Sebenta National Institute
SAIDE

Context:
While collecting information for this global distance education network, SAIDE held several interviews with organisations in Southern African countries. Impressions of each country were generated to give some introduction to distance education and technology use in the area. Each interview has also been written up separately as a case study.

Source:
SAIDE country visits conducted in 1999

Copyright:
Permission granted

Country: Swaziland
Contact Person: Ms Thuli Dladla
Position: Director of Sebenta National Institute
E-mail: literacy@realnet.co.sz
Fax: 09268 404 2729
Tel: 09268 404 5997
Postal Address PO Box 64
Mbabane
Swaziland

Date: 23 June 1999

Description

Sebenta conducts adult literacy education activities throughout Swaziland, in order to contribute to the personal development of individuals, as well as the development of communities.

The Swaziland National Adult Literacy programme was started as a nation wide campaign against illiteracy in 1960. From then on, literacy work in Swaziland was undertaken by Sebenta National Institute, then known as the Sebenta Society. Today Sebenta is the only major delivery organisation in the field of Adult Basic Education (ABE) better known as Adult Literacy. When it was founded in 1961 its scope of work covered the promotion of community development and the eradication of Adult illiteracy in the kingdom. Sebenta is still committed to deliver programmes for the advancement of the marginalised groups.

As Sebenta approaches the fourtieth anniversary of its inception, it is increasingly becoming evident that the nature and pace of its progress and the rapidly changing environment in Swaziland, made strategic planning an urgent and imperative task. To this end a strategic planning study was launched in 1998 that has led to the production of the Institute’s Strategic Plan to be implemented over a five year period: 1999-2003.

Mission statement

Sebenta National Institute is committed to providing basic and functional education and raining to all communities throughout the Kingdom of Swaziland. Sebenta will accomplish its mission through:

• Basic and functional literacy programmes
• Life skills for out-of-school and other disadvantaged people
• Effective partnership with all stakeholders
• Effective use of available resources and a drive towards self-sustainability
• Effective communication and networking.

Sebenta will achieve its mission with its dedicated members of staff.

Aims and objectives

Major achievements

Sebenta’s major achievement is the reduction of the illiteracy rate in the country, which is a continuous process. catimi

The major themes, which run through the new strategic plan, are: Focus, Integration, and Cooperation.

Focus - was to identify Sebenta’s most important clients i.e. illiterate adults, diadvantaged groups, women, youth and the products and services to be addressed by the Institute;

Integration – of all of Sebenta’s activities to achieve its goal of increasing literacy and providing life-skills; and

Co-operation – and partnership with other agencies and institutions which share Sebenta’s mission and interests.

PROGRAMME OWNERSHIP, COOPERATION AND SUPPORT

Ownership of the programme

The Namibian Government is the main facilitator and sponsor of the literacy programme. However, ownership of the programme rests with the community. The community is expected to participate in all the programmes including their initiation, planning, direction, monitoring and evaluation. Despite the constraints, which communities may have, such as poverty and inadequate means of communication, the people and the communities are encouraged and supported to participate in the structures, created specifically to empower them to take full control of the programme and direct it to their benefit. The following structures have been set up to invite wide participation in the programme:

National Literacy Committee: directs the programme at the national level and advises the Minister on policy and new directions for the programme. Though coming from the main stakeholders, the members are appointed by the Minister and serve the Committee in their individual capacities.

Regional Literacy Committee: directs the programme at regional level.

District Literacy Committee: directs the programme at the local level. This important committee is responsible for mobilising the communities, for recruitment of learners and for identifying the local resources needed for the smooth operation of the programme.

Literacy Class Committee: which is made up of the learners themselves and is responsible for ensuring that classes are conducted in a manner conducive to learning. One major responsibility of a class committee is to bring back fellow learners who have drifted away from the class.

NGO’s and the private sector can participate in the programme by:

• Setting up learning groups which are managed and supervised entirely by the sponsors themselves;
• Making available premises for government-led groups; and
• Sponsoring the programme through the National Literacy Trust from which NGO’s involved in running literacy programmes can get financial help to supplement their own funds.

The directorate will assist all organisations registered with the programme by supplying learning materials without charge, assisting with the training of staff, without charge, assisting the partner to set up and monitoring literacy classes.

Relevant education policy

The NLPN is an integral part of the national education system. The four major national educational goals, access, equity, quality and democracy, are guiding principles that must be realised through NLPN. (Refer to Policy Guidelines for the Second Phase, 1996 – 2000 of the National Literacy Programme in Namibia, Ministry of Basic Education and Culture, Directorate of Adult Basic Education, Windhoek, Namibia, 1997, p 6 – 7).

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The Ministry of Basic Education is dependent for the success of the programme on the support from all sectors of society, including political leaders, community leaders, employers in the private and public sectors; government ministries at central and regional levels; trade unions, churches, youth; women’s organisations; donors; and media.

Some future plans include:

• Increasing the enrolment of the literacy learners especially at Stage One. While still encouraging more women to join, men will be targeted especially because too few of them are participating;
• Gradually and progressively developing post-literacy programmes to a stage equivalent to Grade 7 in formal school;
• Establishing the mechanisms for increasing awareness and support of adult skills activities;
• Establishing Community Learning Development Centres to sustain acquired literacy skills.