The Issue in Brief

Basic education programs in many underdeveloped countries throughout the world fall short in attaining their goals. Recognizing the need to teach basic skills, such as reading, writing, and math, governments have spent considerable sums of money on formal literacy programs often with disappointing results. What has proven successful are comprehensive nonformal education programs where learners participate in the creation of the educational program and link the lessons to their everyday life situations.

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The Context in Senegal

Senegal is one of the world's least developed countries. Although Senegal enjoys a somewhat stable political atmosphere, its economic growth is relatively stagnant and almost negated by its high population growth (doubling every 25 years). Low literacy rates and limited access to health care are major contributors to Senegal's lack of development. Three out of four people have not been taught to read and write. Senegal's child mortality has been relatively high, with 97 deaths per 1,000 among children ages five and under in 1995.

Many of the non-literate people in Senegal are women. A 1995 estimate reported the total population's literacy rate was at 33.1% with 43% of the men and only 23.2% of the women age 15 and over able to read and write. While literacy has long been recognized not only as a means of a personal and cultural sense of pride but also as the key to attaining economic growth, it is not always the first preoccupation of villagers whose children die from dehydration and malnutrition at an alarming rate. Senegalese village women need access to water and food first. Although important, the opportunity to learn to read and write is their second priority.

Through extensive experiment and support from the Senegalese government, the United Nations Children's fund (UNICEF), and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), a team of nonformal educational specialists developed a six-module program throughout which literacy is linked to life skills. From its inception in 1988, the TOSTAN Basic Education Program has gone beyond literacy to give learners the means to define and solve problems, improve their families' health, and start small-scale projects in response to local needs.

To look at an overview of the project, project activities, or project outcomes and implications, click on the corresponding heading.

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