CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Adult literacy programmes achieve their purpose only when learners stay long enough to acquire lasting skills. A learner who enrols but leaves after a few weeks gains little, and the resources spent on that learner are lost. Dropout, defined here as the termination of participation before the regular end of a programme, is therefore among the most serious problems in adult basic education. The Fourth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education grouped the obstacles to participation and persistence into institutional barriers (such as inconvenient schedules, poor facilities and weak teaching), situational barriers (such as poverty, work and family responsibilities) and dispositional barriers (such as low self-confidence and shame) (UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning [UIL], 2019). This classification is widely used to explain why adults do not begin, or do not complete, learning programmes (Belete et al., 2022).

Adults who enrol in literacy classes are typically poor, work long hours, and carry household and community responsibilities. They often face barriers that children in school do not. Belete et al. (2022) note that participation in adult learning is low overall and particularly low among vulnerable and excluded groups, who find it hard to cross such barriers. Akintolu et al. (2022b), studying adult community learning centres in KwaZulu-Natal, found that learner-related, facilitator-related and government-related factors inhibited the progress of the centres. Kolawole and Pusoetsile (2022) found that an adult basic education programme in Botswana did not produce a significant difference in literacy attainment between participants and non-participants, and linked this to weak programme effectiveness and implementation challenges, factors likely to discourage learners from persisting.

Other Nigerian evidence points to programme-level conditions that can push learners out. Nwodo et al. (2026), studying adult literacy centres in Plateau State, found that centres were not regularly supervised and that essential instructional materials, buildings and libraries were missing from most of them, conditions the authors said undermine mass literacy goals. Ekpo et al. (2024) report from Akwa Ibom State that low enrolment, poorly qualified teachers and lack of learning materials and infrastructure are recurrent weaknesses of adult education. On the learner side, Akintolu et al. (2022a) report that relevant materials, competent facilitators and support for learners’ own goals are motivating factors for adult literacy learners in Nigeria and South Africa; where these are absent, motivation to stay may weaken.

In Nigeria, the scale of the literacy challenge is large. The adult literacy rate is estimated at about 70.4 per cent (World Bank, 2025), while the National Bureau of Statistics reported in 2022 that nearly 80 million Nigerians were non-literate (allAfrica, 2025). Regional differences are wide, and the north-east is among the most disadvantaged regions. Borno State has been severely affected by insecurity, displacement and the destruction of infrastructure. Nwoke et al. (2024), in a critical review of out-of-school children in Nigeria, identify insecurity, poverty and weak institutional structures as key drivers of exclusion from education, and Adeleke and Alabede (2022) find that poverty predicts school non-attendance in northern Nigeria. Although these studies concern children, they describe the same social and economic conditions in which adult learners in Maiduguri live and study.

The Maiduguri Metropolitan Area, made up of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (the capital of Borno State) and the adjoining Jere Local Government Area, hosts adult literacy centres that serve residents, including many internally displaced persons and households that have lost livelihoods. Such learners may struggle with hunger, unstable housing, trauma, irregular income and security concerns, all of which can interrupt attendance. Facilitators may also be displaced, poorly paid or irregularly supervised, and centres may lack materials and safe premises. Yet the actual causes of dropout in the Maiduguri centres have not been systematically documented. Without this knowledge, efforts to retain learners will be guesswork. This study identifies the factors responsible for dropout among adult learners in basic literacy programmes in Maiduguri Metropolitan Area.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Adult literacy centres in Maiduguri Metropolitan Area register learners each session, but observation and centre records suggest that many do not complete the programme. Dropout wastes scarce public and donor resources, leaves adults without functional literacy, and undermines national efforts to reduce non-literacy. It is also a source of frustration for facilitators and can discourage other adults from enrolling.

The literature offers several possible explanations, including institutional, situational and dispositional barriers (UIL, 2019), problems with learners, facilitators and government support (Akintolu et al., 2022b), poverty and insecurity (Adeleke & Alabede, 2022; Nwoke et al., 2024), weak supervision and resources (Ekpo et al., 2024; Nwodo et al., 2026), low motivation (Akintolu et al., 2022a), and weak implementation of programmes (Kolawole & Pusoetsile, 2022). But it is not known which of these factors matter most in Maiduguri, how they differ between women and men, or how the specific conditions of the metropolis, including displacement and insecurity, shape learners’ decisions to leave.

The absence of such evidence prevents the Borno State Agency for Mass Education, centre managers and partners from designing effective retention strategies. The problem of this study is therefore that the factors responsible for dropout among adult learners in basic literacy programmes in Maiduguri Metropolitan Area are not empirically established.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to identify the factors responsible for dropout among adult learners in basic literacy programmes in Maiduguri Metropolitan Area, Borno State. The specific objectives are to:

1. determine the extent to which institutional factors are responsible for dropout;

2. examine the extent to which situational factors are responsible for dropout;

3. assess the extent to which dispositional and socio-cultural factors are responsible for dropout;

4. find out whether the reasons for dropout differ between male and female learners; and

5. suggest strategies for reducing dropout.

1.4 Research Questions

1. To what extent do institutional factors account for dropout among adult learners?

2. To what extent do situational factors, including poverty, work, displacement and insecurity, account for dropout?

3. To what extent do dispositional and socio-cultural factors account for dropout?

4. Do the reasons for dropout differ between male and female learners?

5. What strategies can reduce dropout in the centres?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance:

H₀₁: Institutional factors have no significant relationship with dropout among adult learners in Maiduguri Metropolitan Area.

H₀₂: Situational factors have no significant relationship with dropout.

H₀₃: Dispositional and socio-cultural factors have no significant relationship with dropout.

H₀₄: There is no significant difference between male and female learners in the factors responsible for dropout.

1.6 Significance of the Study

Adult learners. By identifying causes of dropout, the study can lead to changes that make it easier for learners to stay and complete.

Facilitators and centre managers. They will get evidence to adjust schedules, teaching methods, learner support and follow-up of absentees.

The Borno State Agency for Mass Education and NMEC. The findings can guide policy on retention, supervision, safe learning spaces, and support for displaced learners.

Non-governmental organisations and humanitarian agencies. Organisations working with displaced and vulnerable adults will have evidence for designing support that keeps learners in classes.

Community and religious leaders. They can use the findings to encourage attendance and support learners.

Researchers. The study adds to the limited literature on adult learner dropout in north-eastern Nigeria and offers a framework based on UIL (2019) that can be tested elsewhere.

1.7 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study is limited to adult literacy centres offering basic literacy programmes in Maiduguri Metropolitan Area, Borno State. It covers adults aged 18 years and above who have dropped out of, or are currently enrolled in, basic literacy classes, together with facilitators and centre managers. It concentrates on three categories of factors (institutional, situational and dispositional or socio-cultural) as reasons for dropout during the 2025/2026 session. It does not evaluate learning outcomes or post-literacy and vocational programmes.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

Dropouts are difficult to trace because many have moved, changed phone numbers or been displaced; the researcher used centre registers, facilitators and community contacts to locate them, but some could not be reached. Security conditions may limit access to some centres or times of day. Respondents may give socially desirable answers or fail to recall exact reasons for leaving. Instruments will be administered in Hausa or Kanuri where necessary, which may affect consistency. The study is a case study of one metropolitan area and its results should not be generalised to all of Borno State or Nigeria.

1.9 Operational Definition of Terms

Dropout: the termination of an adult learner’s participation in a basic literacy programme before its regular end, including stopping attendance for four or more consecutive weeks without returning.

Basic literacy programme: an organised programme that teaches adults the initial skills of reading, writing and numeracy.

Institutional factors: conditions arising from how the programme is organised and delivered, such as venue, schedule, facilities, materials and facilitators.

Situational factors: conditions arising from the learner’s circumstances, such as poverty, work, family duties, health, displacement and insecurity.

Dispositional factors: conditions relating to the learner’s attitudes, self-confidence and motivation, and to cultural expectations.

Adult learner: a person aged 18 years or above enrolled in an adult literacy class.

Maiduguri Metropolitan Area: Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and the adjoining Jere Local Government Area of Borno State, which together form the study area.

References

Adeleke, R., & Alabede, O. (2022). Geographical determinants and hotspots of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Open Education Studies, 4(1), 345–355. https://doaj.org/article/c84f3267e17d42cc8ef0aa582b56a5e5

Akintolu, M., Letseka, M., & Nzima, D. R. (2022a). Examining the adult literacy learners’ motivating factors in South Africa and Nigeria. The International Journal of Adult, Community and Professional Learning, 29(2).

Akintolu, M., Uleanya, C., & Letseka, M. (2022b). Examining key challenges in the programmes of adult community learning centres in KwaZulu-Natal. Journal of Adult and Continuing Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/14779714211070307

allAfrica. (2025, August 1). Nigeria: Basic education – Govt targets 80 million non-literate youths and adults. https://allafrica.com/stories/202508010056.html

Belete, S., Duke, C., Hinzen, H., et al. (2022). Community learning centres (CLCs) for adult learning and education (ALE): Development in and by communities. International Review of Education, 68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-022-09954-w

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Kolawole, O. D., & Pusoetsile, T. (2022). What difference does literacy make among adult learners? Impact of adult basic education programme in a rural community in Botswana. Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, 28(1), 227–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/14779714211007495

Nwodo, C. E., Akpa, G. O., & Gyang, T. S. (2026). Management of adult literacy programmes and achievement of mass literacy goals in Plateau State, Nigeria. Greener Journal of Education and Training Studies, 9(1), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.15580/gjets.2026.1.051126063

Nwoke, C., Oyiga, S., & Cochrane, L. (2024). Assessing the phenomenon of out-of-school children in Nigeria: Issues, gaps and recommendations. Review of Education, 12(3), Article e70011.

UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. (2019). 4th global report on adult learning and education: Leave no one behind – Participation, equity and inclusion. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.