Gender Perceptions of the Botswana National Literacy Programme Among the Minorities in the Chobe District

This paper discusses a gender analysis of the perceptions of the Basubiya in North Western Botswana towards participation and utilisation of the Botswana National Literacy Programme (NLP). The need to determine the effects of the National Literacy Programme on the lives of the learners continues to be a major concern to adult educators, Programme administrators and adult education researchers. The paper identifies reasons for participation in the programme among the minorities from a gender perspective. It explores the effects of the programme on the lives of men and women in Chobe in terms of how they utilised the literary and practical skills to improve their lives. Finally, the study examines the teaching and learning and general problems they had as learners in the National Literacy Programme. The paper concludes that there were no significant gender differences in terms of the reasons for enrolment in the NLP. However, there were some gender differences in the division of labour which in turn influenced their use of the skills acquired in their various social roles. Consequently, the learners noted that the programme enabled them to perform their roles as men and women in Chobe more effectively. Introduction Lack of sufficient information on how the Botswana National Literacy Programme impacts on the lives of the recipients has been an issue in Government and Non Governmental circles since its inception in 1980. Hence, this study has set out to determine the effects of the National Literacy Programme (NLP) on the lives of the Basubiya learners in the Chobe District. The effects of the programme were determined through establishing how it helped them to meet their needs in life. A deliberate attempt was made to establish if there were any gender differences in the use of skills acquired or even in the problems encountered in the programme. Gender as used in this paper denotes social practices that are organised in terms of the reproductive divisions between males and females in the society. It focuses on culturally constructed meanings assigned to men and women on the basis of their anatomical, social and economic role differences in the society (Connell, 1987; Mathews and De Hart, 1987; Maendeleo, 1994). The provision of literacy and other education services in society are usually a joint responsibility of Government, Non Governmental Organisations (local and international) and the private sector. In Botswana however, Government isthe largest literacy programme provider. It is also assisted by efforts of NGOs like the World Lutheran Federation and the Botswana Christian Council. The NLP was officially launched in 1981 after it had been in operation from as early as 1978. Consequently, it was evaluated in 1987 and the evaluation report indicated the need for the revision of the curriculum and updating of the materials of the primers. More importantly, it concluded that the effects of the NLP on the learners remained unknown and subject for exploration (Gaborone, Mutanyatta, and Youngman, 1987). The report went on to catalogue the successes in enrolments and the * Lecturer, Department of Adult Education, University of Botswana