Trends in adult literacy provision and their related challenges to poverty eradication in Zambia

Abstract

Globally, adult literacy has for a long time attracted the attention of many countries of the world especially those in the Third World because the latter hosts the largest number of illiterates. Though it may be difficult to quantify the levels of poverty in comparison with other neighbouring countries, many people in Zambia do experience many aspects of poverty. One may ask the question: to what extent is globalisation affecting adult literacy in Zambia? Like elsewhere, Zambia has recognised the fact that education is a right and that education for all is an essential key to the development of any given country. This is why every government that comes into power tries hard to meet the demand for education for its citizens by continuously expanding the existing structures and creating new ones. Apart from Government, other stakeholders such as non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations are involved in the promotion of literacy. However, efforts to ameliorate the problem of poverty in Zambia have yielded very little because of the government’s poor planning, inappropriate programmes, lack of policy and a strong will to invest in adult literacy. Government must have a clear policy for adult literacy, ensure that the content of the programmes is worth learning and that learning should be a continuous process for all regardless of age. These measures will increasingly help improve the standard of living for the majority of Zambians as they will be able to utilise the envisaged benefits of acquiring literacy. This paper seeks to discuss the trends in adult literacy provision and the challenges of these trends in eradicating poverty in Zambia in light of globalisation. Key words: Globalisation, adult education, adult literacy and poverty.