Adult literacy programs in Uganda

The World Bank has financed few adult education/adult literacy programs in the last two decades because research evidence of their effectiveness has been incomplete. Instead, it has focused on supporting universal primary education (UPE) as the most effective long-term approach to eliminating illiteracy. But progress toward UPE in Sub-Saharan Africa has been disappointingly slow. Because the Bank is convinced that basic adult literacy, especially among women, plays a pivotal role in promoting social and economic development, it is exploring effective ways to support adult education programs while it maintains its strong support of primary education. Adult Literacy Programs in Uganda is one of result of this desire to reexamine adult education programs. The study, initiated by the Government of Uganda's request for assistance in conducting a countrywide evaluation of its adult literacy programs, suggests that the track record of such programs is not so poor as once thought and that nongovernmental agencies. The finding that most of the students in these programs had already had some primary education and were trying to upgrade their skills and knowledge is evidence of a large unsatisfied demand among Ugandan adults for more education. The first of several Bank publications on adult education, this book presents the findings from Uganda, compares them with lessons learned from other parts of the world, and explores their implications for educators, policy makers, and external aid agencies.