By Valentine Oforo , The Guardian
EDUCATION stakeholders have underscored the need to construct more adult learning centres both in urban and rural areas to eradicate illiteracy and promote socioeconomic development.
According to the stakeholders, adult learning programmes can provide numerous opportunities and provide skills that can contribute to the country’s development and sustained livelihoods.
This comes after positive outcomes recorded at a Community Learning Centre (CLC) located in Hogoro Ward, Kongwa District in Dodoma Region which has helped a total of 217 adults defeat illiteracy.
Speaking recently during a special peer learning visit by different stakeholders in adult education, the CLC coordinator Jackson Steven said equipping populations with literacy greatly helps reduce poverty.
He said it is important for the government and stakeholders to work on initiatives to expand access to alternative education and other skills to reach more people in rural and urban areas through adult learning centres.
He said the CLC which was initiated by DVV International has supported a number of adults imparting them with key knowledge and practical skills on diverse facets of entrepreneurship.
“The areas in question include agricultural skills, livestock keeping, tailoring, edible oil production, making of batiks, ground nut processing as well as imparting adult learners with literacy and numeracy skills,” he said.
He said working with the government through the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and the President’s Office (Regional Administration, and Local Government) the core vision behind the programme is to promote adult learning as an integral part of individual and national development.
Furthermore, participants were trained on how to form special entrepreneurship foe ease of accessing other opportunities such as loans.
Library and television services as well as sports activities are among other key services that the centre offers to the communities in the ward.
“Through the diverse entrepreneurship skills that the centre offers, most of the beneficiaries have managed to join groups and establish businesses,” he said.
Michael Mataluma, one of the centre’s beneficiaries in the agriculture sector, said the programme has greatly assisted him to improve crop productivity.
“I engage in tomato cultivation; formerly I used to have very low harvests due to lack of proper sustainable practices and better seed varieties and fertilizers but things have now changed for the better,” he said.
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