31. Governments should consider, where appropriate, the desirability of introducing 80me form of legislation. or issuing a declaration of policy. to give impetus to adult education. This might take the form of a decree; laying on the appropriate department,s of governments the responsibility for promoting and sustaining the various forms of adult education; urging those who have not had access to schooling to become literate; specifying the provisions to be made by governments and other organizations concerned, and the methods of financing for this purpose; providing for any special incentives considered appropriate in order to encourage adults to take advantage of the provisions made for literacy.
32. Primary responsibility for the promotion and development of adult education in each country should belong to the government. There is, however. room for a wide variety of organizations and for the collaboration of many organizations concerned with adult education.
33. Within the government, responsibility for various types of adult education may rest with a number of different ministries, departments and services. In some cases (Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Sudan), the sale body concerned is the national Ministry of Education working through one or more of its services. In other cases (Guinea, Kenya, Senegal. Tanganyika, Togo, Uganda). a ministry other than the Ministry of EdUcation is concerned~ It frequently happens that several ministries or services work together in this field, such is the case in CamerOUn.
34. It is evident that the channels of respDnBibility and the forms of organization vary widely from country to country; it is thus impossible and undesirable to lay down any ideal structure. Never-theless, a number of recommendations can be made in regard to this matter. In the first place.
in order to enSUre the continuity of education and its pedagogic soundness, the primary responsi-bility within the government for adult literacy teaching and the further education of those who have passed through the school system should rest with the Ministry of Education. in which a depart-ment of adult education will generally be desirable.
35. Secondly, wherever adult education activities with broadly Similar aims are carried out by different departments and ministries, some form of co-ordinating arrangement, such as an Inter-Departmental Commission should be set up_ Equally, where funds and trained staff are in short supply, it may well be more economical and effective to set up common services for such pur-poses as research, training and production.
36. Finally, in the develop:mem and expansion of adult education in Africa, the reSOurces of voluntary and non-governmental organizations should be fully and effectively used, and, where appropriate, new non-governmental agencies and organizations for adult education should be estab-lished, with or without financial support from governments. A number of such organizations are already giving valuable services in adult education in many African countries. Special mention should be made of the excellent work done by extra-mural departments of universities in certain countries, particularly in providing further education, setting up residential people1s colleges and encouraging a wide variety of projects in mass education and community development.
37. The size of the contribution for adult education made by »on- governmental organizations varies from State to State. None is received in Gabon, Niger and ivlali. Among organizations which do contribute to adult education are the following:
Missions, churches and religious organizations. both Christian and Moslem, in Cameroun, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Tanganyika and Togo;
ReligiOUS and secular youth movements in Cameroun> Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Nigeria;
Women's organizations in Uganda;
55
Chapter VII
Trade Unions (employers' and workers') in Ghana, Tanga.nyika. Tunisia. United Arab RepUblic;
Political parties in Guinea, Tanganyika. Tunisia:
Ad hoc associations or institutions in Cameroun (People's University}. Ghana (Adult Education Association). Senegal (African Popular University); and
Such widely differing institutions as the Red Cross in Liberia or the Chambers of Conunerce in Congo (Bra,:;zaville).
38. The Secretariat of Unesco in preparing its draft programme for the twelfth session of the General Conference and the General Conference in approving the pr.ogramme and budget for 1963-1964 should recognize the need for an increased allocation of Unesco's funds for adult education and youth activities. At the same time, African countries in framing their national budgets should equally recognize this need and draw upon every suitable source of finance for the expansion and improvement of adult education.
VIT. STAFF FOR ADULT EDUCATION AND YOUTH ACTIVITIES
39. Mass education and the various adult education activities associated with community develop-ment (such as health education, agricultural extension and co-operative training) will generally be given by field workers who share the living conditions of the people. Their accommodation should be provided on the spot. They should be trained to study the local problems and needs, to organize discussions and demonstrations and to use various forms of oral and audio-visual com_
munication in introducing new ideas and skills into the community. These field workers of both sexes may be mOre or less multi_ purpose or more or less specialized in such fields as sanitation, handicrafts, house construction, co-operative organization. agriculture and animal husbandry. In addition the women workers may be specialized in horne economics, nutrition and child care and similar fields. Field workers may live and work alone in a village or group of villages, or they may operate in teams. Where community development is organized they will generally be em-ployed by the ministry or department responsible for this activity; where they are specialists they may belong to different ministries responsible for the different technical fields. In the latter case some provision should be made for ensuring that they work in teams or at least collaborate closely with their colleagues. In any case, they must be trained in methods of working with the people of the community and in a.dult educa.tion techniques.
40. Where the country cannot be covered by mass education field workers, school teachers should be given special training and additional remunera.tion to carry out mass education with the adults of the community. Where adult education teachers are engaged in community development pro-gram.mes it is essential that they recognize their professional limitations and rely on their colleagues in the competent technical services to tell them what they should tea.ch in such fields as health, agriculture or home economics.
41. In adult literacy campaigns, each class or group of classes will require a teacher who should have special training in the tec>niques of teaching adults. Wherever possible, he should be trained to use the actual teaching materials he will eventually use in his classes. These teachers may be volunteers (working with or without remuneration), full-time adult literacy teachers, mass educa-tion field workers or schools teachers. Retired teachers. including women who have married.
may well be brought back into service for adult literacy.
42. The use of volunteers for adult literacy has been widely practised often with good results. In certain cases the each-one/teach-one method has proved effective. However. the employment of volunteers has certain inevitable drawbacks. In the first place they are not generally subject to control or discipline and may therefore be somewhat irregular in their attendance or lacking in staying power, with bad effects on their classes. tn the second place, it may be difficult to bring them together for the necessary training. For this reason it is often found that, even where a cam-paign begins as a volunteer effort, it later has to have recourse to more permanent and qualified teachers.
56
Chapter VII 43. Certain countries of Africa find it desirable to employ full-time literacy teachers and where this is done one teacher may be able to handle a number of classes. The various types of multi-purpose or more or less specialized field workers operating in community development may also be given special training and required to organize and teach adult literacy classes.
44, The school teacher, and especially the rural primary teacher. is well adapted both by his position of leadership and by his background and educational training to teach reading. writing and arithmetic. He is however only trained to teach children in the classroom and wherever he is ased for adult literacy he should therefore have a brief period of training in the very different approaches and methods needed for working with adults. In particular. he must learn how to gain and maintain their interest, how to use their experience of life and how to treat them with the respect due to their age and position. This training may either form part of the regular course given in teacher-training establishments or may be given in short seminars or refresher courses specially designed for the purpose.
45. For vocational education, ifiStroctorB fully skilled in the craft or work to be taught should be trained to communicate their skill by active teaching and demonstration. They may be skilled craftsmen or workers resident in the area or teachers in technical and vocational schools who are prepared to take adult classes outside their school hours. In some cases formal courses may be organized in appropriate establishments for adults.
46. Activities for youth will demand a variety of organizers and leaders, their qualifications and training depending on the type of programme and whether it is continuous and permanent as in the case of youth clubs and centres, or temporary as in the case of a work camp project. The staff may be full-time youth organizers or volunteer leaders working with or without remuneration.
Non .. guverrunental organizations have been widely active in youth work and may in certain countries be the main sources of leadership; in others, the staff may generally be government servants em-ployed, for example, by a Deportment of Youth and Sporta.
B. Supervisory staff
47. 'Where adult literacy programmes are under the Ministry of Education, and especially where school ~achers are used, they may be supervised by the regular school inspectorate. perhaps by an assistant regiona11nspector specially charged with maintaining the efficiency of adult literacy courses in the area, In any case. the inspectors responsible for adult literacy. as much as the teachers, require a :minimum of special train!ng~ The supervision of further education and acti-vities for youth is generally provided by senior officers of the responsible departments and organizations.
C. Proposal for a National Literacy Service
46. Young people are often eager to help in their courrtry1s development and indeed have an obliga-tion to do so. \Vhere governments intend to carry out full- scale naobliga-tional campaigns against illiteracy and are handicapped by a shortage of teachers. they should consider the possibility of enrolling and training young people into a National Literacy Service. This might be an alternative to military service wherever such is in force. The young people should be enrolled for a minimum of six months. and preferably on a more permanent basis. as adult literacy teachers and mass education workers. Their training period would have to extend to a minimum of six weeks to prepare them for simple literacy teaching or to several months for training in mass education. Each government would, of course, have to consider this possibility in the light of its national policy and needs and should particularly consider, the effects of such service on the lives and future careers of the re-croits or volunteers.
vm.
RELATIONSHIP OF ADULT EDUCATION WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM49. It hae already been suggested that school teachers and school inspectors may work with good effect in adult education. There are, however, other ways in which adult education and the school system should be fruitfully related to each other. Indeed. the need for continuity in the process of education from childhood to old age make s such a relationship essential. In the first place every effort should be made to associate the adults of the community. includingtheparentsofschoolchUdren
Chapter VII
with the work of the local school. In the aecond place. where a shortage of suitable buildings is a handicap to adult education, it Will orten be found that school buildings can be used, especially for evening classes. Every effort should therefore be made in the designing of new school build-ings to plan them with a view to their use for adult education and out_of_school activities for young people.
IX. SPECIAL INSTITliTIONS AND SERVICES
50. Adult education, as much as the school system, needs its supporting services. They should provide for research. evaluation and planning; training of staff; production and pUblication of literacy teaching and reading matter; library and book distribution services; production and dis-tribution of audio-visual aids. Their essential purpose is to ensure that the teachers and field workers in the front line are properly trained, equipped and supported.
5L A considerable number of countries are atill without specialized institutions responsible for research, staff training and other services for adult education work {Central African Republic, Congo (Brazzaville), Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, l\<lali. ~igeriaL Some of the others have institutions of various kinds which are either independent or are attached to a particular ministry _ Cameroun (Training Centre for Adult Education), Ghana (Social Affairs and Community Develop-ment Service, Institute of EdUcation and Bureau of National Languages), Ivory Coast (Permanent Adult Education Service). Liberia (Fundamental Education, Bureau and Centre), Niger (Pedagogi-cal Bureau), Senegal (Training Centre for Rural Education and Development), Sudan (Training Centre for Social and Adult EdUcation Workers. Literature Bureau), Tanganyika (Community Development Training Centre), Togo (Special Service of the Ministry of Social Affairs), Tunisia (National Centre for the Battle Against llliteracy and for Social Education), United Arab Republic (Fundamental Education Centre), In a number of cases these institutions are atill in an embryonic stage .
A. Research
52. Goverrunents should establish, or co-operate in establishing on a regional basis, educational research institutions, either specifically serving adult education. or serving the entire educational system and having a department or unit specializing in the adult education field. Their tasks may include:
the organization and analysis of basic surveys to discover the social, economic and cultural conditions and the needs of communities served by IllilSS edUcation;
recording the cultural heritage - folklore and popular arts of the country region;
linguistic research;
pedagogic and communication research; for example, into methods of teaching adults to read, write and calculate: into the use of audio-visual media and other techniques necessary for adult education;
the testing of literacy teaching and reading matter and of audio-visual aids by simple and practical procedures to ensure that the educational message contained in texts, illustra-tions and other visual matter will elicit interest, achieve understanding. assist the permanent acquisition of new knowledge and skill and promote desirable action;
evaluation of projects and programmes with a view to improving methods, cutting costs and feeding back information to the organizers of the programmes and to those responsible for the training of staff.
53. The research institutions here proposed may be quite modest units, with a small but highly competent staff. Where there are existing social and educational research departments or pro-jects these may be expanded or adapted, rather than setting up new institutions. The type of re-search here envisaged is study and !Iaction rere-search, 11 largely done in the field, In view of the close relationship of research with training and production, a research unit may well be incor-porated in a training institution or production centre or all three may be grouped together ~
58
Chapter VII B. Training
54. For the training of lront_line field workers local centres should generally be established, since for mass education and sometimes for other categories of adult education it will be desirable to employ and train staff who know the culture of the local people and speak their language. It may be appropriate that senior supervisory and technical staff be trained on a regional basis or by study abroad. Intermediate supervisory staff may suitably be trained in national centre s . 55. It was noted that one East African country with a widespread community development pro-gramme has one national training centre and twelve local centres for the training of its mass education and community development workers. These latter centres provide, at the same time, facilities for various courses for specific groups of the population. One West African country with a similar progrrunme has a national training centre and five local centres.
C. Production of literacy materials
56. To provide an adequate supply of effective teaching material and an ever __ expanding supply of attractive and suitable reading matter. governments will need to establish on a national or regional basis, where they do not already exist, suitable production centres or units with the following functions: production, planning, writing and translation of manuscripts; illustration; printing and publication. A number of countries and regions already have such Literature Bureaux.
D. Library services
57. Production services will of course be largely wasted unless books, newspapers and other materials are brought to the people who need and wish to read them. This requires pUblic library services, including book-box services for bringing books to people in remote communities. These services should generally he based upon a central library or upon a literature bureau and may radiate to small conununity libraries. The fullest use should also be made of non-governmental libraries available in a number of countries.
58~ Both in the publication and the sale of books and newspapers, the importance of building up a publishing industry and a widespread network of bookshops and distributing agencies must not be overlooked, even if the initiative may at first have to be taken by the government.
E. Production of audio-visual media
59. Where audio-visual aids are used for adult education, centres will be needed to produce. adapt and distribute them. These may be combined with book production centres or Bet up as independent units.
60. \Vhere fUms are used, provision must be made for buying and, where necessary. adapting those obtainable abroad. This may also be the function of an audio-visual centre. Vihere funda and the necessary highly trained technical staff are available, a production unit for making educa-tional films is of course a great asset to any government. Such a unit may produce films both for
schools and for adult programmes though the types of films for each purpose will generally differ considerably.
F . Bro~dcasting services
61. Wherever radio and eventually television are used for adult education, the broadcasting station must be equipped with an educational broadcasting staff which should co_operate closely with adult education departments and services in the field.. Some provision should also be made for simple tllistener researchll which may be handled by an educational research institution to ensure that programmes are being listened to and are carrying their educational message. Listen-ing or viewListen-ing groups may also be organized and teachers and field workers trained to run them.
Chapter V1I X, CONCLUSION
62. Taking account of the fact that adult education and out-oi_school activities for young people
62. Taking account of the fact that adult education and out-oi_school activities for young people