Decentralization, management of diversity and curriculum innovation:A study of literacy education in four African countries (Botswana, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda)

John Aitchison Centre for Adult Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The study

• A situational study of literacy education

• Two adjacent pairs of Anglophone countries: – Kenya and Uganda– South Africa and Botswana

• Aim to see how decentralization of literacy programme management (in relation to policies, planning, implementation, strategies, curriculum and practices) meets the diversity of languages, culture and contextual requirements in these countries.

Assumptions about the decentralization discourse

• That it has a growing influence informing government and educational systems

• That it is probably positive (though there are down sides)

• That it is to be looked at in the context of attempts to reach Education for All and Millennium Development Goals

Terminological problems

• What is literacy?

• What is (adult) basic education?

• What is non formal education?

Information problems

• Difficulty in obtaining documents for comparative study

• Need for consolidated digitised resources related to adult education in Africa

• Note that effective decentralization requires transparent, accessible, understandable, client orientated information

Data problems

• Accurate current statistics vital for comparative studies

• Very real data problems and problems with projections made with such data.

Information problems

• Difficulty in obtaining documents for comparative study

• Need for consolidated digitised resources related to adult education in Africa

• Note that effective decentralization requires transparent, accessible, understandable, client orientated information

Information problems

• Difficulty in obtaining documents for comparative study

• Need for consolidated digitised resources related to adult education in Africa

• Note that effective decentralization requires transparent, accessible, understandable, client orientated information

Information problems

• Difficulty in obtaining documents for comparative study

• Need for consolidated digitised resources related to adult education in Africa

• Note that effective decentralization requires transparent, accessible, understandable, client orientated information

Information problems

• Difficulty in obtaining documents for comparative study

• Need for consolidated digitised resources related to adult education in Africa

• Note that effective decentralization requires transparent, accessible, understandable, client orientated information

The unrealised vision

• Adult (basic) education is a right (of the empowered citizen).

• A good basic education is the foundation for work, training and career progression (of the citizen earning a livelihood).

• An educated workforce is a requirement for a prosperous democratic society.

New directions?

• Minister of Education concludes at ABET Rountable on 29 April 2005 that neither the existing formal ABET system nor the more non-formal SANLI has delivered.

• She argues that ABET had become “utilitarian and narrow”and had “sought to make adults like children” – “we are teaching schooling!” ABET would need to be reconceptualised.