State hegemony and the planning and implementation of literacy education in Botswana

Abstract

Planning adult literacy education in developing nations is largely viewed as a technical process reserved for government officials at the Ministry of Education. This empirical study argues that in Botswana, state sponsored adult literacy asserts its hegemony and stifles learner participation and district initiatives. The paper provides an overview of the socio-economic and political situation in Botswana arguing that in spite of being a liberal democracy, the planning and implementation of adult literacy education is driven by central government officials and views learners as having similar experiences and treats them as passive consumers. It fails to employ literacy education to address social disparities based on ethnicity and gender. Finally, the paper suggests that the planning should be decentralized and use a participatory approach.