• She said functional literacy majors in the use of whatever is learnt on different issues such as health which includes prevention of diseases and hygiene.
• Lack of classrooms, learning equipment means relying on borrowed facilities such as borrowed classrooms, churches and other facilities, which sometimes is a challenge
Lack of resources including manpower and flexible hours for adult education teaching, has seen counties struggle to meet intended targets.
Kiambu County Adult Education officer Susan Itonde said the county has continued to carry out awareness programmes and reach out to members of the public by creating networks such as churches to accommodate the learning.
She said resources are important and taking adults through learning programmes is sometimes overwhelming.
"Adult education is more than teaching. It is broad and requires more than that, bearing in mind that these are people who have other responsibilities thus they need functional literacy that will help them apply whatever they learn into immediate use,” Itonde said.
She said functional literacy, as part of adult education, majors in the use of whatever is learnt on different issues such as health which includes prevention of diseases and hygiene.
On lack of manpower, the education officer said professional teachers, officers and instructors who have been instrumental in the training have continued to decline as they normally fall into three categories which include full time teachers, part-time teachers and volunteers/self-help.
"For example, part-time teachers work for three days, two hours a day and that is only six hours a week which is not enough,” she said.
Itonde said they have flexible programmes that allow the learners to choose their own learning schedules in line with their other responsibilities.
She said they still experience challenges such as lack of classrooms and equipment.
“Lack of classrooms, learning equipment means relying on borrowed facilities such as borrowed classrooms, churches and other facilities, which sometimes is a challenge,” Itonde said.
“As of July 2022, Kiambu county had 855 male adult students and 2,140 female students. The number has continued to rise in line with the Vision 2030 goal to attain 80 per cent adult literacy rates through expansion, access and participation.”
Itonde said e-learning for youth and adults has created a sustainable literate environment.
“Kiambu county has 107 basic learning facilities, 57 post-literacy learning facilities, 34 adult education at secondary level, 30 adult education at primary level and one computer class for adult education,” she said
The Kenya Adult Learners' Association was formed in 1990, during the International Literacy Year, by a group of adult literacy learners. They were led by Magdalene Gathoni, who graduated from a state of an illiterate adult to the point of obtaining her primary, secondary and further education.