niveau de leurs revenus. evaluation formative, validation des connaissances, evaluation finale, Amendement et adaptation au fur et a feedback, adaptation mesure de la mise en ceuvre du Projet Les superviseurs et autres responsables de Au fur et a mesure que 1 de nouvelles donn6es et l'alphab6tisation effectuent des tests, aussi bien en innovations apparaissent, elles sont integrees dans cours de programme qu'a la fin du cycle, pour le programme de formation tout en r6pondant au connaltre les niveaux des connaissances acquises mieux aux preoccupations des apprenants. par les auditeurs. Les resultats finaux sont egalement etablis a la Identification, formation et soutien fin de chaque campagne. des formateurs Resultats en termes de frequentation, Comme nous I'avons signale plus haut, les d'achevement et taux de << succes >> formateurs etaient tout d'abord issus du personnel technique de la Societ6. Mais avec l'accroissement En considerant toute la periode couverte par les du nombre de personnes alphabetisees, le recrute- differentes campagnes d'Alphabetisation de la ment s'effectue parmi elles a l'aide de tests de SODEFITEX, c'est a dire de 1984 a 1999, les resultats s6lection. Un seminaire de renforcement est cumules sont les suivants: organis6 pour les preparer a leur travail de formateurs. * Nombre total de centres d'alphabetisation ouverts: 1 378 Articulation entre enseignement general et formation visant l'accroissement des moyens * Nombre total de villages inscrits: 5 013 de subsistance * Nombre total d'auditeurs inscrits 35 865 dont 5 Le relais technique villageois alterne la formation 908 femmes d'enseignement general et l'acquisition de meilleures capacites de production agricole. En fait * Nombre total d'auditeurs testes 24 814 dont 3 la formation < lettree >> va de pair avec la formation 393 femmes technique qu'elle contribue a << eclairer >>. * Nombre total de o< succes .> 19 634 dont 3 275 Methodes et materiels d'instruction femmes. Le materiel pedagogique est compose de livrets, de NB: Il faut signaler que les femmes sont cahiers, d'ardoises et d'ecritoire dont la valeurs parvenues a realiser un taux de << succes >> plus peut arriver approximativement a la somme de eleve que les hommes. Peut-etre sont-elles plus 5000 Cfa par apprenant. motivees ? SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 101 Pour ce qui est des frequentations et des obtenue de la SODEFITEX a et6 justement I'al- abandons, la seule indication dont nous disposions phabetisation. porte sur la campagne 1998/99 qui montre une Desormais, ils sont beneficiaires de transferts de moyenne de 20 % d'abandons. competences croissants dans le cadre de leurs organisations de base que sont les Groupements de Resultats en termes d'utilisation de Producteurs de Coton. I'apprentissage En resume: Globalement, le programme de la SODEFITEX se traduit par la mise en ceuvre d'un message tech- L'experience de ]a SODEFITEX montre que la nique base sur l'integration agriculture-elevage. formation peut parfaitement servir les activites de En outre, on assiste au remplacement du per- production de moyens de subsistance qu'elle sonnel technique de la Societe par des villageois contribue a am6liorer dans une large mesure. Les devenus moniteurs d'alphabetisation, ce qui indi- paysans sont aujourd'hui conscients du fait que que un reinvestissement des connaissances acquises l'autonomie villageoise et partant, le progres, en formation. passent necessairement par une alphabetisation de Dans le domaine des activites productives, des qualite. agriculteurs assument avec competence le relais des services de vulgarisation au profit de leur commu- Conclusions et recommandations concernant naute de base. principalement I' Afrique subsaharienne Un des resultats de I'assistance aux APB est l'emergence d'organisations d'agriculteurs capables Il semble se dessiner partout dans le monde, une d'assurer la commercialisation primaire du coton, forte volont6 d'admettre la n6cessite d'articuler la de gerer le credit agricole et diverses activites d'int&- lutte contre la pauvrete et la lutte pour une politi- ret public: securite alimentaire, boutiques villa- que de formation des hommes. Il s'agit donc d'une geoises, pharmacies veterinaires, magasins d'in- part, d'un engagement politique, s'assurant la par- trants, entre autres. ticipation des populations concemrnes et, d'autre Dans notre contexte de developpement, ces relais part, d'une mobilisation des ressources humaines et techniques villageois sont devenus un maillon essen- materielles necessaires a une telle entreprise. tiel pour un accroissement rapide de l'ensemble de la La position d6terminante des femmes dans le production, et par consequent, des revenus. processus de developpement semble egalement une donnee acquise. Les statistiques indiquent qu'au Resultats en termes d'effets sur les Senegal, les femmes assurent 60 % du travail agri- apprenants et les groupes en termes cole et 40 % de la main-d'oeuvre dans le secteur de revenus, de qualite de vie et sur informel. Mais l'acces aux progres techniques pour le plan psychosocial renforcer leurs aptitudes a tirer profit de leurs res- sources est hypoth6qu6 par I'analphab6tisme f6mi- Les responsables de la SODEFITEX ont pu constater nin qui avoisine 80 %. un accroissement de 6 % du rendement agricole par La reponse a cette situation de fait est a chercher rapport a celui du producteur analphabete., et donc non seulement dans la structure de la population, de la productivite du travail chez les agriculteurs mais dans 1'ensemble des finalit6s economiques, ayant beneficie d'une alphabetisation. sociales et culturelles que recele toute operation Cela se traduit par une demande en alphabeti- d'alphabetisation. sation de plus en forte de la part des producteurs. Il est vrai que des efforts notoires ont ete faits dans Les avantages lies a l'autonomisation dans sont le domaine de l'alphabetisation par differents egalement un element tres apprecie par les intervenants (Etats, ONG, Projets de developpement, alphabetises qui savent que le facteur deter- Partenaires institutionnels exterieurs). Neanmoins, minant dans la responsabilisation qu'ils ont beaucoup de problemes demeurent encore. 102 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES Une echelle de priorite outils necessaires a leur information, leur formation et leur promotion sociale. 11 est possible de s'inspirer des outils utilises dans le secteur formel pour les adapter dans le domaine de Le personnel d'appui sur le terrain l'6ducation non formelle, tout en tenant compte bien sCir, des sp6cificites de chacun des deux, Le probleme qui se pose ici est celui d'une bonne Faire en sorte que I'alphabetisation ne soit plus maitrise de la gestion administrative et budgetaire une action d'appoint, mais plut6t une action priori- qui necessite la formation des intervenants et le taire prealable a tout projet de developpement. renforcement des capacites dans un secteur qui L'alphabetisation permet d'accroitre la productivit6 requiert de plus en plus de professionnalisme. des producteurs a la base, des ouvriers, et des ope- I1 est necessaire de faire appel a des formateurs rateurs du secteur informel. Elle permettra aux ayant deja une bonne formation technique, pour les alphabetises de maitriser leur environnement engager comme alphabetisateurs. immediat et de s'epanouir pleinement dans le cadre Le choix de moniteurs ayant deja une technicite de leur milieu naturel. serait un gage de succes. Les deux strategies doivent, comme nous l'avons L'efficacite d'un programme de << formation au dit plus haut, pouvoir aller de pair et tout semble developpement >> d6pend dans une grande mesure indiquer qu'une formation qui s'en tient a la lecture, des capacit6s et de la technicite des alphabetiseurs a 1'ecriture et au calcul, meme si elle pr6sente un eux-memes. C'est pourquoi, ils doivent etre selec- interet pour un adulte, reste toutefois insuffisante. tionnes avec un grand soin. L'esprit de volontariat De meme une formation visant uniquement les et l'engagement de respecter les principes qui moyens de subsistance sans un << 6clairage >> obtenu guident l'action de formation sont une pr6 qualifi- grace aux symboles du code ecrit est loin de lever cation necessaire chez les instructeurs. De meme, il tous les handicaps. est bon qu'ils aient un certain background qui leur permettre de bien assimiler notre problematique, a La question des langues savoir: la necessite d'une connexion etroite entre la sphere de l'education et de la formation d'une part, Dans les entreprises, les ouvriers manifestent le et la sphere des conditions de vie et moyens de besoin de s'alphab6tiser en Francais, mais helas trop subsistance, d'autre part. souvent les budgets ne prevoient que des pro- Une formation permanente est egalement grammes de perfectionnement des cadres, en vue requise pour que l'alphabetisateur soit en mesure d'accroitre leurs performances. de donner << une valeur ajoutee >> aux apprenants, Par ailleurs la non utilisation des langues pas seulement des notions de lecture, ecriture et nationales dans l'administration et les services calcul, mais un plus dans les domaines de publics n'est pas de nature a encourager les travai- preoccupation des beneficiaires des programmes. lleurs a s'alphab6tiser dans les langues nationales. 11 doit etre capable de s'ouvrir aux nouvelles Cependant, un espoir apparait avec la r6cente innovations et approches qui pourraient intervenir decision des autorites du Senegal de faire alpha- dans le secteur de la formation et de l'education des bMtiser tous les fonctionnaires de l'Etat dans l'une adultes, qui est en constante mutation. au moins des langues nationales. Cette mesure Une valorisation des acteurs de l'alphabetisation constitue un signal fort en direction de la est n6cessaire afin de formaliser de plus en plus valorisation et de la promotion de ces langues. cette activite, voire la <" normaliser I1 faut egalement s'orienter vers des mesures et initiatives qui puissent donner des raisons supplI- Approches et articulations qui semblent mentaires aux apprenants de comprendre et d'ac- promettre une plus grande efficacite cepter que s'alphabetiser dans les langues nationales n'est pas une << perte de temps >>, mais I1 est donc important de proceder a une reflexion plutot une voie d'acces a la maitrise de certains riche et approfondie sur les connexions a faire entre SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 103 Alphabetisation d'une part, Emploi, Production, sonne adulte consideree. 11 peut constituer une base Sante, Population, Environnement, Democratie et de reference. Culture d'autre part. De la ont emerge des approches, des pro- Les couits grammes et des projets d'alphabetisation integr6e qui peuvent apporter des reponses strategiques et L'extreme variabilit6 des cofits de formation, des operationnelles a l'analyse de la situation et la satis- credits horaires d'une structure a une autre ne faction des besoins des apprenants. facilite pas la mise en ceuvre de programmes de Reflehir sur les connexions entre l'alphabetisa- formation elabor6s et homogenes. Nous partageons tion, la production des moyens de subsistance, dans bien cette conviction selon laquelle 1' 6ducation n'a une dynamique mettant la femme au premier plan pas de prix, meme si elle comporte un cofit. se revele alors d'une importance capitale. Il est necessaire d'arriver a une harmonisation des Systemes de monitoring, estimation, actions d'alphabetisation a travers un cadre de refe- evaluation et feedback rence qui definira une Grille Nationale d'Evaluation. Cette harmonisation des methodes devra cepen- Des normes reconnues partout en la matiere sont dant permettre aux acteurs sur le terrain de l'alpha- indispensables. Elles auront l'avantage de permet- betisation de garder leurs specificites. tre une mesure fiable de tout programme de forma- 11 est necessaire d'identifier le contenu, les ap- tion, grace notamment a l'adoption d'indicateurs proches materielles et pedagogiques et les supports objectivement v6rifiables et valides. Il est necessaire les plus efficaces. d'arriver a un cadre de ref6rence qui definira une L'articulation entre la formation generale et la Grille Nationale d'Evaluation. formation visant l'amelioration des moyens d'exis- tence est la voie la plus indiquee pour apporter un Partenariat solidaire plus aux apprenants. Ce programme doit s'accom- pagner d'une politique de conception d'ouvrages De par la nature meme du contexte actuel de la qui traitent de facon specifique tous les aspects lies cooperation dans les domaines aussi bien du au developpement des ressources productives. developpement que de la formation qui sont, de notre point de vue, deux spheres indissociables, il Ressources necessaires sur les plans est indispensable de travailler en partenariat soli- quantitatif et qualitatif pour une daire, cela signifie que tous les acteurs soient sou- efficacite satisfaisante mis aux regles et principes unanimement reconnus en matiere de Planification, Suivi, Evaluation et Pour atteindre une efficacite satisfaisante, il neces- Realisation. saire qu'un consensus resulte d'une concertation La n6cessite de la cooperation impose de fait une entre les differents acteurs du developpement. certaine ouverture d'esprit, le partage des La combinaison entre les activites productives et resultats, des processus pour les atteindre, de leur les activit6s de formation doit trouver un terrain impact et du contexte d'6volution. d'application dans la conception de tous les projets de developpement. Il doit etre possible d'etablir un pourcentage de References formation a integrer dans tout projet qui vise le developpement. SODEFITEX. Rapport annuel d'alphabtisation - campagne En s'inspirant de l'indice de developpement 1998/99. humain (qui semble beneficier d'un consensus SODEFITEX. 1996. Bilan du PDRSO - Periode interimaire humain~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~prlne Juilli se9/Jblle 1996.e du cnenu minimum) il est parfaitement possible de mesurer prolongee, juillet 1994/Juillet 1996. le pour une per- Annex 5 Cases from Uganda Anne Ruhweza Katahoire Preliminary note grams however were fruitless. Those that were .available had very scanty information indeed. he study's basic task was to examine two There is a very urgent need in Uganda for both gov- broad approaches to combining livelihood emment and NGOs engaged in literacy to system- training with literacy instruction. One atically document their experiences in a detailed approach incorporates training for livelihood skills manner that will enable others to understand the into mainly literacy instruction or "literacy first." process they have been through and to learn from The other incorporates literacy instruction into their experiences. There is also the urgent need to training for mainly livelihood skills or "literacy conduct detailed impact studies of these programs. second." The study used available documentary This kind of documentation of literacy programs in accounts to come up with the case studies presented Uganda seems to be currently non-existent. Reasons in this report. While there are many literacy pro- for this are not very clear. While as previously noted grams and projects currently being implemented in there are many adult literacy programs in Uganda, the country, only a few cases are presented here. It those presented in this report are those programs was evident during the course of the study that that have tried to combine literacy with livelihood there is very little systematic documentation of lit- training. Secondly because this study was a docu- eracy programs in Uganda, especially documenta- mentary review, the cases described are those that tion that could help those not directly involved in have documented their experiences over the years the programs to learn about them and to draw les- or that have been documented through process sons from their experiences. Many of the reports review and evaluation. These programs include the available were very scanty indeed, with hardly any Government Functional Adult Literacy Program, analytical descriptions of the programs. Systematic Action Aid's Literacy Programs and ADRA's Func- documentations of the impact of the literacy pro- tional Learning Program. grams were also almost non-existent. Particularly difficult to find were reports on liter- Introduction acy programs run by local NGOs and Community Based Organizations (CBOs). An evaluation study Uganda's estimated population is 22.2 million of literacy programs in Uganda in 1999 observed people, of which 50.8 percent are women. The liter- that the explosion of NGOs and CBOs on the acy rate for Uganda is currently estimated to be Uganda scene in recent years has seen quite a 65percent, but this is a very crude estimate, given number of them involved in literacy and adult edu- that the last national census was in 1991. Adult lit- cation. Attempts to get documentation on these pro- eracy rates are higher in the urban (87 percent) than 104 SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 105 in the rural (59 percent) areas, and the literacy rate with literacy components derive their living mainly among women (51 percent) is lower than that from subsistence agriculture (Oxenham et al. 2001). among men (77 percent) (National Household Census 2000: 16-17). The Functional Adult Literacy Program In Uganda 75 percent of the total population are employed in the agricultural sector working as sub- The government Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) sistence farmers who get very little return through program in Uganda is an example of literacy first. It cash crop production. This has heightened rural- incorporates training for livelihood skills into liter- urban migration, which has led to unemployment acy instruction. As demonstrated by the case study, and underemployment. The government has put in this approach attempts to integrate livelihood train- place programs like the modernization of agricul- ing, income-generating activities, and literacy. One ture, micro credit schemes (like Entandikwa) tar- of the aims of the FAL program is to help learners geted at decreasing rural poverty. These programs, establish the usefulness of literacy and their new however, mainly benefit those already literate. Illit- knowledge through combining instruction with erate people lack the skills to use such monies and actual applications to a range of activities. The hence miss out on what could have helped their sit- approach used is called "integrated" and covers uation (Okech et al. 1999 and FAL 2000 Annual three dimensions: Report on the Functional Adult Literacy Program, Functional Adult Literacy Strategic Investment Plan Integration of subject matter: The approach applies 2001). In 1997, Uganda introduced Universal Pri- the knowledge from different subjects (or program mary Education, and parents are increasingly areas as they are called in this program) to the prob- expected to play an active role in their children's lem or effort at hand. Such integration has been education, but this may be impossible when a found to be necessary because in real life, one prob- parent cannot read, write, or count. In addition, lem may arise from several causes, and it is usually illiterate people continue to miss out on vital health not possible to solve a problem or promote an effort information by not understanding what is being by looking at one aspect only. said or passed on, due to the lack of reading and writing skills. Consequently, Uganda's population Integration among service providers: The approach is still characterized by high levels of infant mortal- is also integrated because it makes use of different ity, maternal mortality, morbidity, malnutrition, professionals or sectoral workers in the field to poor sanitation and hygiene, unemployment, and address the learning or development issues at hand. poverty Over the years there has been a great It is often not possible for the literacy instructor demand for literacy programs, with the majority of alone to adequately cover the different subject areas participants being women. The critical question for needed to address the learners' needs. They are this study is how and to what extent are literacy therefore encouraged to bring in extension workers programs strengthening poor people's livelihoods. from agriculture, health, co-operatives, and so on to strengthen the learning process. The Programs Integration of learning and life: The approach Livelihood in this study is taken to mean simply keeps learning and life together by tying the learn- making a living. It restricts itself to the knowledge, ing to those things that the learners are already skills, and methods used to produce or obtain food, doing, first helping them to do those things better, water, clothing and shelter necessary for survival and then enabling them to start on new activities. To and well being, whether the economy is subsis- ensure this link to life, the approach aims at imme- tence, monetized, or a mixture of both. Livelihood diate application of what is learned in real life situ- seems more appropriate than either "employment" ations. Follow-up activities are therefore designed or "income generating activities," because the to take the instructors and learners from the class- majority of people who participate in programs rooms to the learners' work, which for the vast 106 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES majority of the learners, is in their homes and sur- majority of learners, who were women, testified rounding fields (Okech 1994). that the program had increased their self-esteem The FAL program under the Ministry of Gender, and confidence in participating in political and eco- Labour and Social Development is by far the largest nomic activities. They also testified that, with liter- literacy program currently being implemented in acy, they had improved their domestic hygiene, Uganda. Because it is a government program, there agriculture, and diet. The team observed that with have been deliberate efforts to cover the whole more investment in the training of instructors, the country within a short time. With the help of the program would be even more effective. They noted German Adult Education Association (DVV) and that the methodology and its delivery were sound UNICEF, implementation of the FAL pilot phase in terms of problem-solving but needed to be began in 1992 covering eight pilot districts. From backed up by a rural credit scheme and more imag- 1996 onwards, the program gradually expanded inative approaches on the part of instructors. from eight districts to 26 by the end of 1998. The The team recommended that the functional liter- program is currently being implemented in 37 dis- acy program should be expanded in a controlled, tricts and has approximately 127,000 learners (FAL systematic, and planned manner, starting with its Annual Report 2000). Its actual geographical cover- consolidation in the eight pilot districts. They fur- age, however, is much more limited; the program is ther recommended that a decentralized program only operational in a maximum of four parishes in structure should complement the political process each of the districts in which it is in effect. with clear definition of roles of the center and the Although the program activities started in 1992, districts. They recommended that a system of incen- the launching of the actual teaching and learning tives for instructors should be worked out, with the took time. The government went through a com- cost borne by districts. The center should be respon- prehensive and systematic process of preparing the sible for the cost of teaching and learning materials, curriculum and materials in advance. These were in the training of trainers and allowances from Com- response to needs identified through a needs assess- munity Development staff. They also recom- ment survey. Professionals in adult education, cur- mended that a large-scale credit scheme be set up riculum development and language took part, and and actively linked to the literacy program (A attempts were made to ensure that different pro- Process Review of Functional Literacy Projects in gram areas were covered, namely, agriculture, co- Uganda 1985). operatives and marketing, health, gender and cul- In 1999, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and ture, and civic consciousness (Okech 1994). Social Development, with support from the World The instructors in the FAL program were selected Bank, commissioned an evaluation of this program. by the learners, based on given criteria. These Its purpose was to compare and contrast the instructors were then trained, encouraged to iden- resource requirements and the effectiveness of the tify income-generation projects, and to initiate proj- FAL approach and the Regenerated Freirean Liter- ects with the learners. In reality, the methodology acy through Empowering Community Techniques actually used by the FAL instructors is a practical (REFLECT) approach. The evaluation attempted to improvisation whose final shape depends on the assess the implementation of adult literacy educa- ability and ideas of the instructor. Therefore, it was tion and recommended future policy on the devel- not possible to say that any one particular method- opment of adult literacy education. ology is in general use. The evaluation analyzed effectiveness in two A process review of the FAL program was carried areas: (a) the attainment and retention of reading, out in October 1995. The team observed that there writing and arithmetic skills and (b) facilitating was overwhelming demand for adult literacy at all practical knowledge, attitude change and skills. Ele- levels, evidenced by the fact that there were almost ments considered were (a) the factors affecting per- as many literacy classes outside the program's areas formance in each those area, (b) the quality of the of operation as inside. Those had sprung up materials, (c) the extent of local commitment, and because of the strong demand for literacy The (d) the adequacy of monitoring and supervision. SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 107 These evaluation was specifically required to personal and environmental sanitation, and estab- emphasize outcomes and cost effectiveness rather lishing successful income generating activities. than process or methodology. The evaluation was It proved difficult to extract consistent informa- carried out in 19 sub-counties of eight districts tion about either enrollments or expenditures for located in six of the country's eight regions. This the FAL program, and the team found no consistent case study draws heavily on the findings of the pattern. Although the community development evaluation, while also drawing from the annual officers (CDOs) and community development assis- reports of the program. tants (CDAs) had received new monitoring forms, The 1999 evaluation noted that the overwhelm- they appeared to be having difficulty persuading ing majority of participants in this program were volunteer instructors to complete them regularly or women. The participation of such high proportions systematically. The average attendance rate over the of women made a strong case for the program's four years in all the districts was estimated to be 80 potential for bring about socio-economic transfor- percent. Although this varied widely among the mation. The evaluation noted, however, that the lit- districts, the year-on-year average was surprisingly eracy programs were in danger of missing their pri- stable. The 20 percent of irregular attendees mary clients, who were the people who have not included those who had never attended classes, been to school. Almost three-quarters of the gradu- even though they had enrolled, as well as those ates sampled had been to school, many for more who were absent from time to time. than five years. Surprisingly, even those who grad- There were large disparities in the resources uated from the program did not leave but contin- available to the FAL program in the different dis- ued attending classes. During the focus group dis- tricts. The program was generally under-resourced. cussions, some of the FAL graduates explained that Two-thirds of the instructors reported that classes they continued to attend the FAL classes because of took place outside-under a tree or in someone's the opportunities offered through these classes to backyard. Many of the classes still depended on learn skills other than literacy and numeracy. borrowed blackboards and relied on other collabo- The majority of the graduates, regardless of their rating organizations for chalk. The learners bought schooling and age, had attained a level of reading, their own materials like exercise books, pencils, and writing, and numeracy higher than that of Primary pens. The government provided the primers. 4 pupils. However, the average level of attainment All the FAL instructors were unpaid volunteers. was very limited. The quality of implementation of Their median level of schooling was two years of the program was the major explanation for the vari- secondary education. Only 13 of the instructors ations in the learners' attainment. Graduates per- reported being primary school teachers and only formed considerably better than non-literates in the four others had salaried employment. It was noted same communities in terms of their functional that the use of unpaid volunteer instructors was not knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Further, an very sustainable. Some incentive system would impressive number of income-generating projects have to be introduced-whether in cash or in kind- had been started in the communities, and many if the program was to retain and recruit good qual- individuals attributed their initiative to their partic- ity instructors (Okech et al. 1999). ipation in the FAL program. The training of instructors was particularly lim- The findings suggested that the literacy pro- ited. Most of the sampled instructors (78 percent) grams had equipped the learners with practical had received the initial training of one or two weeks, knowledge, especially in the areas of agriculture, and just over half of these had received follow up crop and animal husbandry and handicrafts. Other training. This varied widely between districts and benefits mentioned by the sampled graduates tended to be dependent on outside support. In one of included (a) stronger participation in the gover- the districts, half the instructors had not received nance of their communities in terms of frequency even the initial training. Many of the instructors had and in the significance of roles played, (b) adoption been trained for just three days and had never had of better health practices, especially through better any refresher training. This was true of their supervi- 108 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES sors, most of whom had received no orientation in literacy programs, the Assistant Community Devel- adult education and literacy methodology. opment Officer asked them to identify instructors The instructors received limited support in the amongst themselves. Once this was done, the Com- form of supervision and monitoring from the exten- munity Development Staff helped the groups get sion workers in the district. Of the 46 instructors their instructors trained and also helped them get who reported having received a visit from a CDA, some learning materials, like primers. fewer than half had received a visit in the last six According to the 1999 evaluation, these groups months. While the graduates appreciated the help were made up of relatively young women, with the instructors gave them, a number of them did nearly half being under 30, while fewer than a fifth suggest that some of their instructors needed train- were aged 45 and over. The majority of them (76.9 ing, as they were unable to expand on some topics. percent) were married and 83.3 percent of the grad- In particular, when some of the instructors reached uates sampled in the evaluation had been to school. practical lessons, which required the participation The period of schooling was years. Although of an extension worker, they often skipped those Rukungiri district had the highest number of sections because they could not get extension work- women graduates sampled in the study (97.5%), ers to come. this high percentage of women graduates was common to almost all other sampled districts. FAL Rukungiri - A case of literacy second The focus group discussions with the literacy graduates in Rukungiri revealed that one reason The FAL program in Rukungiri is an example of lit- they joined FAL classes was to consolidate their eracy second. In this case, the women's groups were reading, writing, and numeracy skills. Other rea- engaged in different kinds of economic activities, sons given for joining were that they wanted to then they realized that their progress was being learn how to read and write so that, when signing frustrated, unless they learnt to calculate more com- agreements they could understand what was prehensively, record their incomes and outgoings involved. In saving and credit groups, often some and read their records. So literacy training was kinds of agreements were signed. Also to access introduced into already existing women's groups at loans from micro credit schemes, members of a their request. group were sometimes required to sign agreements The establishment of this FAL program is differ- that bound them as a group, so it was important for ent from the other programs in the other districts, in these women to read and comprehend what was in that the establishment of this program was demand these agreements. The majority (83.8 percent) were driven. Rukungiri district's FAL program was subsistence farmers. Only 8.8 percent were engaged included in the 1999 evaluation and to some extent in small-scale cash cropping. None were engaged in it provides an interesting contrast in terms of out- business or employed. Due to scarcity of land, comes and impact when compared to the FAL pro- women who were farmers were increasingly being grams in other districts. Data for this case study are forced to venture out into trade, so numeracy skills drawn mainly from the 1999 evaluation and also were becoming increasingly essential for commer- from an interview with the commissioner in charge cial transactions. Women explained that some of literacy in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and unscrupulous traders cheated them when selling Social Development. and buying produce by using faulty weighing The literacy program in Rukungiri started in scales and by not giving them back the right 1996. It was adopted by women's groups that were change. Women also wanted to be able to write and already in existence and engaged in income-gener- read confidential letters. ating activities such as bee keeping, poultry keep- Although these women had some education, ing, basket making, and savings and credit. The they were relatively poor. The majority lived in FAL program started in four sub-counties of houses with mud walls (88.4 percent) and mud Kirima, Bwambara, Kebisoni, and Nyarushanje. floors (83.5 percent). While all their homes had When the women's groups in these areas requested latrines, 71.9 percent of them used paraffin candles SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 109 and fewer than half (41 percent) had a working was the enthusiasm for the program. The majority radio. These women had come together in groups in of the graduates reported further improvement an attempt to improve their socio-economic well- since the proficiency test. In the functional knowl- being and that of their families. edge questions, like those on HIV /AIDS and gover- The women observed that being part of already nance, respondents in Rukungiri also scored high- established groups had made it easier for them to est. Apart from the two questions where there was start literacy classes. As one learner observed: almost universal adoption of modern practices, respondents in Rukungiri were overall the most "For those who were not in groups already, it modern, with the highest proportion giving the was difficult to start literacy classes and get modern answers to eight of the 19 questions. voluntary instructors. Groups which were Respondents in Rukungiri were particularly already in existence identified some of their lit- modern regarding agricultural practices. erate members as good instructors and these A high percentage of the learners in Rukungiri willingly volunteered to teach without pay." district (88.4 percent)-second highest in the national sample-reported that they did generate The learners' enthusiasm was revealed in their high income. Three-quarters of them had subsequently investment in the classes, especially when com- done income-generation and nearly all (96.5 per- pared to investment by learners in the FAL pro- cent) said that they had improved their life because grams in the other districts. The majority (89.2 per- of this project. Unlike the graduates in the other dis- cent) of the learners paid for the basic materials. The tricts included in the evaluation, nearly all the evaluation study noted that Rukungiri was one of Rukungiri learners (94.2 percent) had taken a final the more deprived districts in terms of materials; test, and all of them had continued to go to literacy this was probably because it was one of the newer class after the test. districts to be included in the FAL program, and the The women in Nyarushanje mentioned that, government's contributions to the program were among the benefits of the literacy classes, they were diminishing. However, just under three-quarters of economically empowered in their groups to buy the graduates did not have to share primers, and mattresses and blankets and even repair their they kept their own copy after graduating. In some houses, since their men did nothing but drink. From of the other districts the investment was as low as their handicrafts, they managed to sell at least three 32.8 percent. Slightly more than a third of the learn- items every three months and get some money to ers (35 percent) of the Rukungiri learners made a support their families. Focus group discussions contribution to the instructors, mainly in kind, such with sub-county officials from the same place indi- as baskets of beans during harvest, a few eggs, pota- cated that community members had also noted an toes, bananas and similar items. improvement in the lives of these women. As one The majority of the instructors interviewed in official observed: Rukungiri had more than two years' experience. They were rated quite highly by the learners in "We notice that those who have been to FAL terms of attendance, clarity, commitment, teacher/ classes send all their children to school and learner relationship, and making lessons interest- seem to appreciate the value of education. The ing, but not so well in terms of bringing outside women have learnt the importance of safe speakers and using teaching aids. All the instructors water. We have also noticed that even people in Rukungiri reported that their learners kept time, who do not attend are trying to copy good were always present, participated fully, did home- practices from those who attend." wvork, and were generally assiduous. In a test administered by the evaluation team, the According to the women and some of the sub- literacy graduates in Rukungiri scored highest on county officials the functional component of the lit- the complex comprehension and numeracy tests. eracy program, particularly regarding modern agri- One of the reasons suggested for the high scores culture, had proved to be very useful. Literacy was 110 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES also said to be helping the women to get informa- from interviews with the program staff. Unfortu- tion on their own through reading the local news- nately there has been no systematic impact study of paper, the "Orumuli." this program so far. Sub-county officials in Kirima Sub-County felt ADRA is an independent, humanitarian, world- that women's groups that had literacy injected into wide agency. In Uganda, ADRA was established them had benefited. One remarked that: and registered with the government in 1987, soon after the civil strife. It mainly started relief activities. "Our people have gained self esteem and self Since then, ADRA has evolved into a reputable, reliance through attending literacy classes, we community-based development agency operating feel more children are being sent to school in many parts of the country. FAL is one of the com- since mothers now appreciate the value of munity-based development programs in which it is education. Our women are no longer cheated involved. ADRA has four active literacy projects, in selling their produce; mothers can follow and four others are in the pipeline. how to administer drugs to their sick children. ADRA's vision is for a better-informed and liter- Women who are literate now get more infor- ate society, which has the ability to positively con- mation from reading our weekly newspaper tribute to development activities in the local com- the 'Orumuri' the new literates are now able to munity and beyond. Their mission is to Promote make written wills and agreements. The agri- literacy and functionality for adult women and men cultural methods are better." by promoting their ability to exploit the limited resources around them for the purposes of develop- The women themselves said that they could now ing their surroundings and eventually becoming budget for their homes. The functional knowledge self reliant. on fuel-saving stoves had helped to reduce the The objectives of the FAL projects are: amount of wood fuel they used. They felt that they had improved their status and that the knowledge * To empower adults with reading, writing, and of organic farming had helped them to grow veg- numeracy skills and to raise the current literacy etables both for home consumption and for sale. rate to a projected percentage, depending on the They felt that they had gained self-confidence and literacy levels in different areas; had learned how to prepare tree nursery beds and how to give their children a balanced diet. The FAL * To equip leamers with essential life skills for per- program in Rukungiri shows that, when a group of sonal and community development; learners truly feel a program is important, they are willing to invest in it and to benefit from it fully. * To build the capacity of the community for income generation and self-reliance; ADRA: Uganda's Functional Adult Learning Program (FAL) * To administer loans for income-generating activities; The Functional Adult Learning Program sponsored by ADRA is an example of literacy first. Literacy in * To build the culture of continued learning at this case is a prerequisite for livelihood training. In home and at work; this case, training in a livelihood is the longer-term aim, but people are encouraged not to start liveli- * To enable learners to appreciate and conserve hood training until they have mastered reading, their environment for developmental purposes. writing and calculating enough to cope with its operating and development requirements. There is ADRA Uganda is operating four FAL projects in a planned progression between the two. Materials the western, central, eastern and northem parts of for this case study were drawn from a concept Uganda, with a retention rate of 80 percent so far. paper and progress reports on the program and There are over 18,500 learners in all, 90 percent of SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 111 whom are female (ADRA Annual Report 2000). The aids such as blackboards and paper charts are pro- project goal as stipulated in the project paper is "to vided on a cost-sharing basis from the government, improve learning and the income levels of the dif- community, or donor. ferent target communities. It is for this reason that The learners are first made literate through the micro finance components are also put in place for use of modules, which are professionally and tech- purposes of boosting the activities in the form of nically designed for adult learner. They use the inputs, loans, and demonstration sites." ADRA primers developed by the government. The inten- Uganda has adapted Functional Adult Learning as tion here is to enable the individual learners to a broader concept that takes into account many become literate, which is demonstrated by their components, the major one being adult literacy ability to read, write, and manipulate figures. This, Designed in line with the government Functional according to ADRA, is a form of capacity-building Adult Literacy Policy Guidelines, ADRA Uganda's because the person is empowered to read instruc- FAL is an expansion of the government FAL cur- tions, write and record his activities, and count his riculum. In addition to adult literacy, ADRA or her money with confidence. At this level, the Uganda's Functional Adult Learning Program is a learner's self-esteem and confidence are boosted. functional one with practical implementation made According to ADRA, the adults they work with possible by the inclusion of the loan component that need to have a livelihood strategy that is viable and supports income-generating activities (IGAs) sustainable in order to be self-reliant. Since sustain- through micro-financing. able livelihoods involve a complex network of The instructors are volunteers who are drawn socio-cultural, economic, and political components, from a cross section of people within the community learners are trained in essential life skills activities and are chosen by the learners themselves. Some are that enhance productivity, social and environmental schoolteachers, health workers, civic leaders, or health, and social and civic responsibility. Learners opinion leaders who offer service to guide the learn- are encouraged to choose those activities in which ers on a voluntary basis. They get a monthly stipend they have a competitive niche and receive training from ADRA as a form of motivation. The instructors to master them. These include improved agricul- are supposed to fulfill the following criteria: they tural methods, income-generating activities, IGA should (a) have a basic education background identification, and management. higher than that of the learners, (b) be conversant ADRA works with the poor who do not have the with the language used, (d) be acceptable to the required capital to kick-start the economic activities communities and the learners in particular, (e)have they are interested in. For this reason, the learners integrity and maturity, and (f)be at least 18 years old. are trained in loan management and encouraged to The instructors are given initial and follow-up train- form solidarity groups that act as collateral, after ing on instructing learners in literacy, life skills, and which they are advanced micro-loans at an interest income-generating activities (lGAs). rate of 4 percent per quarter. Using the skills ADRA's FAL classes in different places make use attained during the learning process, the learners of whatever venue is available: community centers, are able to start and manage economic activities churches, school classrooms, or even shady tree. successfully and meet their domestic and personal Where possible, the communities contribute by pro- obligations more easily The learners are able in this viding the premises. ADRA gets its primers from process to apply the knowledge and skills acquired. the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Develop- Apart from building the individual learners' capac- ment. When these are not enough, they photocopy ity, the FAL program also aims at community and them, so that learners can have easier access to organizational capacity-building to sustain the proj- them. The learners cover reading, writing, and ect activities when- ADRA finally phases out. arithmetic integrated with functionality (the ability Learners are divided into groups of between 40 of the learners to puLt into practice what they have and 70 per class. They are given six hours of train- learned). The topics are progressively set up in ing a week, divided into sessions of two or three learners' primers in level 1 and level 2. The teaching hours a day, depending on the season (learners usu- 1 12 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES ally prefer to come for two three-hour sessions a as a Community Based Organization (CBO) with week during the rainy/planting season). They are legal rights and powers. The association then elects taught continuously for a period of nine to 12 the officers, who are then trained to take over the months before they take the proficiency test. administration of the project. ADRA officials train ADRA has introduced micro credit schemes, in the officers on how to run the loan fund. Upon several districts, Mbale being one of the first ones in handing over the project to the community, ADRA 1998. In order to guarantee successful operation of monitors the project for some time to ensure that it the scheme, ADRA chose to use the FAL classes to is running properly. The CBOs are usually made up implement the program. Continuous training and of the graduates of the literacy program. regular follow-up proved essential for the assured Community capacity-building begins with the indi- return of the small-scale loans. FAL classes offered vidual members who collectively make up the com- background training and management of small- munity. According to ADRA, the most critical proof of scale business. ADRA's micro loans are between that capacity is the community group's ability to pro- 50,000 and 100,000 Uganda shillings (between 30 to vide an alternative sustainable source of income. It was 50 US$), returnable in installments within 16 weeks. evident from the different project reports that in all ADRA's project in Mbale has established the fol- project areas, learners have shown enthusiasm, and lowing strict criteria for issuing micro loans: During this has inspired local authorities, political leaders, and the first stage, the participants must: participate in opinion leaders to contribute moral, material and mon- FAL training, know how to count, and understand etary support to the program. the process of buying and selling. During the Ms. Heidrun Siebeneiker of the German Develop- second stage, the participants must: be able to ment Service and a technical advisor to FAL projects assess the feasibility of a project, start a small activ- in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Devel- itv without financial assistance, and be able to save opment, conducted a small case study of ADRA's a small amount of money. During the third stage the project in Mbale. On the basis of visiting eight FAL participants must build solidarity groups of five classes in three different sub counties, six of which trusted members, open an account at a bank of their had qualified for and enjoyed the benefit of ADRA choice, and put their savings, together with the micro financing, she observed the following: loans, into one group fund. The combination of the ADRA micro-financing The assumption is that at that stage, the members scheme and the FAL training has boosted both pro- are mature enough to grasp the concept of money grams and set standards for a good concept that and the importance of accountability. Due to ongoing works. It reaches the poorest of the poor, and, with- group pressure and guidance, their determination out immense budgets, makes a difference at the does not relax, and they often find that their team- grassroots. The successful combination of FAL and work can lift projects onto larger scales. ADRA staff's micro finance spoke for itself. All six groups had experience is that smaller loans and short periods close to 100 percent repayments within the required keep the commitment alive and ensure success. time frame. No one had been found wasting money. Literacy classes without financial support are One or two participants had aimed too high in their mainly frequented by women. When there is the enterprise and failed or delayed, but they had possibility of getting loans, men are not only ready learned from the experience. Many even had made to allow their wives to attend the classes but the small profits, which were now being invested into classes themselves become socially acceptable for expansion. The two classes that had been struggling the men to attend. This has popularized the ADRA without financial input, on the other hand, also man- FAL classes to the extent that spontaneous enroll- aged to get some small-scale businesses going, but all ment of 200 learners at the launch of a new class is of them had found it frustrating, with many not not unusual. being able to get off the ground. While learners of all During project implementation, the community classes emphasized the value of FAL education, the members form an association committee with a effects on those who had gained independence community-oriented constitution. This is registered through financial support was remarkable. All the SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 113 participants reported positive change in their com- the international NGO, ActionAid. Literacy training munities, in their homes, and in their own attitudes. in this case is followed by separate livelihood or There was now money to send children to school. income-generation activities. Here, literacy is Women have become more independent because regarded as a self-standing and worthwhile aim in they earn their own money. There was less drinking itself and is undertaken first. Thereafter, training is and abuse because people have an aim. People's sometimes offered in either livelihoods or some houses were cleaner. Farming and animal hus- form of income-generating activity under the other bandry were managed more successfully. People program components. have higher self-esteem, as they could manage their An important principle applied to ActionAid pro- own affairs. Businesses were more successful grams is that of participatory approaches to devel- because of the new management skills, and people opment. The strategy is meant to create awareness in were more successful at managing their lives. Com- the community and assist in enhancing the capacity munities had become more peaceful. of the community to do for themselves those things Besides Ms. Siebeneiker's observations, there is a which will enable them to raise their standard of report from the Kioga Integrated Functional Adult living through education, improved agriculture, and Literacy Project. According to its progress report, community-based health care. It is this recognition during the first session, the project trained 4,222 of the importance of awareness and of the need for learners, 3,229 (76.5 percent) of which passed the the people to manage all aspects of their life in a sus- proficiency test. During the second session, a total tainable manner that led ActionAid to accord an of 2,204 learners registered, of whom 1,880 turned important place to adult literacy. up to start classes. The FAL program guide recom- mends 20 to 40 learners per class. The report "By teaching them how to read and write, and observed that in the last year, the instructors com- through a functional literacy approach, by plained about the large numbers in their classes. giving them knowledge and skills in health This high turn-out of learners is partly explained by and agriculture, these people will have been the fact that ADRA gives loans to learners who suc- given the empowerment they require to more cessfully complete their literacy training.One of the effectively control their environment" (Okech challenges noted by the project manager in Kioga 1994). was that many learners had approached them for loans, but they did not have proper business plans. From 1989 to 1995, ActionAid's adult literacy pro- Therefore the managers decided to go slowly in grams in Buwekula used the functional literacy order to limit the chances of defaulting. approach (Okech 1991). However in 1993, Action- The report noted that they had so far given loans Aid introduced into one district in Uganda the to 11 groups. Seven of the groups were dealing with REFLECT approach to literacy education. After a agriculture and four in petty trade. A total of trial of two years, it introduced it in 1995 to its pro- 1,540,000 shillings had been disbursed and a total of gram in Buwekula (ABP). 1,780,000 had been repaid, reflecting the. low inter- The six-year FAL project covered two sub-coun- est that is charged. According to the project man- ties that had a population of approximately 73,000 ager's report, there have been marked changes in people engaged mainly in agriculture, with about the community lifestyle, including improvement in 20 percent of them pastoralists. Much of the popu- the area of micro finance. Petty traders who joined lation at the time consisted of newly settled the project in the year 2000 have acquired business migrants from various parts of western Uganda. A skills, and they can now sell and make some profit. combination of a poor road infrastructure, poor social infrastructure, and pastoralism resulted in ActionAid's FAL Buwekula Project (ABP) weak economy in this area. The new settlers were people who had had no opportunities for education This case and the one that follows on REFLECT are in their areas and had arrived empty-handed to both instances of literacy first, and are both run by start from scratch, just with their labor. Some were 1 14 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES on the look out for opportunities to improve them- work and there were no assessment procedures selves. The adult literacy activities in ABP were part appropriate for adult education (Okech 1994). of a broader intervention and were initially meant These weaknesses notwithstanding, the inte- to strengthen other program activities (Okech 1994). grated thrust was clearly effective, and the two The integrative approach used by the project, tracks of development and literacy did seem to rein- placed literacy in the context of development. This force each other. was perceived as a strength because it led to imme- diate use of the new ideas and skills to solve real life Bundibugyo Action Aid Project (REFLECT) problems. Community involvement in identifying needs, mobilizing learners, recruiting instructors, This second case of "literacy first" differs from the selecting class centers and erecting shelters was also preceding case only in that it used the REFLECT positive, in that it made the community members approach instead of the FAL curriculum. feel that they were really part of the project. The fair- REFLECT as an approach seeks to build on the ly adequate funding ensured the availability of learn- theoretical framework developed by the Brazilian ing/teaching materials, remuneration of instructors, Paolo Freire, but it also provides a practical and supervision and monitoring (Okech 1994). methodology by drawing on Participatory Rural The discussions in the literacy classes revolved Appraisal (PRA) techniques. An important char- around 21 generative themes: reading, work, farm- acteristic of this approach is that there are no text- ing, government, immunization, taxes, roads, nutri- books, no literacy primers, and no pre-printed tion, trade, reproduction, development, writing, materials other than a guide for facilitators, which AIDS, breastfeeding, sanitation, animal industry, is produced locally, preferably with input of the war, money, hospitals, and alcohol. These themes facilitators themselves. The material for this case served as a curriculum or syllabus for the basic study is drawn from an earlier study by Okech stage of the learning. The approach emphasized the (1994) and from annual reports from the REFLECT need to link the new literacy skills and new aware- Co-ordination Unit. There were no systematic ness to practical work back at home and in the impact studies available on this program. It was fields, such asin health and sanitation, agriculture, not possible to include this project in the 1999 business promotion, and participation in commu- evaluation because of insecurity in the district at nity activities (Okech 1994). that time. The ABP manager at the time stated that, while REFLECT in Uganda was first piloted in the program had indeed made an impact on the Bundibugyo, a district isolated from the rest of the individual participants and general community country by the Rwenzori mountain range and poor development, it was difficult to ascertain to what infrastructure and therefore very disadvantaged in extent the impact was a result of adult literacy inter- the context of national development. Research car- vention or of the overall integrated approach of ried out there by ActionAid in March 1993 had ActionAid programs. Among the positive changes identified two major problems: long-standing iso- mentioned were improved agriculture, ability to lation and rising population density. The isolation participate better in business transactions, and stemmed from the physical features of the area, motivation to start income-generating activities. lying beyond the mountains, which made it diffi- Several weaknesses were also noted. These cult to reach from the central parts of Uganda, from included insufficient community understanding of which all modern development seemed to radiate. the importance and functions of literacy, lack of The district had only one road, which served as a trained adult educators to manage the program, lifeline through the mountains from Fort Portal to and imposed structures that were not linked to the Bundibugyo town. The road infrastructure within existing structures, thus at risk of not being sus- the district was very poor, making most parts tained. In addition, the supervisory and monitoring accessible only with great difficulty. It was this staff were distracted and over-stretched by other two-fold problem that prompted ActionAid to intervene in Bwamba County, using literacy as an SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 115 entry point to lead to other development activities blamed mainly on the war in Zaire and the subse- (Okech 1994). quent famine in Bwamba (Okech 1994). The stated objectives of the program were: According to the BAP staff at the time, it was too early to assess the impact of the program on both * To increase local communities' access to skills participants and the community. The researcher and knowledge; noted as a strength the importance and central role given to literacy and to integrating literacy into the * To promote group formation through assistance development efforts of the community. An addi- provided towards small-scale projects and exten- tional strength was the involvement of the commu- sion services; nity in the management of the program and the set- ting up of a community-based supervision and * To build and strengthen local capacity so that monitoring committee (Okech 1994). Unfortunately, they could manage their own development the project was disrupted quite early on by war, and process. it is now not possible to draw any conclusive les- sons from this project. Among the challenges high- The aim of the literacy program was to strengthen lighted even at that time was the difficulty of the capacity of local communities to deal with their recruiting the right caliber of instructors capable of predicaments and later fully participate in the man- implementing the methodology and their need for agement of their own development process. constant supervision and support. According to the Through the use of Participatory Rural Appraisal documentation from the coordination unit, this con- techniques (PRA), the Bundibugyo ActionAid Pro- tinues to be a major challenge when using the ject (BAP) tried to use literacy as the entry point for REFLECT approach. In a recent review exercise their involvement with the people. The PRA involving the REFLECT Co-ordination Unit (RCU), approach provided a variety of techniques that specifically, Action Aid Buwekula Project, and a enabled the people to analyze their problems and CBO, Children And Women of Disabled Soldiers identify solutions. Association (CAWODISA), a representative from The literacy class participants used this approach the CBO observed: to decide on what topics they felt like handling, which would enable them to derive maximum ben- "Despite the inadequate time we've had to efits from the classes. The method did not use a carry out an audit of the REFLECT program ready-made primer, but the participants themselves for ABP, I have really learnt a lot. For example developed the learning/teaching materials as they I've learnt that REFLECT circles need close learned in class. Both the facilitators and the learn- monitoring if they are to continue running ers learned from each other as they discussed, drew properly. Facilitators require help in unit maps, pictures, and charts, and wrote what though development, session preparation, and even was important. At the end of the process, the class the facilitation itself. The more they are visited came up with an "action point." This was their deci- the more confidence they develop and the sion on the action to be taken on the matter they had more motivated they become. I got this from decided to dealt with. It was this action point that the few facilitators I interviewed in Kasam- became the developmental activity to be imple- bya" (RCU, Bi-Annual June 2000). mented by BAP. The number of participants in the BAP literacy The RCU has also noted that the conventional way program at the time (1994) was 1,625, of whom 325 of supporting REFLECT requires more time and were male and 1,300 female. Although the partici- resource commitment than simply training and pants seemed to find the approach interesting and monitoring what is going on and how it is being involving, BAP was suffering the same irregularity implemented or used. The lesson about the com- of attendance and high dropout rates common to mitment required is that more time spent with the other adult literacy programs. The dropout rate was circles and hands-on development of learning mate- 116 AFRICA REGION HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES rials and aids is much more useful to methodologi- The Rukungiri case, however, provides an alter- cal development and eventual gain for the poor native arrangement that seems to suggest that, even than are the other training and supervisory roles. within a context of limited resources, poor people (RCU, Bi-Annual June 2000). can have their livelihoods strengthened through lit- eracy if they are well organized. This presupposes Reflections however that the learners are already engaged in some form of livelihood training or income generat- The majority of documented adult education pro- ing activities in established groups. So this case is grams in Uganda have literacy as their lead ele- based on a group approach, not an individual one. ment. The major challenge for these programs is It suggests that programs that start with livelihood how to effectively design and implement a program may be more successful in organization and man- that has a good balance between literacy training agement than those that start with literacy. The and practical knowledge and skills that can be of management of the program is under the control of immediate use to the learners in improving their the group, which seems to make maximum use of living conditions. According to the 1999 evaluation the resources available to it. Since this program was of the government FAL program and, to some introduced at the learners' request and since it was extent, programs using the REFLECT approach, injected into already established groups, the learn- some programs are more successful than others. ers had strong reasons for enrolling in the program There are several reasons. Some programs, such as and for staying on. It is also more closely integrated the FAL government program, rely too heavily on into what they are already doing, and this helps the good will and initiative of voluntary instructors. them to perform better. While the design of a program may emphasize ActionAid's REFLECT approach, even though the integration of learning and life, in practice more innovative in its approach to literacy training, much less emphasis is given to livelihood skills. has not been very successful in linking literacy The 1999 evaluation noted that the instructors were effectively with livelihood skills. Although the expected to bring in livelihood resource persons. designers of the program think that literacy is self- This however was not always possible, especially standing and worthwhile, the learners think differ- when travel and other costs were involved. Fur- ently. This is also true for those FAL programs that ther, the design seems to assume that livelihood have failed to effectively integrate literacy and specialists are available in all areas and that they livelihood training. The 1999 evaluation revealed are willing to be brought into the program. This is that many learners left programs because their not always the case, as the 1999 evaluation expectations that these programs would strengthen revealed. A more solid system linking the different their livelihoods were largely unmet. programs with the livelihood specialists should be After the necessary literacy and livelihood train- in place at the outset. This will involve identifying ing, ADRA's programs, make micro credit loans the specialists and then making contractual agree- accessible to learners' groups as a revolving fund. ments with them that will then hold them account- These programs have been more successful in able. There must be clearer stipulations regarding attracting and retaining adult learners in their liter- how and when the specialists will be brought in, acy classes. how often, and for how long. At the moment these Literacy programs need to be planned as long- arrangements are too loose and left to the volun- term interventions with long-term goals and not as tary instructors to manage. The fundamental prob- short-term projects. In that way, special attention lem of this kind of arrangement at the moment is can be paid to developing more sustainable man- that the development of livelihood skills is left to agement and implementation structures that can be chance, depending on the local organization and continued by the communities, even without major management of the program. resource inputs from outside. SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 117 References and Documents consulted Okech, Anthony. 1994. Innovative Approaches to Adult Lit- eracy/Education Currently Used in Uganda. SNV, the Netherlands Development Organization. Kampala. ADRA Uganda. Concepts For Functional Adult Learning Okech Anthony, Roy A Carr-Hill, Anne. R. Katahoire, (PAL). Teresa Kakooza, and Alice. N. Ndidde. 1999. "Report . ADRA, UWDP FAL Report for March (2001). of Evaluation of the Functional Adult Literacy Pro- . ADRA, UWDP FAL Report for April to May grams in Uganda." Ministry of Gender, Labour and (2001). Social Development in collaboration with the World . Kisoro FAL Project, Progress Report, May 2001. Bank. Kampala. . Kioga FAL Project, Progress Report, Jan 2000 to REFLECT (Regenerated Freirean Literacy Through Decemnber 2000. Empowering Community Techniques) Co-ordination Carr-Hill, Roy, ed. 2001. Adult Literacy Programs in Unit. Annual Report 2000. Uganda. The World Bank. 2001. Unit. Annual Report 1999. Cottingham, Sara et al. 1995. "A Process Review of Func- Save the Children (UK). West Nile. 1997. Needs Assessment tional Literacy Project in the Uganda Ministry of Survey of Female Literacy Education. Gender and Community Development." Kampala. . West Nile. Mid-Term Review Report of Female Ministry of Gender and Community Development. Adult Literacy Project (1999). 1996a. National Plan for Functional Literacy. Kampala. . Peri-Urban FAL/DFID Project Annual Report 1999. 1996b. Functional Adult Literacy Curriculum. . 2000. Functional Adult Literacy for Community Kampala. Empowerment (FALCE) Project, Draft Proposal. Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development. WEP (Women's Empowerment Program). West Nile. 2000a. Annual Report 1991 of Functional Adult Literacy 1997. Annual Report. Program. Kampala. . Literacy Needs Assessment. Women's Empower- . 2001b. Annual Report 2000 of Functional Adult Lit- ment Programme, West Nile. 1997. eracy Progrnm. Kampala. . Annual Report 1998. 2001c. A Ugandan Success Story, ADRA Micro- . Completion Report 1997-2000. credit Scheme and Functional Adult Literacy Program in . 3 Years of WEP, 1997-2000. Mbale District. Kampala. . Women Empowerment Through Functional Adult April 2001. Draft Functional Adult Literacy Strate- Literacy: A West Nile Experience, 2000. gic Investment Plan 2000/1 -200617. Kampala. Annex 6 List of programs/projects discussed in detail in the study ABP ActionAid's FAL Buwekiula Project in Uganda. Content: Farmiers Field Sclools with Integrated Production and Pest Literacy training followed by separate livelihood Management. Introduced and supported by FAO in training or income-generating activities. Functional lit- India and several other countries, by World Education eracy approach from 1989 to 1995. From 1995 onwards, Inc. in Nepal, by CARE International in Sri Lanka. introduction of the REFLECT approach. Participatory Content: Agriculture and food production, pest and approaches placing literacy in the context of develop- disease control, marketing. Use of existing literacy ment. NGO funding. Ongoing. material. Users pay for literacy instructors. ACOPAM Appuii associatif et cooperatif aux Initiatives de The Keenya Literacy Campaigns. The first campaign was Developperment a la Base. Senegal and other West-African launched in 1967. It adopted the functional approach. couintries. Content: Production, environment, empow- The second campaign started in 1979. Content: Liter- erment and literacy. Duration 21 years, from 1978 to acy with IGAs and systematic links with everyday 1999. Sponsored by ILO. activities of the learners. Upon commencement, the ActionAid Project in ,,,U. ,.. Uganda, using the campaign intended to recruit 3,000 full time and 5,000 REFLECT Approach. Participatory Rural Appraisal part-time plus some 5,000 self-help teachers. Training techniques using literacy as the entry point for an of teachers through a specially developed distance intervention to manage village development. Started education course. Over 22 years, a total of 4,197,638 in 1994 with 1,625 Learners (325 male, 1,300 female), adults have participated in the basic literacy program, interrupted by the war in Zaire and the subsequent 76.4 percent of them women. A Post-Literacy Progran famine in Bwamba. started in 1996 in 12 districts, is now in 15 out of 68 dis- ADRA Adventist Developmenit and Relief Agency, Uganda. tricts. Phase one 1996 -1999, phase two 2000-2003. So Content: Literacy as preparation for livelihood train- far some 200,000 learners have been reached by the ing, IGAs, loans. Teaching hours 250-300. Learners program. Purpose: Using reading skills to acquire and enrolled 18,500 (now) 90 percent women. Private fund- to sustain functional skills, knowledge, and attitudes ing. Ongoing. ("Learn and Earn"). Use of adult education teachers as fAL Fuinctional Adult Literacy Programn in Uganda. Content: "community learning and development facilitators." Incorporation of training for livelihood skills into liter- A curriculum leading to a certificate (equivalent to the acy instruction ("literacy first"). Attempt at an inte- KCPE) is under preparation. A competency-based grated approach: integration of subject matter, integra- post-literacy curriculum in eight learning areas is tion among service providers, integration of learning ready. 48 titles of post-literacy material in a variety of and life. Started in 1992. Program is currently imple- functional thematic fields are available. Kenyan contri- mented in 37 of 45 districts and has approximately bution for both phases 500,000 DM German contribu- 127,000 learners. Large-scale program under the tion through GTZ 4 Mio DM. The current literacy rate responsibility of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and is 74.8 percent. Social Development. Ongoing, in process of review. 118 SKILLS AND LITERACY TRAINING FOR BETTER LIVELIHOODS 119 Ma7liil Sainaklzya, Banida District, India. Content: Anima- make five members of each of its 1,740 producer asso- tion for low-caste women as awareness animators and ciations literate: Later it aimed to enable at least one technical knowledge for low-caste women as hand member of its 27,179 farming families to become suffi- pump mechanics plus literacy. Literacy camps with ciently literate. SODEFITEX organized classes for 180 hours of instruction. Low participation of hand some 2,400 farmers per year between 1984 and 1999, pump mechanics. NGO-funding. Ongoing. reaching a total of 35,865 learners in the 15 years. Of RDRS I . D;- i ,; Rural Service, Bangladesh. Con- these, 5,908 were women. SODEFITEX funding. tent: Livelihood skills, small scale agriculture, social Ongoing. knowledge, health plus general literacy. NGO fund- Unesco, World Experimental Literacy Program. 1965-1975. ing. Ongoing. Content: Functional Literacy. UNDP sponsored. Wm W enms Grouips, Uganda. Content: Income-gen- WEEL Women's Economic Emtipowermnent and Literacy (World erating activities, savings and micro-credit schemes Education Inc.), Nepal. Content: Functional literacy, plus participation in the government's Functional food, credit, micro-enterprise. Initiated 1994. Current Adult Literacy Program (FAL). Teaching materials of enrollment: 10,000 women. Graduates: 3,000. NGO- the FAL bought by learners ("user pays"). Costs per funding. Ongoing. Impact evaluation expected in certified graduate of the FAL: US$4-5. Ongoing. 2001. SAPTA GRAM Bangladesh. Content: Functional literacy as WEP/N Women's Empowerment Program of Nepal. Started in preparation for livelihood training, income-generating mid-1990s. Content: Integration of literacy with liveli- activities, loans. NGO-funding. Ongoing. hood training from the beginning, savings, credits, SEIGYM Somaliland Education Initiativefor Girls and Youing micro-enterprise. Program reached 6,500 groups with Mcn, Somaliland. Literacy as preparation for livelihood 130,000 women. Supported by PACT. Ongoing. Impact training. NGO-funding: Voucher-system of the Africa evaluation expected late 2001. Educational Trust. Started in 1998. Ongoing. WISE Women in Self-Employment, Ethiopia. Content: Liter- SODEFITEX Socice de Developpement des Fibres Textiles acy as preparation for livelihood training and small- (Socicty for the Development of Textile Fibers), Senegal. scale business. Started in mid-1990s. Ongoing. NGO- Content: Agricultural development with focus on funding. cotton growing. Initiated in 1974. After 9 years of exis- Women's Enterprise Development Programi, the Philippines. tence (1983), began a literacy program for cotton pro- Content: literacy and livelihood. Ongoing. NGO- ducers to modernise cotton production. In view of the funding. scale of the program, SODEFITEX decided first to THE WORLD BANK 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. Telephone: 202 477 1234 Facsimile: 202 477 6391 Internet: www.worldbank.org E-mail: afrhdseries@worldbank.org Too often, policy for vocational education in developing countries has only con- cerned itself with a literate minority within the labor force. This study helps to widen that view. From the perspective of "Education For All" and "Lifelong Education", the report examines efforts to combine vocational training with liter- acy education to enable a very poor, illiterate labor force, especially rural women, to develop more productive livelihoods and take on increasingly active roles in transforming their families and communities. The aim is to assess whether and how official policy should support such efforts. Based on documentary evidence from several countries, particularly Guinea, Kenya, Senegal and Uganda, the report suggests that vocational education pol- icy should encompass out-of-school and illiterate youth ancl adults, but to be ef- fective would require gradualism, clecentralisation, capacity nurturing, flexibility and components of savings, credit and enterprise developrnent.