Education is a fundamental and indispensable human right that is key to the achievement of sustainable development – personal, community and national. Thus, it is not surprising that governments, donors and civil society stakeholders concentrate a lot of their efforts and funding on improving basic, secondary and tertiary education. Adult Learning and Education (ALE), however, is one education subsector that is often overlooked and is consistently under-resourced. Despite the inclusion of adult education as ‘lifelong learning’ in the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 in Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4), the role and importance of ALE in supporting development at all levels, and how it adds value to the other subsectors of education is still poorly understood.
Adult Learning and Education includes all formal, non-formal and informal learning and continuing education (general, vocational, theoretical and practical) undertaken by adults. Participants in ALE are young people and adults who did not previously have the opportunity to enrol in or complete education, as well as those who may have concluded some initial education and training but have decided to return to some form of learning for professional or personal reasons.
One of the major challenges that the ALE subsector faces is the narrow definition and understanding of the sector both by ALE stakeholders and the general population. Most people in Malawi understand ALE as sukulu za kwacha, referring to the Kwacha Schools that emerged in the 1980s as part of the National Adult Literacy Programme to teach basic literacy and numeracy skills. There is little recognition and understanding that ALE extends far beyond basic literacy and numeracy to include a wide range of practical and life skills that span across multiple sectors. This narrow understanding of ALE is also found among the media, who have a critical role to play in conveying information and influencing the thinking of Malawians nationwide. Media coverage on ALE is limited and generally does not reflect the real scope of the subsector beyond literacy and numeracy.
As a way of bridging this knowledge gap, DVV International recently held a training for the media on ALE.
DVV International Regional Director for Southern Africa, David Harrington, said the aim of the media training which took place at Mtolankhani House (MISA Malawi offices) in Malawi’s capital city, Lilongwe, was to enhance the understanding of the media on ALE and build their capacity to report on this field.
Harrington said: “The training has equipped members of the media with a broader understanding of ALE, which will enable them to report on the subsector from a well-informed perspective. Furthermore, it was an opportunity to inform the media on the latest developments in the ALE sector, including the new Adult Literacy and Education Policy, which government approved in February this year.”
The training is one of the milestones of the DVV International and MISA Malawi. The two organisations have been working together in empowering the media to report on ALE. Last year DVV International through MISA Malawi brought smiles to the media community when it introduced the ALE Media awards to recognise excellence in ALE reporting. The winners for 2020 were Chimwemwe Mikwala and John Chirwa from Yoneco FM and Nation Publications Limited respectively.
Speaking during the training, MISA Malawi Programme Officer, Moses Chitsulo, urged the media to use their professional skills in maximising visibility of ALE in terms of success stories and challenges.
DVV International which officially launched its operations in Malawi in December 2017 held this training with funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Harrington indicated that there are a lot of issues that the media can tap from in as far as ALE reporting is concerned.
“There are a lot of areas which you [the media] report such as business, agriculture, education, environment and health. You can connect all these to Adult Learning and Education,” said Harrington.
The under-news reporting of ALE is not only in Malawi but in many countries where DVV International is working such as Mozambique and South Africa. This is because ALE has not been given much relevance as governments have rather opted to invest huge sums of money in the traditional education system. ALE has been considered less important hence less funding and also low reporting by the media. In Malawi the benchmark is three percent of the national budget but less than one percent is allocated to this education’s subsector.
MIJ FM sub-editor, Georgia Chirombo, said the media training was informative. “Yes, the training was informative as I learnt that Adult Learning and Education is linked to various sectors of society such as health, education and environment,” she said.
Nyanthepa Community Radio Station Manager, David Guta, echoed Chirombo’s description of the importance of the media training. Guta added that the training changed his perception and stereotype on ALE. “The meeting has opened my eyes to see that ALE is a developmental issue. It is from this understanding that my passion for ALE has been ignited. Our radio station [Nyathepa Community Radio] stands for community development. We will therefore incorporate ALE in our radio programming to ensure we have able and knowledgeable adults contributing to the development of Nsanje where our radio station is located,” said Guta.
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