Adult Learning and Education (ALE) is a fundamental human right. ALE is crucial to strengthen women’s dignity, equity and equality and increase women’s participation in public affairs, giving rise to economic, socio-cultural development. Therefore, ALE is key in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education and goal 5 on gender equality. Uganda recognizes education and Literacy as an important aspect of human capital development for socio-economic transformation. The Government’s commitment to support all forms of education is provided for under Article 30 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (as amended). The article guarantees all persons the right to education including women and girls of all ages, social status, religion, among others. Despite the gains made in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, Ugandan women continue to have a lower social status than men. This means that women have less power to make decisions, get equal opportunities for Education, obtain a profitable job and /or be independent.
Ugandan women do not have equal rights particularly surrounding land ownership and marriage due to cultural factors. Like all other countries worldwide, Uganda is faced with climate change, economic and the cost-of-living crisis, COVID -19 pandemic with its aftermath effects as well other emerging needs like high influx of refugees as a result of conflict in the region. Therefore, great attention is still needed to address education, economic empowerment and mainstreaming gender in all development interventions, prevention, and response to Gender Based Violence (GBV).
Other socio-economic factors in the Ugandan context indicate that females form the higher percentage (52%) of Uganda’s population, and literacy rate is low among females (68%) compared to the male literacy rate which stands at77.7%. The IALLA training was an opportunity given to me at the right time. The main purpose of the training was to build capacity of ALE leaders and activists from all over the world to broaden their knowledge and understanding on ALE as well as developing participants’ competences in ALE advocacy. In addition, the programme also aimed at facilitating the exchange of experiences, collaborative learning, and networking.
My participation in the 10th Integrated Community Adult Education – ICAE - Academy of Lifelong Learning *IALLA) training challenged and opened my understanding of the need to advocate for women’s rights and ALE. The training empowered me with different methods and techniques to be used during programme designing and implementation, developing of teaching and learning materials and training of trainers and educators in order for them to address issues of women as a special category in ALE.
Under the thematic areas of the training, I was able to appreciate the feminist movement and adult education; the global education policy framework for women’s education; feminist epistemology and educational discourses; women’s participation and equality of access in adult education and literacy; gender mainstreaming policy and advocacy for women’s learning and education; didactics and gender sensitive teaching and last but not least education for empowerment: women and lifelong learning.
Through this training I was able to learn, appreciate and use new methods of training such as embodied learning, art-based methods in teaching adults including storytelling, drawing, dancing, acting, games, educational tour, playing a subject related- video among others. As a trainer, I have engaged the use of some of the methods e.g., embodied learning in which trainees engage in learning activities that engage them holistically while promoting the connection of mind and body (thoughts, emotions, and feelings) in the learning session. It is my hope that these trainers will replicate the methodologies with the literacy facilitators and literacy groups in general to promote language learning skills and adding emotional and motivational benefits to the learning process.
Additionally, I was able to understand the ethics of ALE and lifelong learning. I appreciate what knowledge is for adults especially women and what it means for the women to know something. Relatedly, most of the learners in ICOLEW groups in Uganda especially women acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes to improve their quality of life, therefore the learning is emancipatory and empowering for them to become active citizens in their community. Using the knowledge and skills from the training, I perform my day-to-day work of policy and guidelines formulation, curriculum development and teaching and instructional methods, informed by this knowledge, skills, and experience.
It is critical to design public spaces for all which address accessibility, inclusion, and gender. There is need to understand women needs, set clear learning objectives for women, create opportunities for them to reflect on what they learn viz a- viz their challenges. For instance, the vegetable garden as a learning space can be promoted in Uganda. Since most of the women (77%, ODI 2021) in Uganda are engaged in the agricultural sector, this approach has a potential to overcome the gender barriers of reproduction and production that prevent women from enrolling in adult education programmes while at the same time contributing to women’s socio-economic empowerment.
During the training, I was further exposed to the Romanian program for migrant workers which resonates with the Ugandan situation. Currently, Uganda has embraced the externalization of labour whereby most young women in the country are going for job opportunities in the Arab countries, and several are employed in non-professional work including working as house managers. Most of these workers have limited financial literacy and business skills to plan, invest their earnings and manage their enterprises when they return to the country. As a result, most of them do not make economic sense out of their hard-earned income at the end of their contracts and they end up losing their savings/earnings; they would have been able to employ themselves after a few contracts if their financial literacy and business skills were developed through ALE to avoid loss of their hard-earned income.
As an ALE practitioner, my key take aways are as follows:
- Uganda needs to offer more opportunities to women to participate in ALE by opening other learning spaces through digital platforms to reach more potential learners.
- Migrant workers should be a special priority in the current context, as (for example women working as housemaids in different homes and others immigrating from other countries)
- A special focus should continue to be given to female adolescents and youths that dropped out of school due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
- To provide learning spaces in the gardens where most women are engaged.
- As a country, there is need for coordinated service delivery, establishment of Community Learning Centers countrywide, provide more financial, human resources and expertise to develop and advance the growth of the ALE sector for the socio-economic transformation of the country and realization of the 2040 vision.
With these approaches and innovations, I believe that more females will attain functional literacy skills and sustainable livelihoods will be strengthened in Uganda.
Appreciation goes to ICAE for organizing the 10th IALLA training for leaders and activists and Arab House of Adult Education and Development (AHAED) ICAE’s member and partner for co-organizing the training and providing financial support. Special gratitude goes to the German Adult Education Association (DVV International), East /Horn of Africa Regional office and the Country Office for providing financial support towards my participation. I request that experts continue to participate in these international events to further their networking, collaborative learning, shared learning, and exchange of experiences.