Zambia: Adult Education Lacking Policy Direction

Nebert Mulenga

THE absence of appropriate infrastructure and educational materials for adult literacy in Zambia is now forcing many determined adult learners to go into formal schools where they have to mix with their own children.

Clara Moyo, 50, a resident of Chipata town in Eastern Province, stopped school at a tender age. She got married as an illiterate person, gave birth to 11 children and in the process, had three grand children. But in 2006, she made a drastic decision to go back to school!

“I stopped school when I was young because I didn’t know the goodness of education. But when I was elected chairperson (of some local organisation) I had problems addressing meetings because of language barrier,” she recounts.

“So I went to Katopola basic school in 2006 and started grade eight. I am now at Chipata Day high school in grade 10. My two boys are in grade nine, the other one is in grade 12. We are all learning together as a family.”

Ms Moyo is not the only Zambian keen on pursuing education in old age; there are thousands of other elderly women and men across Zambia wishing to better their living standards through attaining higher education.

But they are often inhibited by the lack of supportive policies and facilities to promote adult literacy.

Zambia is party to several international instruments on promoting education, including the global Education For All (EFA) goals, whose main emphasis is on raising literate populations through sound early childhood care education and development, basic education, and adult literacy.

But Zambia has no adult literacy policy in place!

Only now is the Government getting to formulate the policy that would ultimately regulate the provision of informal education to the growing numbers of illiterate adults.

About 35 per cent of adult Zambians, especially in rural areas, are said to be illiterate, according to the ministry of Education.

“Literacy is key to empowerment of people and national development. Literacy can create a spark for empowerment of communities and individuals,” says Education Minister, Geoffrey Lungwangwa.

“But in as much as we would like to see many of our people acquire tools and skills that enhance literacy, and be able to translate the information they access to improve their daily lives, consultation over the (adult literacy) policy is very important.

“So we are still consulting, and we want to have as much participation from all players as possible before we come up with the national policy,” assures professor Lungwangwa.

Analysts and critics say the absence of the policy has been the main reason behind Zambia’s failure to offer education for the thousands of aged citizens who cannot read or write. While Zambia could have registered a number of positive achievements in terms of boosting enrolment at primary school level, there is little to show in the area of adult literacy.

According to Victor Koyi, chairperson of the Zambia national education coalition, an umbrella body of all civic organisations involved in providing non-formal education, the scenario presents a challenge that could affect the success of Zambia’s attainment of the second Millennium Development Goals on ensuring all children of school-going age are in schools by 2015.

“A parent who has not been to school seldom appreciates its importance; many illiterate parents especially in rural areas, do not support or encourage their children that much about school,” Mr Koyi said.

And this is something of a fact that even Ms Moyo attests to: “It is so easy for me now to appreciate the needs of my children in school. We sit down as a family to discuss our syllabus and various problems we could be facing. Education is power, I am able to understand many things,” she says.

The absence of an adult literacy policy has led to lack of proper direction, even for the few civic organisations and community volunteer organisations that attempt to raise the education levels of the “little” educated.

A new study, The Extent of Adult Literacy In Zambia, commissioned by the People’s Action Forum (PAF), a civic organisation promoting non-formal education in outlying areas, found that most facilitators were inadequately trained and poorly (or not) remunerated. Furthermore, there were no standardised educational materials for both facilitators and learners, in addition to lacking appropriate infrastructure.

The study also established that although adult literacy is generally considered important, government, donors, community service organisations and the private sector had not committed much funding to it.

“Adult literacy programmes under government departments are poorly managed, (there is) lack of comprehensive policy framework, lack of appropriate curriculum and lack of standards in the sub-sector,” reads part of the findings of the study conducted by Margaret Machila and two other researchers.

To a large extent, the findings of the study go some way in explaining the reasons why hundreds of adults like Ms Moyo, are now opting to go into formal schools, despite their learning capabilities being totally different from those of the children they are being taught together with.

The local media has in the recent past captured a number of stories of parents attending schools with their own children in Luapula province, among other places. But analysts fear the situation could hinder others from learning, especially those who might not be keen on having to compete with their own children in class.

Illiteracy is said to fuel poverty in many parts of the country. In all areas where majority of the population are illiterate, there is often the resultant factor of higher unemployment and poverty levels.

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