Factors that affect enrolment in adult literacy in Mathira east district of Nyeri county

Abstract

Adult and Continuing Education (ACE) is defined as a process whereby persons who no longer (or did not) attend school on a regular or full time basis undertake sequential and organized activities with a conscious intention of bringing about changes in information, knowledge, understanding, skills, appreciation and attitude or for the purpose of identifying and solving personal or community problems. (Townsend coles, 1977). ACE equips the adult with knowledge and skills that they need in order to live useful and decent lives. Products of adult education programmes are supposed to appreciate and use modern technology and be able to interpret national development programmes intelligently Ayot, (1999). ACE has been on Kenya’s development agenda since 1963 as the government committed itself to declare a carefully planned attack on poverty, diseases and ignorance in order to attain social justice, human dignity and economic welfare for all. (Sessional Paper No. 10, 1965).

Literacy programmes gained its global power with the establishment of United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1945 following the second world war. It was established that the war was caused due to misunderstanding and intolerance of other peoples’ culture. Education was seen as one of the solutions which would break cultural barriers, prejudices and open ways of global understanding that would save human beings (UNESCO, 2005). As such, education became a major concern of UNESCO to be promoted vigorously at national and international levels. The 1966

UNESCO world conference on adult education focused attention on the question of basic education for those who had not been able to attend traditional education institutions. The conference resolved that adults should understand the problem of their environment, their human and civil rights and take on the responsibilities associated there with. Adult literacy should help adults to acquire knowledge and develop ability so that they are in a position to gradually improve day to day lives and take an active part in the economic and social development of their community (UNESCO, 1966). The conference had the feeling that literacy was a basic tool for socio-economic liberation of a country. For accelerated development, the people should be able to read and interpret government plans and understand a wide range of public issues most of which are found in documents.