Evaluation of the Literacy Programme, Machakos District. African Studies in Curriculum Development & Evaluation No. 91.

Faced with the fact that over 50% of its citizens are illerate, and recognizing the link between illiteracy, poverty, and disease, the government of Kenya, in 1963, created an adult literacy program. The program's objectives were (1) to train literacy teachers, (2) to produce materials for teaching and learning and for continuing education after literacy was achieved, and (3) to appoint officers from the Ministry for Housing and Social Services in each district, province, and division to establish adult literacy centers and to oversee the program. From the beginning the program has encountered difficulties, and a study, conducted in the Machakos District, was undertaken to evaluate its effectiveness. The study found a high percentage of untrained teachers working in the program, a lack of funds for effective supervision and coordination, irregular attendance by learners at literacy centers, poor cooperation between the district and the divisions, an irregular supply of teaching materials, the use of improper methods in teaching adults, a high dropout rate among male learners, and, especially, a great disparity in salaries among the three categories of teachers in the program. Part-time and self-help teachers handled the bulk of the instruction, yet their wages were minimal. As a consequence teacher morale was low and instruction suffered. The findings suggest that unless the ministry takes corrective measures to alleviate these problems, it is unlikely that the goals of the literacy campaign will be realized soon. (A list of recommendations and suggestions to accelerate the implementation of an effective literacy program, based on the study findings, plus appendixes that contain instruments used in the study, are included in this report.) (RBW)

an: ED249464; docTypes: Reports - Research; pubTypes: Report;