Rethinking the organization of Adult Literacy Education in Kenya: Shifting Adult Literacy Education (ALE) to the Ministry of Education for effective management

Formal education is the key to individual and national development. Kenya introduced adult literacy education soon after independence because majority of the Africans, who were the majority in the country and in whose hands the country was now placed, were illiterate due to colonial racial discrimination. Fifty years down the line, 38.5% adult Kenyans are illiterate. This paper seeks to highlight the reason for this, despite the country’s commitment at international level where she is a signatory to various charters and conventions on “Education for All (EFA)” and at home where she has made various policies towards minimizing and even eradicating illiteracy. It is opinioned that the management of Adult Literacy Education by the Ministry of Gender and Social Services has denied her the advantages of higher financial allocations and expert management enjoyed by other educational sectors in the country. It is recommended that the management of ALE is shifted to the Ministry of Education and the teaching and learning be done within the primary and secondary school premises by regular school teachers outside the normal school teaching timetable. It is further recommended that stakeholders brainstorm and carry out empirical studies to ascertain the practicability of this suggestion.