Title: Adult literacy rate: percentage of the population aged 15+ that is literate

Definition:

Adult literacy is defined as the percentage of the population aged 15 years and over who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on his/her everyday life. Generally, the term 'literate' embraces also 'numeracy', the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. The adult literacy rate reflects the accumulated achievement of primary education and adult literacy programs in imparting basic literacy skills to the population, thereby enabling people to apply such skills in daily life and to continue learning and communicating using the written word. Literacy represents a potential for the individual's further intellectual growth and enhanced contribution to socio-economic and cultural development of society.

The policy background for the age group 15+ and over, just like the age group 15 - 24, has not been specifically addressed by the Education Policy 1988 - 2003. The emphasis is rather general to include the groups specified above.

Summary of Findings:

Table 17.1 and figure 17.1 show the adult literacy rate (15+) between 1991 to 1998. Growth in Population for 15 years old and above (i.e. the adult population), in 1993, was estimated to be 4.3% annually. Male population for the same age category grew by 5%, whilst female had an estimated growth of 3.7%.

The literacy rate for the adult population for both sexes has virtually remained constant during the period, declining from 37.2% in 1991 to 37.1% in 1998. The male literacy rates for adults has declined during the period 1991 to 1998 (from 53.5% to 48.5%) – with few fluctuations in between. The rates for the female however increased marginally from 21.3% to 25% during the same period. The decrease in the male literacy rates and the increase in the rates for the female explain the reason for the constant rate for both sexes.

Apart from Region 1 and 2 (Table 17.2) where the literacy rates declined during the period, albeit higher than the rates in the other regions, there has been an increase in the rates in the other regions during the period. For example, while the rate in Regions 1 and 2 declined respectively from 54.4% to 48.4% and from 38.3% to 35.5% - with some slight fluctuations in between – the rate for Region 3 for instance, increased from 34.0% to 37.8% for both sexes (17.2% to 21.7% for female) over the period. The decline in Regions 1 and 2 could be explained by the high incidence of in-migration, particularly for the adult population.

The literacy rates of the male adult population have also increased for all the other regions except Regions 1 and 2. For the female population, the rates increased in all the other regions except Region 1 where it remained fairly constant at 39.9% and Region 5 where it declined marginally from 12.5% in 1991 to 11.0% in 1998.

Whereas the literacy rates (Figure 17.2 & Table 17.2) in Region1 and 2 tend to decrease during the period, while the others increased, it is interesting to note that the literacy trends in the Regions follow the Gross Enrolment Ratios. This manifestation is also documented in the 1993 Census (Educational Characteristics - Vol.8, population and Housing Census, 1993).

Table 17.1: Trends in adult (15+) literacy rates by gender -1991 to 1998

Table 17.2: Evolution of adult literacy rates (15+) by region and gender

- 1991 to 1998

Data Tables:

Title: Literacy Gender Parity Index

Definition: The ratio of the female to male adult literacy rates measure progress towards gender equity in literacy and the level of learning opportunities available for women in relation to those available to men. It serves also as a significant indicator of the empowerment of women in society.

Summary of Findings:

Table 18.1 shows the Gender Parity Index for both categories (i.e.15+ and 15 - 24) from 1991 to 1998. It clearly shows that the participation of women in literacy for both categories has been far lower than that of men. Looking at the trend, it can be observed that both have increased over the period. The index for the 15 - 24 age group has been higher than that of the 15+ group through out the period. In fact the index for the age group 15 - 24 in 1991 is higher than the figure for the 15+ age group in 1998 showing that at the beginning of the period under assessment, the participation of the female has been significantly higher for the 15 - 24 group than the 15+. This can be hardly surprising given that the 15 - 24 age group would be the most recent beneficiaries of the formal education system with an increasing GER.

Table 18.1: Trends in gender parity index -1991 to 1998

Training in Essential Skills

Expansion of provisions of basic education and training in other essential skills required by youth and adults, with program effectiveness assessed in terms of behavioural changes and impacts on health, employment and productivity.

The thrust for the Revised Education Policy 1998 – 2003 is access, relevance, equity and quality. So in line with the policy requirement, youths are given a generalist type of education at the basic cycle level to enable them continue learning as well as improve the quality of their lives.

A: IN-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS

Training for essential skills for in-school youth is taken care of by the programs delivered at all the three levels; – primary, junior and senior secondary schools. The programs for the primary and junior secondary is made of minimum core subjects – (English, mathematics, Science, and Social and Environmental Studies) plus other elective subjects (Art/Craft, Agricultural Science, Home Economics, POP/FLE, PE). During the course of these programs, in-school youth often engage themselves in projects that enhance the acquisition of essential skills for survival. Such skills include gardening, animal husbandry, carpentry, cookery, needlework, computer skills, tie and dye, to name a few.

The programs are structured to serve a dual purpose. On the one hand, it is believed the Gambian youth will be equipped with a general type of education as well enable those who will not be able to transit to the junior and senior secondary levels to acquire the basic essential skills for self development and preparation for adult life. The impact of the entire programs delivered, it is hoped, will help our growing youth develop positive attitudes, values, skills, and concepts that could create awareness and appreciation of our cultural heritage, mental health, and population related issues as well as contribute to national development.

The programs and activities offer the pupils a variety of learning opportunities. In particular the Population and Family Life Education program and activities designed to facilitate its delivery covers the entire objectives listed on the Basic Learning Needs criteria to become the ideal person.

The themes like Population, health, and environment (G4), Human growth and development (G5), Vocational awareness and gender issues (G6) aims at enabling in-school pupils to identify and understand the family structures, the adolescence period and the problems associated with teenage pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, thus preparing them adequately for adulthood.

Vocational awareness and gender issues deal with men and women in development. It aims to equip the in-school youth with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to be tolerant, respect one another, taking into consideration all the ethnic and religious differences that exist.

At the other two levels the themes mentioned above are expanded to include G7: Population situation, change and development, Nutrition and health, responsible parenthood etc. It prepares them with coping strategies, looks at causes and consequences (social and economic) thereby helping them to make informed decisions.

In conclusion therefore the programs and activities or the entire packages delivered in the formal system are broad based, and are geared towards preparing our youth to live a better quality of life.

Those who terminate along the way are channelled into skill centres, were they are exposed to variety of vocational skills essential for their survival. The programs are structured taking cognisance of the needs of those who are likely to continue bearing in mind the inability for every body to transit to the other levels.

Established in 1996, the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSS) is one of the important national schemes undertaken by the state with a view to imparting knowledge, skills and attitudes that are required to enhance development needs. NYSS undertakes three major programs and activities, which inter alia, include orientation course, the skill acquisition program and Community Development Service. These programs and activities are aimed at inculcating discipline in the out-of-school youth through paramilitary training, and expose them to essential skills necessary for their livelihood, such as carpentry, mechanics, electronics, agriculture, welding and tailoring.

The group targets are out of school youths between the ages of 17 and 25. The services are provided on yearly basis and enrolment statistics shows that all regions are covered almost equally. In fact although the scheme (NYSS) is young, currently attempts are on to decentralise the service.

The funds for the program are provided mainly by the government with some assistance from recognised bodies such as Standard Chartered Bank, Canadian and Taiwanese Embassies, among others. These bodies provide both material and cash donations.

The NYSS is relatively new for it to be able to give any empirical evidence in terms of impact. However the demand to join the scheme is quite high and attracts applicants from junior and senior secondary schools for children who have completed their school and wish to acquire some essential skills that could improve their quality of life. Many a youth who would have been idling or searching for white-coloured jobs is being fully engaged in this program.

C. GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING:

This is one of the units of the DOSE and has been in operations for quite a long time. It was created mainly to provide counselling for both adult and children on social issues. It undertakes activities including referrals, responsive services, addressing crisis situations, job information and search, career placement and staff development. The issues addressed are options for schools and subject choice, counselling, child and sexual abuse, and sponsorship and training services to counsellors.

It targets students, parents and the local community, particularly the needy students. As a unit under the Department of State for Education, the Guidance and counselling Unit is funded by the State through the allocations to the education sector. Other sources of funding include NGOs, parastatals, PEACE CORP, Novo Scotia Gambia Association (NS-GA) - a Canadian philanthropist organisation.

Anecdotal evidence shows that its services have been effective in that it has helped greatly in creating network between the authorities and other groups such as NGOs, parastatals and public. It has also helped in shaping the social and educational attitudes of people and has reduced greatly marriage problems and teenage pregnancy. More importantly, it is helping the Gambian youth to make informed decisions.

Education for Better Living

Increase acquisition by individuals and families of the knowledge, skills and values required for better living and sound and sustainable development, made available through education channels including the mass media, other forms of modern and traditional communication, and social action, with effectiveness assessed in terms of behavioural change.

Education has now clearly become a life long process, with people learning at any age and at any place as needs and opportunities arise. A review of progress in education for better living has revealed significant changes in The Gambia since 1990. The analysis below shows how various educational channels are involved in meeting this objective.

The National Library was established in 1949 with the objective of providing access to literacy facilities to the public It provides a series of activities ranging from public library service, to rural and school library service, as well as training program on librarianship. These activities address the general educational needs of people and provide support to school libraries. The target of the programs is mainly for adult and children, as well as teachers, students and government employees. The library services are rendered on daily, monthly and yearly basis to all parts of the country except the North Bank Division (NBD)

The press union was established in 1979 with an objective of providing guidance and protection to journalists. It undertakes training courses on basic journalism and specialised issues such as health, elections, politics, and management for media executive. These programs are provided to journalists depending on their nature and availability.

The Gambia Television was established in 1996 with a view to enhancing the accessibility of the public to information and improving their awareness on important world events. It undertakes a series of programs among which are education, law, economics, Agriculture, health and sports. These are provided on daily basis and are geared towards meeting the information needs of the general public through out the country.

Like the Television, Radio Gambia was established to meet the information needs of the people. It is the oldest Media Institution in the Country and carries out extensive programs through out the country. Its activity range from development programs to commercial and entertainment, as well as educational forums. Notable among these are drama, Enter Educate, Children's Half-hour, Literary Corner, Youth Quake, Women's Magazine and Books in Focus. The coverage of Radio Gambia was not on a nation wide basis, but recent developments (especially following its transfer to GAMTEL in 1995) have made it possible to operate extensively to cover the entire country and the sub region. Recently, the establishment of private Radio Stations has expanded the coverage and the variety of information access to many segments of the population, especially the Urban and some Parts of Rural areas. Although most of these radio stations focus more on commercial programs and are limited in coverage, they do offer opportunities to their listeners by accessing information on issues such as education for youths and adults, health, economics and other related subjects. For both the Television and Radio Station, specific slots are available on weekly bases for the exclusive broadcast of educational programs -formal and informal.

The Point and Observer Newspapers are among the leading Newspaper companies in the Country. They were established in 1991 and 1992 respectively, with the objective of providing information to people. In meeting this goal, the companies undertake a series of columns and features on issues of development, Religion, Music, Sports, Arts and Culture, Agriculture, Economics, Law, and travelling and Lodging information to tourists. They provide information on current issues of the day and they target the general public. They serve as a source of knowledge for people and make information dissemination easier for both the state and public. They are circulated throughout the country and even beyond. Like the case of private Radio Stations, recent developments have also led to the emergence of some private Newspaper companies, including the Gambian News and Report, and the Independent. These are also circulated countrywide and serve the same purpose as the Point and Observer Newspapers.

The Department of Social Welfare came into existence in the year 1965. It is a government Institution that is assigned with the responsibility of meeting the Social Welfare needs of the people. The Social Welfare manages the sponsorship scheme for needy students in schools and acts as an intermediary between foreign philanthropic sponsors and organisations and beneficiary students. Given their experience and expertise in this field, the department assists in identifying needy students for awards sponsored by local councils, parastatals and have helped the Department of State for Education in preparing selection instruments for needy and meritorious girls to administer the scholarship scheme. Its services are provided on daily, weekly and yearly basis and cover the entire country.

The activities of the National Library are funded mainly by the State through an annual subvention and it sometimes receives gifts and grants from recognised organisations such as Book Aid International, World Bank publications, UNICEF, UNDP and private writers. The Education Policy 1988-2003 dictates that the library services will provide every school with a library; that teacher librarian will be trained and branch libraries will also be established. During the period under assessment, little progress has been made in the provision of library services. In this regard the Revised Policy aims to adequately address the problems encountered since its introduction by including library studies as a cultural subject in the teacher training program, and identifying and training a teacher in every school in library services, among others.

The funding for the activities of the Press Union are provided mainly by subscriptions from various Media houses and grants from International Associations in the field of Media, and sponsorships from foreign and national philanthropists.

The funding for the TV is provided by the State though a parastatal organisation called GAMTEL, and assistance from other international organisations engaged in broadcasting like Dutcheuf Villa URTNA and VOA. These institutions provide training facilities and materials such as Satellite Disk, documentary tapes, among others. Like the TV, the Radio as a sister institution is also funded by the state through GAMTEL and receives grants and sponsorship from international and national institutions and philanthropists. The funding for the programs of private radio stations are, however, provided from the proceeds of their commercial activities, although they sometimes receive grants and gifts from foreign and national philanthropists.

The proceeds from their sales, advertising and grants from foreign and national philanthropists provide the funding for the activities of the Observer Company. Like the Observer Company, the Point News paper and all other private and national Newspapers are funded in the same way; and they also benefit from grants and gifts from philanthropists.

Government funds the Department of Social Welfare, like most state institutions. It also receives grants and assistance from internationally recognised organisations such as UNICEF, WHO, Safe the Children's Fund, parastatals, and foreign and national philanthropists.

Generally, the services of National Library have been effective as shown by the records of readers throughout the country. The records show that both men and women participate in the program and the readership also covers both children and Adults. However, the library services to public have not been adequate due to lack of sufficient funds and this hinders the extension of services to other communities in the country, especially NBD.

In the case of Press Union, the impact assessment shows that the activities of the institution have been effective and has helped greatly in improving the quality of reports of journalists and creates job opportunities for others. In this vein, the accessibility of information to the public has been enhanced. However, services of the institution have not been adequate due to lack of enough funds.

The Feed back from the general public shows that the TV programs have been quite effective and educative, and has fit greatly into the country’s educational plan. In fact the institution has been a major forum for addressing the educational programs of the DOSE. However, lack of enough funds has led to the inadequacy of TV programs, thereby limiting their frequency to only 6 hours on week days and 14 hours on weekends.

Radio Gambia’s coverage enjoys the participation of all (young and old) and has assisted greatly in extending programs of the DOSE, other state institutions, parastatals and private institutions to the public. However, the Radio, like most media, is constrained with lack of fund to provide training for personnel to improve upon their programs.

The readers feed back for both Observer and Point News papers, as well as other private News Papers, reveals that the papers have improved the reading culture of Gambians and has helped greatly in enlightening the public on important issues of the day. They make the dissemination of information easier and benefits all private and government institutions. However, these companies are constrained with inadequacy of funds to provide training for its staff and improvement there upon.

The Department of Social Welfare has been very effective in assisting the public in education. Records show that the institution has helped greatly in meeting the educational goals of the society especially in the areas of sponsorship.

This section shall be treated by thematic area.

The Department of State for Education over the policy period continues to guide the operation of ECD programs while allowing the NGOs and the private sector to deliver the services. It will also enhance capacity building through training of facilitators and targeting community based programs in disadvantage areas for support. As reflected by indicator 1 and 2 in the analytical sector, the provision is not significant in the rural areas largely because of the fact that unlike primary education, government involvement is non-existent and therefore the highly commercial nature of its provision - demand driven. The high proportion of underage school-aged population in Grade 1 indicates either the unavailability of the service or its unaffordability in many regions.

The effectiveness of the existing policy measures could have been better or more realistically assessed if data where available to show trends and impact over the period under review. Suffice it to say that with only 17.7% participation at this level and as low as 6.1% in region 6, and with 27.5% of new entrants having ECD experience, the national impact of ECD program since Jomtien leaves much more to be desired, while the under utilisation of these facilities in the areas where they are concentrated allows room for improvement. Strategically, the future policy orientation for ECD must embody the use of comprehensive, integrated cross-sectoral approaches to early childcare.

The strategy to increase access to primary education employed during the period under assessment has been very effective in increasing the GER from its low level of 60% before the policy period to a level above the 1996 target of 65%.

The restructured school system of 6-3-3-2 aimed at providing a nine-year broad based education coupled with the construction of 600 classrooms which brought schools closer to the communities, has indeed contributed immensely in increasing the participation rates in rural communities. However, in the ensuing years these quantitative gains need to be complemented by a renewed focus on quality measures.

Maximising the use of existing resources for education towards increasing access to education has succeeded in certain areas but less successful in others. Though cost is an impediment to access, given the scarcity of government resources, there is need to advocate for increased household investment in education coupled with efforts aimed at increasing their income status.

In the urban and peri-urban areas where, the demand for school places outstrips what is available, the introduction of double shift has provided additional 22,000 school places. Without double shift, this number of children would have been out of school.

The use of multigrade and the introduction of user charges in the provision textbooks have not been successfully implemented. While the former had problems in that teachers felt that they were not adequately prepared for it, the latter faced a lot of management problems with a high staff turn over thus affecting its effectiveness. The right of children to possess textbooks particularly after school hour’s needs to be strengthened possibly through community participation and greater accountability of both parents and government officials.

The School Feeding Program undertakes activities such as school lunch, school farming; and these are countrywide on daily basis. The purpose is to provide food for children in primary schools and also introduce them to farming activities such as horticulture and animal husbandry. The main group targeted is the children. A study on the School Feeding Program (Baldeh & Jammeh, 1995) reported that the program attracted children to school and contributed in improving school attendance. Although no quantitative data could be obtained for the School Feeding Program, anecdotal evidence shows that the program has been effective in increasing the enrolment of children in schools. For the rest the policy period, government has committed itself to provide school lunches to children in poor communities, 50% of girls, the objective of which is to enhance the attendance and retention of children in primary schools and increase their capacity to concentrate by relieving short term hunger.

Although the teacher training college has trained over 1200 by 1996, as required by the Education Policy 1988 to 2003, the composition of teachers is still largely characterised by untrained and unqualified teachers. On this front (i.e. the provision of adequate trained teachers for quality education), the EFA strategy has not been very successful. Future INSET (In Service Training for Teachers) programmes should be linked to ongoing MLA as well as capacity building among teachers in action research and peer support to better respond to children’s learning needs. The curriculum process needs re-thinking to ensure greater synergism between curriculum development and professional development of teachers.

The increased government budgetary allocation to the education sector and the further reallocation of the DOSE’s budget in favour of primary education have both provided the necessary resources for the expansion at the primary level. There is evidence of greater efficiency in the allocation and utilisation of resources as reflected in reduced dropout and repetition rates and corresponding increases in survival and completion rates. Total public expenditure to education and primary education in particular must maintain its increasing trend to cope with the impressive enrolment growth rates which exceeded target rates by mid-decade, thus necessitating an upward revision of GER targets.

The monitoring of Learning achievements, as indicated earlier, has been given little prominence in the 1988 – 2003 Policy document. In addition, data on learning outcomes for the period under assessment is not available thus making it impossible to do any trend analysis. However, the performance of students in the terminal selective examination at grade 6 in four core subjects has been used instead and if the pass rates are anything to go by, learning outcomes are satisfactory at the primary level.

Non-Formal Education in the form of literacy classes has been largely provided by diverse group of NGOs and the Adult and Non-Formal Directorate of the Department of State for Education. As indicated in the plan women have been the main target group and indeed evidence suggests that a strong demand exist for literacy training among women. Due to the characteristic of the data used for this assessment, it is not possible to report on the effectiveness of the strategy vis-à-vis the target groups mentioned earlier as the data is not dis-aggregated to reflect these groups. However, given the available data on male and female, it can be reported that much has not been achieved in improving the literacy rates from of both sexes, especially for the group 15+ which includes most of the adults.

The curriculum of the formal education system is designed to help the Gambian children develop positive attitudes, values, skills and concept that will enhance their overall development. In addition to the formal curriculum, several programs outside the purview of the Department of State for Education, also aims at exposing beneficiaries to essential skills necessary for livelihood. Quantitative data is not available and the quality and efficiency of these services have not been formally assessed. As a result, the effectiveness of these programs can only be judged based on anecdotal evidence, which suggests that there is high demand for such training for out-of school youth. The curriculum of the formal system is also criticised for not preparing the children enough to develop numeracy skills essential for effective functioning in their own community thus giving rise to the need to revise the curriculum.

The education system aims at promoting a broad-based education that will enable individuals to develop to their fullest potential and thereby contribute positively to nation building. This wholesome activity calls for the involvement of other stakeholders outside the formal school system and thus the role of the electronic and print media in this domain cannot be overemphasised. As alluded to earlier, comprehensive data in this area is not available and there has been no survey to establish, empirically, the effectiveness of the services provided. However, given the increase in the number of electronic and print media in the country coupled with the intensity and extensiveness of coverage, anecdotal evidence indicates that it has contributed immensely towards greater awareness in communities.

The problems or difficulties, which hindered progress towards specific EFA goals and targets inter alia, include: -

1. The Gambia’s high population growth (4.2% - 1993 census) plus the decrease in mortality rates thus inflating the number of school age population; coupled with the level of poverty and attitudes, is posing a serious threat to EFA in that the cost of education placed on the parents of low income groups is found to be high compared to per capita incomes.
1. Increased access and participation in education has also increased the demand for more financial resources for structures and capacity building. The economic growth rates are slower or less than projected, thus implying that the required financial resources for sustaining the demand placed on education calls for an increasing share of total government expenditure to education.
2. Although community and NGOs participation in education is generally increasing, the level and quality of input is limited. A lot of initiatives were taken which could not be sustained without the support of the government. No proper co-ordination was done and as a result some sites are unsuitable in terms of maintenance cost and sustainability. The short life span of some of the temporary structures of that were erected by NGOs and communities are due for replacement. Approximately 22% of the present school structures are classified as temporary.
3. Some communities and parents still harbour some fears towards sending their children, especially the girl-child to formal school system. The existence of a parallel education system (madrasas) and the high female percentages enrolled in such schools is a clear testimony of the above claim.
4. The limited capacity and ability to monitor and evaluate our education program on a continuous basis to provide feedback and formulate informed policy decisions has to some extent delayed progress towards the achievement of set targets.
5. The capacity of the Department of State for Education to design, develop and produce instructional and pupil materials locally is also affecting progress. The pupil per book ratio is currently 2:1. The books are printed and published from outside (UK) making unit costs even more expensive.
6. The repetition and dropouts rates observed are impinging on the progress towards specific EFA goals and targets. More time and resources is dispensed than is otherwise required for a cohort of pupils to complete the basic cycle.
7. The formal education system still accommodates a high percentage of under-aged and over-aged children but measures cannot be taken to reduce it given that the GER is still below 100%, the focus is to enrol as many children as possible.

The need for education in national development cannot be overemphasised. The campaign for increased enrolment over the period under review has been reflected in the significant increase in not only enrolment but the growth in the number of schools which spreads all over the country. The plan is to have a radius of three kilometers walking distance for every school going child. Public schools currently account for 78% of primary schools compared to 2.5% private schools. It is expected to rise to 84% for public schools by the end of the policy period (2003), whiles private schools would drop to about 2%. Thus enrolments are targeted to reach 90% of school-aged population by 2005 for the basic education level.

The demand for education is high as shown in the upsurge in enrolment when schools were brought closer to communities and thus the target enrolment growth assumes that the number of places created would result in a corresponding increase in enrolment. It is, however, not perfectly elastic as evidence suggests that demand is sensitive to price. Of the children not currently attending any primary school, an estimated 75% are girls, 70% are in households which earn less than the median income, and nearly all live in rural areas. Income is a strong determinant of education and has been cited as a main barrier to attendance, particularly for girls.

It is against this background that the government embarked on the Third Education Sector Programme with renewed emphasis on access, quality and relevance to attain basic education for all. Government amply demonstrated commitment and ownership of the programme by its willingness to be in the driver's seat during the preparatory stages - the Revised Policy, the Investment Programme, the Public Expenditure Review and the Implementation Plan. Furthermore, the Revised Policy and the Investment Programme were discussed and approved by the National Assembly. In terms of resources, education has a high priority in the national development agenda as indicated in various government pronouncements and as reflected in high budgetary allocations to the sector.

There are, however, difficult policy decisions to be made and steps are already being taken in that direction; the removal of excess unqualified teachers, expansion of double shift and multigrade teaching, increase expenditure on textbook and providing them free to pupils in grades 1 - 6, and freezing subsidies on examinations and the school bus service. Capacity building has had limited success as it was narrowly defined as shortage of skill, and addressed through technical assistance and ad hoc training rather than considered priorities. The Third Sector Programme approaches capacity in a broader, more holistic and operational concept by dealing with all components of capacity namely organisational, leadership and management, financial, human and material resources and practices.

In practical terms, the participation of other partners in education must be strengthened and encouraged. Private participation is predominantly an urban phenomenon and not affordable by many. There is still more room for NGO participation in education and hopefully the current programme would see a revitalisation of NGO participation in education especially in classroom construction.

With 55 pre-school institutions in 1988, 125 in 1995 and 265 by 1998, one can appreciate the significant growth in this area. An enrolment data base has been established for the first time, thereby allowing for policy decision making based on statistical information. The number of children entering Grade one with ECD experience, particularly in Region 1 (53.3%) where these institutions are concentrated is also indicative of achievements at this level. However, there are marked disparities in distribution by region and gender, and for the fact that only three out of every 10 children are enrolled in these institutions signifies that not much has been achieved in increasing access at this level.

The significant achievements in access to primary education necessitated the upward revision of policy targets. Both Apparent (gross) Intake and Gross Enrolment Rates showed impressive upward trends (form 61.7% to 76.3%, and from 59% to 71.7% for AIR and GER respectively) over the period. Gender disparities have also narrowed significantly. Adherence to school entry age has not been well stressed and hence enrolments at Grade 1 continues to accommodate both under-aged (about 10%) and over-aged (almost 40%), implying that only half of admissions are of official age. Growth in GER has been faster for girls than boys even though total GER for girls continue to trail that of boys, thus implying that the gap is being gradually narrowed.

Government continues to manifest its firm commitment towards Education For All by the share of total recurrent budget that is devoted to education and allocations to basic education maintains an increasing trend.

The training of teachers for the primary level continues to be a priority. The proportion of certified teachers has increased from 54.3% (50.7% female) in 1991/92 to 72.8% (73.7% female) in 1998/99.

Repetition has dropped by more than three-fold form 24.9% to 6.8% over the period in Grade 6 due to increased access at the upper basic level. When the selection examination at this grade is phased out, a 100% transition would be ensured thus enhancing the achievement of nine years of uninterrupted basic education. Efficiency levels are also high.

Not much progress has been made in this area, though it is recognised as a crucial ingredient in the education system. The instruments for Monitoring Learning Achievement have been developed lately and would be administered shortly. However, passes at the selective Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination in the core subjects (English, Mathematics, Science, and Social and Environmental Studies) indicates a high level of learners outcomes at this examination.

Adult literacy:

The demand for the provision of literacy training remains high. Coverage has been nation-wide and there is anecdotal evidence of graduates from these classes who are capable of reading, writing and solving numeracy problems, which are directly relevant to their day-to-day businesses in their communities. Other skills learnt in this program e.g. tie and dye, sewing etc have proven successful.

Training in Essential Skills, and Education for Better Living:

Given that no targets were set in the policy for these areas, coupled with the fact that empirical data does not exist to assess progress, what has been alluded in previous sections on these thematic areas still holds.