Stakeholders' participation in adult education programme development in Ethiopia

The implementation of integrated functional adult education (IFAE) programme needs collaborative efforts of different sectors. Studies indicate that the collaboration among different sectors is low, but the sectors' view in relation to the contribution of the programme and their participation in the implementation of the programme is not well studied. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand stakeholders' views about the programme and their participation in its implementation. The necessary data were collected from Adult Education Board members, Adult Education Technical Committee members and facilitators through questionnaire, in-depth interview, and document review. The result indicated that stakeholders have positive views about the collaboration and the contribution of the programme to the development of different sectors and the nation in general. It also revealed that, there is minimal involvement of stakeholders in the implementation of the programme including programme management, awareness creation, community mobilisation, budget allocation, education and training, and monitoring and evaluation. Stakeholders' positive view about the programme and its contribution is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the effective implementation of the programme. Thus, there is a dire need for stakeholders' and government's commitment and strong programme monitoring and evaluation supported by clear accountability structure.