CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Women’s economic empowerment refers to women’s capacity to earn and control income, own and manage productive resources, make decisions about spending and savings, and take part in economic activity on fair terms. It is widely treated as central to poverty reduction, household welfare and sustainable development. Education is one of the most important routes to it. Awopetu (2025) concludes that economic empowerment through education is a major key to women’s liberation, and argues that cultural values and practices that restrict women’s education must change if this potential is to be realised. Obiagu (2023), using Nigerian data, likewise treats women’s education and economic empowerment as key measures for promoting gender equality and reducing women’s exposure to domestic violence, and anchors the analysis in feminist and empowerment theories that link education and economic independence to greater freedom.

Adult education is particularly important for women who did not complete, or never began, formal schooling. It includes basic literacy, post-literacy, continuing education and vocational or skills training delivered outside the formal school system. Ali (2024) presents adult education as an alternative route to accelerated socio-economic development in Nigeria, and the Fifth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education stresses its role in enabling adults to participate fully in economic, social and civic life (UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning [UIL], 2022). The Marrakech Framework for Action similarly commits states to widening access to adult learning for disadvantaged groups, including women (UNESCO, 2022).

The situation of women in northern Nigeria makes the question especially pertinent. Kano State is the most populous state in the country and a major commercial centre, yet many women in its communities have limited access to formal education, and social and religious norms in some households restrict women’s movement and participation in the market economy. Continuing education programmes that are organised around women’s schedules, that respect local norms and that combine literacy with income-generating skills are therefore an important channel for reaching women who would otherwise be excluded. UNESCO’s reviews of adult learning report that participation among vulnerable and excluded groups tends to be low because of institutional, situational and dispositional barriers, and that community-based centres can help reduce these barriers (Belete et al., 2022; UIL, 2019).

Darul Umma Continuing Education Programme in Ungogo Local Government Area (LGA), Kano State, is one such initiative. It offers [insert details: e.g., literacy classes, continuing education, and skills such as tailoring, knitting, soap making, catering, and trading skills] for adult women in and around Ungogo. The programme is intended to improve women’s knowledge and skills so that they can earn a living, contribute to household income and take a more active part in family and community decisions. Whether it has in fact done so is what this study sets out to establish.

The link between adult education and women’s economic empowerment is encouraging but incomplete. Nigerian scholars argue that education is the springboard for women’s economic empowerment (Awopetu, 2025) and that adult education can accelerate socio-economic development (Ali, 2024). At the same time, African evidence shows that literacy or training does not automatically produce economic gains (Kolawole & Pusoetsile, 2022; Nkansah, 2022). Local, programme-level evidence is therefore required, and this study provides it for Darul Umma Continuing Education Programme.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Adult education programmes for women are widely expected to raise their incomes, widen their economic choices and increase their control over resources. Governments, communities and faith-based organisations in Kano State have invested in such programmes on the strength of this expectation. Yet the extent to which participation in a specific programme, such as Darul Umma Continuing Education Programme, actually changes women’s economic situation has not been systematically documented.

Observers report that many women who complete adult education programmes struggle to convert their skills into income. Common obstacles include lack of start-up capital, limited access to markets and credit, household and cultural restrictions, insufficient follow-up support and training that does not match market demand. Awopetu (2025) identifies economic barriers as one set of obstacles to women’s empowerment through education, and Obiagu (2023) underlines the need to look at how education and economic empowerment interact rather than assuming that one automatically produces the other.

Without evidence from Ungogo LGA, the programme’s managers cannot tell which components are effective, funders cannot judge whether their support is producing results, and policymakers lack the local data needed to design women’s empowerment interventions that suit the northern Nigerian context. The problem of this study is therefore the absence of empirical evidence on how far, and in what ways, participation in Darul Umma Continuing Education Programme has influenced the economic empowerment of women in Ungogo LGA of Kano State.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to examine the influence of adult education programmes on women’s economic empowerment, using Darul Umma Continuing Education Programme in Ungogo LGA, Kano State, as a case. The specific objectives are to:

1. determine the effect of the programme on participating women’s income and savings

2. assess the extent to which the programme has equipped women with marketable and entrepreneurial skills

3. examine the influence of the programme on women’s participation in household economic decision-making

4. compare the economic status of women who completed the programme with that of those who have not participated.

5. identify the challenges that limit the programme’s contribution to women’s economic empowerment.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What is the effect of Darul Umma Continuing Education Programme on the income and savings of participating women?

2. To what extent has the programme equipped women with marketable and entrepreneurial skills?

3. How has the programme influenced women’s participation in household economic decision-making?

4. Is there any difference in the economic status of women who completed the programme and those who have not participated?

5. What challenges limit the contribution of the programme to women’s economic empowerment?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

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

H₀₁: Participation in Darul Umma Continuing Education Programme has no significant influence on the income of women in Ungogo LGA.

H₀₂: Participation in the programme has no significant influence on the acquisition of marketable and entrepreneurial skills among women in Ungogo LGA.

H₀₃: Participation in the programme has no significant influence on women’s participation in household economic decision-making.

H₀₄: There is no significant difference in the economic empowerment of women who completed the programme and that of those who have not participated.

1.6 Significance of the Study

Women participants and prospective participants. The study will show which parts of the programme are most useful for earning a living, helping women make informed choices about the skills to acquire.

Programme managers and instructors. They will obtain evidence for reviewing the curriculum, strengthening skills training and adding components, such as business management, savings groups or linkages to microfinance, that support economic outcomes.

The Kano State Agency for Mass Education and other government bodies. The findings can guide policy on women’s continuing education and on how to allocate resources across literacy, skills and post-training support.

Non-governmental and faith-based organisations. Organisations that support women’s education will gain a basis for judging impact and improving programme design.

Families and communities. As women’s incomes and decision-making power rise, households benefit through improved welfare, and communities benefit through wider economic participation.

Researchers. The study extends the literature on adult education and women’s empowerment in northern Nigeria, complementing research on women’s education, economic empowerment and gender outcomes (Awopetu, 2025; Ali, 2024; Obiagu, 2023).

1.7 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study is limited to Darul Umma Continuing Education Programme in Ungogo LGA, Kano State. It covers adult women who are currently enrolled in or have completed the programme within the last [insert number] years, together with instructors and programme administrators. It focuses on four dimensions of economic empowerment: income and savings, skills, participation in economic decision-making, and access to economic opportunities and resources. Other forms of empowerment, such as political or psychological empowerment, are considered only where they bear directly on economic outcomes.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

The study is a single-programme case study, so its results cannot be generalised to all adult education programmes for women in Kano State or Nigeria. Sensitive questions about income may lead some respondents to under- or over-report, and cultural norms may limit access to some women; the use of female research assistants, assurances of confidentiality and repeat visits are intended to reduce these effects. Respondents with limited literacy may need items to be read to them. Finally, because economic outcomes are influenced by many factors outside the programme, such as household circumstances and the wider economy, the study can establish association and perceived influence more confidently than strict causation.

1.9 Operational Definition of Terms

Adult education programme: an organised learning activity for persons who are no longer of school age, offered outside the formal school system. Here it refers to Darul Umma Continuing Education Programme.

Women’s economic empowerment: the extent to which women are able to earn and control income, save, acquire and use productive skills and resources, and take part in economic decisions in the household and community.

Continuing education: further learning provided to adults to complete or extend their basic education and to develop new skills.

Income: the money a woman earns per month from all productive activities, measured in naira.

Skills acquisition: the learning of practical, marketable skills, such as tailoring, knitting or food processing, that can be used to earn a living.

Economic decision-making: a woman’s involvement in decisions on spending, saving, investing and starting or running an income-generating activity.

Ungogo LGA: the Local Government Area in Kano State where the case-study programme is situated.

References

Ali, M. A. (2024). Adult education as an alternative option for accelerated socio-economic development of Nigeria. Journal of Continuing and Development Education, 4(1), 183–197. https://journalcde.com/index.php/jcde/article/view/123

Awopetu, A. (2025). Educational and economic empowerment of women for sustainable development in Nigeria. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 9(3), 5287–5293.

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

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

Nkansah, T. (2022). The role of adult literacy in community development in Ghana: Perceptions and experiences of two rural communities. The International Journal of Community and Social Development, 4(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/25166026221110728

Obiagu, A. N. (2023). Do women’s education and economic empowerment reduce gender-based violence in Nigeria? Journal of International Women’s Studies, 25(4), Article 12.

UNESCO. (2022). Marrakech Framework for Action: Harnessing the transformational power of adult learning and education (Seventh International Conference on Adult Education). UNESCO.

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.

UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. (2022). 5th global report on adult learning and education: Citizenship education – Empowering adults for change. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.