The Gambia is a sub-tropical country in West Africa lying between 12-14 degrees north. It is entirely surrounded by the republic of Senegal except on the west end which borders the Atlantic Ocean. It about 400 km long and 30 km wide at the mouth of the River Gambia but narrows down towards the eastern part of the country.

According to 1993 census, published by the central statistics department, the population is estimated to be about 1,038,145 (519,950 male, 518,195 female). The population is one of the fastest growing populations in the sub-region with an annual growth rate of 4.2 percent. The population density stands at 95 persons per square kilometer. The majority of the population (62.9 percent) lives in the rural areas.

As of 1993, the illiteracy rate in The Gambia for those aged 15 years and above was 63%. Forty-eight percent were male and 78% were female. Illiteracy rates were even higher among women with those in the rural areas accounting for 89% and those in the urban areas 57.9% (Central Statistics, Banjul, 1993). This trend appears to be relatively unchanged with continuing alarming illiteracy rates among girls and women in rural areas. Illiteracy especially among women has far reaching negative consequences particularly with respect to productivity, health, and economic empowerment among other things.

It has become common knowledge in The Gambia that there is a strong correlation between education and development. It is equally recognized that the formal school system alone cannot numerically generate the human resource base needed for overall national development considering the current national illiteracy rate, which is at 63%. Therefore, in an effort to broaden opportunities for all, adult and non-formal education service delivery becomes both urgent and imperative. It targets illiterate adults and out of school youth, the majority of whom are girls and women.

In the past, the selective-intense approach was used to deliver literacy service delivery in all regions across the country. This approach may be plausible if it was designed for pilot purposes leading to subsequent expansion based on lessons learnt from it. In any case this approach by implication was exclusionary and could not provide opportunities for all those in need. In the recent past, the Department of State for Education (DOSE) with the support of the UNDP, shifted to a systematic program approach to reach 20,000 Gambians over 5 years. This systematic programme approach focused on functional literacy (i.e. literacy linked with the development of basic skills in agriculture, small scale economic activities, health, nutrition, etc) and delegates the provision of services to the private (non-governmental) sector on contractual basis. The role of government within this context is to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the delivery of programmes by the concerned Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) engaged in adult education. The DoSE has traditionally played a significant role in the development and printing of materials, and training of facilitators.

Literacy programmes in the Gambia have for a fairly long time been provided by diverse groups of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as a supplement to their development programmes. The current strategy is that of partnership between the Adult and Non-formal Education Directorate (ANFED) and the NGOs/CBOs. ANFED’s role is that of working in collaboration with these organizations and in so doing, coordinates, monitors and evaluates programs implemented at the grassroots level. Coordination however remains to be major weakness that is encountered in this partnership drive. Coordination between ANFED and the respective NGOs involved in literacy on one hand and between the NGOs continues to be weak.

The key issues of which the partnership venture is designed to address are as follows:

• Develop a strategy to increase enrolment
• Develop the absorptive and technical capacities of literacy agencies
• Develop a sustainable partnership with the private sector (NGOs and CBOs)
• Ensure quality in the provision of literacy
• Ensure the retention of literacy skills once acquired

The following strategies reflect the goals of the Integrated Functional literacy Project (IFLP) which plays a critical role in the partnership drive between government through ANFED and the NGOs/CBOs.

• Promotion of Government/Private sector partnership that permits public financing of NGOs and CBOs and to expand their programmes to enroll 4000 participants per year
• Building capacities of NGOs and CBOs to identify target populations; design specified programmes; identify and recruit facilitators and supervise the implementation of programmes
• Strengthening the capacity of the ANFED to provide effective coordination and essential support services in monitoring and evaluation, training of literacy personnel, and the development of teaching/learning materials and
• targeting the 15 to 39 years age group which constitutes 57.56% of the illiterate population.

Government policy and intervention in literacy is as mention earlier is based on the principle of partnership with literacy providers in the field (NGOs and CBOs) and government through ANFED collaborating at all levels of service delivery. As a matter of policy, the government of The Gambia identified the following issues as a basis for provision of adult and non-formal education for the policy period 1988-2003

• Substantially reduce illiteracy, especially among the female population, in order to ensure an immediate impact on the social, economic and education indicators;
• Reduce imbalances between regions and between urban and rural areas;
• Promote functional literacy and the development of alternative basic education through the medium of national languages in order to improve the effectiveness of literacy programmes.
• Promote a literate environment in national languages in order to ensure the use, development and sustainability of acquired skills.
• Implementing a partnership policy which rely on partners in the field (NGOs and CBOs) to implement functional literacy programmes; and
• Coordinate financial partners’ interventions so as to gear efforts towards achieving government’s objectives with regards to this sub-sector of education.

• On the basis of the policy directives, government through the Directorate of Adult and Non-formal Education will assess the capacities of providers, guide implementation, coordinate programmes, monitor literacy activities and evaluate the sector performance in terms of the objectives defined in the action plan.

• In addition to preparation of an annotate bibliography on books produced, ANFED will continue to undertake the training of facilitators and supervisors as well as conception and development of teaching and learning materials. Supervision is done by ANFED field officers in the various regions.
• The government strategy for this sector is to help literacy providers expand their programmes; co-ordinate resources and to ensure that implementation strategies are in congruence with each other in order to avoid duplicating efforts.
• The departments of Community Development, Health, Agriculture Extension etc, are encouraged to intervene in their areas of competence.

Partners include organized groups, literacy providers (NGOs) and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and other government structures involved in the sector.

The following are specific actions to be taken by partners (literacy providers):

• Sensitization and mobilization of public opinion in favor of literacy;
• Identification of community groups willing to participate in literacy programmes;
• Identification and recruitment of facilitators and supervisors;
• Establishment of a minimum of 10 literacy centres and a maximum of 30 literacy centres with 30 participants each and 75 percent of whom should be women;
• Linking literacy with the promotion of functional skills and attitudes of mind that can enable them participate in good governance, appreciate environmental conservation, positive health practices and improve standards of living,
• Supervising literacy activities and properly managing the resources provided
• Provide counterpart funding; and
• Submitting monthly reports to ANFED.

The choice of language for use in the promotion of literacy is a decision of the learners and society. A learner who is to be educated is to be educated first for his/her own benefit and ultimately that of society. Consequently, the choice of language is based on psychological and pedagogical considerations that will facilitate and enhance positive learning outcomes using the learner’s mother tongue language as a medium of instruction. The Adult and Non-formal Education Directorate identified three area local languages as media of instruction. These include Mandinka, Wollof and Puular. Two other area languages (Sarahuleh and Jola) are yet to be commissioned for use as media of instruction. In the case of the later (Jola), there are all indications that collaboration with the WEC mission will provide the basis for building capacity to facilitate instruction.

The curriculum for Adult and Non-formal Education consist of a core curriculum with interface electives. What appears to be a core in one region may be an elective in another region and vice versa. The three RS’ (reading, writing and arithmetic), health, population and family life, agriculture, environmental studies and at least one vocational area of interest to the learner constitute the core curriculum. Appropriate and relevant instructional materials are developed for each of these areas for beginners and those at the intermediate and advance levels.

Monitoring and evaluation are critical for measuring the impact of intervention strategies designed and implemented for the acquisition of a predetermined conceptual framework of literacy at the national level. The Adult and Non-formal Education Directorate (ANFED) uses the following measures as a basis for monitoring and evaluating literacy programmes and activities in The Gambia:

• Class Admission register
• Class attendance Register
• Literacy centre Visitors Book
• Facilitator’s Monthly Report
• Supervisors Monthly Report
• Quarterly Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Chart — Level 1
• Quarterly Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Chart - Level 2
• Quarterly Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Chart — Level 3
• Literacy Providers ‘ (Yearly) Report

In order to ensure that monitoring and evaluation information is easily and readily available, the admission and attendance registers, visitors book and the facilitator’s details form are integrated in a records book and given to facilitators.

• The class admission register has been designed to furnish a significant quantity of baseline data that is linked to monitoring as programme implementation progresses. This has been done because it is a low-cost means of gathering valuable data for each class. For example, proximity from learning centre, sex, age, marital status etc are variables measured when collecting data.

• In the class attendance register, the total number of classes attended by each participant in a given month is computed right across from the learner’s name. The tallies, in turn, allow for the computation for a mean attendance rate per class per month. By design, the attendance register also provides information on reasons as to why learners did not attend classes at specified times.

• The facilitator’s monthly report is filled out and handed to the relevant NGO or CBO supervisor. That supervisor makes a detailed report based on the information provided by the facilitator and then forwards it to the relevant provider (NGO/CBO).
• The supervisor’s monthly report is designed to provide NGO/CBOs and ANFED with information on quantitative and qualitative aspects of literacy services including levels of participation. The provider passes the supervisor’s report on a monthly basis to the relevant regional office of the Department of State for Education

Some significant results were attained in sensitization and mobilization of the general public regarding literacy. This resulted in increased awareness and participation (especially in the rural areas) in literacy and post literacy programmes. The following are a summation of such achievements:

• Establishment of 167 literacy centres in communities that opted to participate in literacy programmes/activities
• Publication of large quantities of teaching and learning materials and their distribution to learners.
• Effective mobilization and sensitization of the communities
• A steady increase in attendance across various literacy cerntres
• Agreement reached with a daily Newspaper to publish news in the local languages on forthnightly basis.
• Health issues at some literacy centres have helped in improving waste disposal methods.
• Learners are able to identify clinic cards
• Learners are able to identify a bus traveling to specified destinations
• Learners are able to add, subtract, divide and multiply
• Learners are able to read and write basic text in their languages
• Learners are able to keep records of own business and determine profit and loss
• Learners were able to foster long lasting relationships

• Lack of sustained funding causing attrition as learners became de-motivated and frustrated.
• The capacity of CBOs have not been adequately strengthened to deal with intervention strategies identified as well as the growing demand for literacy at initial stages of operation of literacy centres
• Poor infrastructure including classrooms, poor lighting facilities, inadequate furniture, all of which have direct implications on teaching and learning processes

Many challenges continue to exist with regards to service delivery pertaining to the adult and non-formal education sector in The Gambia. Some of the salient challenges include inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, weak coordination of activities/programmes, and inadequate human resource to effect policy and programme implementation. Furthermore, it will be very critical to review the present monitoring and evaluation mechanism in place and improve upon it. These issues will serve as the basis for conceiving and implementing strategies designed to address an effective service delivery system I the future.

The partnership strategy that brings together the Adult and Non-formal Education and the non-governmental organizations and community based organizations that the government is promoting is a step in the right direction. It is a strategy that can lead to meaningful adult literacy outcomes as well as reducing the illiteracy rates in the country. However many challenges abound but none of those challenges are insurmountable and with determination and commitment, the government, non-governmental organizations, community based organizations and the learners can achieve the specified goals on adult and non-formal education stipulated in the education policy.