CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Learning facilities are the physical and material resources on which teaching depends. In an adult literacy centre they include the classroom or hall, seating and writing surfaces, boards, lighting, ventilation, water and toilets, electricity, textbooks and workbooks, charts and flash cards, and, increasingly, radios, phones and computers. These resources shape whether classes can hold at all, whether learners are comfortable enough to attend, and whether facilitators can teach effectively. Adult learners, who often come after a day’s work and may be self-conscious about learning late in life, are especially sensitive to a poor learning environment. The Fourth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education lists institutional factors, such as the quality of venues and provision, among the barriers to participation in adult learning (UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning [UIL], 2019).

Studies from across Africa link poor facilities to weak adult learning centres. Belete et al. (2022) note that in Africa, rural infrastructure is poor and services cannot reach all communities in need. Akintolu et al. (2022) found that learner, facilitator and government factors inhibited the progress of adult community learning centres in KwaZulu-Natal. In Akwa Ibom State, Ekpo et al. (2024) identified lack of learning materials and infrastructure, together with inadequate funding and low enrolment, among the weaknesses of adult education.

The most directly relevant recent Nigerian evidence comes from Plateau State itself. Nwodo et al. (2026) surveyed 185 adult learners, 17 facilitators and 19 area officers across 15 centres selected from the 45 adult literacy centres in the State. They reported that centres were not regularly supervised, that the State Agency did not mobilise learners through mass media, and that resources were grossly inadequate: essential instructional materials, proper school buildings and libraries were missing from most centres, while whiteboards, facilitators, water and electricity were more often available. They concluded that these deficiencies, together with weak supervision and the absence of vocational skills training, undermine the achievement of mass literacy goals, and recommended the provision of buildings, computers, textbooks, desks and libraries. They also cite figures indicating that Plateau State has an adult population of about 2.6 million, of whom 46.58 per cent were literate and 53.42 per cent illiterate (citing National Population Commission, 2021).

That study, however, was concerned with the management of programmes as a whole, and it described the availability of resources rather than testing their influence on programme effectiveness in terms of learner outcomes. It did not measure whether centres with better facilities have higher attendance, retention or reading and writing performance than those with poorer facilities. The present study addresses that gap by examining the influence of learning facilities on the effectiveness of adult literacy programmes in selected centres in Jos North, Jos South and Bassa Local Government Areas.

The importance of the question is underlined by the scale of Nigeria’s literacy challenge. Adult literacy is estimated at about 70.4 per cent nationally (World Bank, 2025), the National Bureau of Statistics has reported nearly 80 million non-literate Nigerians (allAfrica, 2025), and the Federal Government has acknowledged that its national literacy data are dated (“Federal Government directs NMEC,” 2026). If limited investment is to be used well, planners need to know which facilities matter most for effectiveness. Evidence from Botswana that literacy programmes may fail to yield measurable gains where implementation is weak (Kolawole & Pusoetsile, 2022) reinforces this concern.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Adult literacy centres in Plateau State are supposed to provide adults with a conducive environment in which to acquire reading, writing and numeracy skills. Reports and observation show that many centres lack basic facilities: proper buildings, desks, teaching aids, reading materials, and sometimes water, toilets and electricity (Nwodo et al., 2026). In some centres classes hold in borrowed classrooms, church halls or under trees, and learners share a few books.

It is widely assumed that these deficits reduce attendance, weaken teaching and lower learning outcomes. Evidence from elsewhere in Nigeria and Africa is consistent with this assumption (Akintolu et al., 2022; Ekpo et al., 2024). Yet there is no empirical evidence from Plateau State that measures how strongly facilities influence programme effectiveness, which types of facilities matter most, or whether the influence differs between urban centres (such as in Jos North and Jos South) and more rural centres (such as in Bassa).

Without such evidence, the State Agency for Adult and Non-Formal Education, local governments and partners cannot prioritise spending. The problem of this study is therefore the lack of empirical evidence on the influence of learning facilities on the effectiveness of adult literacy programmes in selected adult literacy centres in Jos North, Jos South and Bassa Local Government Areas of Plateau State.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to determine the influence of learning facilities on the effectiveness of adult literacy programmes in selected centres in Plateau State. The specific objectives are to:

1. assess the availability and condition of physical facilities (buildings, seating, lighting, ventilation, water, toilets and electricity) in the centres;

2. assess the availability and adequacy of instructional materials (textbooks, workbooks, charts and other teaching aids) in the centres;

3. determine the influence of physical facilities on learners’ attendance and retention;

4. determine the influence of instructional materials on learners’ reading and writing performance;

5. compare the effectiveness of centres with adequate and inadequate facilities; and

6. identify the challenges in providing and maintaining learning facilities and suggest ways of improving them.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What is the availability and condition of physical facilities in the adult literacy centres?

2. How adequate are the instructional materials in the centres?

3. What is the influence of physical facilities on learners’ attendance and retention?

4. What is the influence of instructional materials on learners’ reading and writing performance?

5. Is there a difference in effectiveness between centres with adequate facilities and those with inadequate facilities?

6. What challenges affect the provision and maintenance of learning facilities?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

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

H₀₁: Physical learning facilities have no significant influence on learners’ attendance and retention in adult literacy centres in the study area.

H₀₂: Instructional materials have no significant influence on learners’ reading and writing performance.

H₀₃: There is no significant difference in the effectiveness of adult literacy programmes between centres with adequate facilities and those with inadequate facilities.

H₀₄: There is no significant difference in the availability of learning facilities between urban and rural centres.

1.6 Significance of the Study

Adult learners. Better-informed investment in facilities can improve their comfort and learning, and may reduce dropout.

Facilitators and centre managers. The study will show which facilities matter most and help them make a case for them.

The Plateau State Agency for Adult and Non-Formal Education and local governments. The findings will help prioritise limited funds and strengthen supervision and maintenance, addressing gaps identified by Nwodo et al. (2026).

NMEC and the Federal Ministry of Education. The study provides evidence for setting minimum standards for adult literacy centres.

Communities, NGOs and development partners. They will learn which contributions, such as buildings, desks or books, deliver the greatest effect.

Researchers. The study moves beyond describing resource availability, as in Nwodo et al. (2026), to testing its influence on effectiveness.

1.7 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study is limited to selected adult literacy centres in Jos North, Jos South and Bassa Local Government Areas of Plateau State, chosen to include urban and rural settings. It covers adult learners aged 18 years and above in basic and post-literacy classes, together with facilitators and supervisors. Learning facilities are defined as physical facilities and instructional materials; programme effectiveness is defined by attendance, retention and reading and writing performance during the 2025/2026 session. The study does not cover funding, facilitators’ qualifications or curriculum design except where they relate directly to facilities.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

The study covers three local government areas and cannot be generalised to all of Plateau State. Facility conditions will be assessed by an observation checklist and reports, and may change during the year. Learner performance depends on many factors besides facilities, such as motivation, facilitator quality and attendance, so the study can establish association more confidently than strict causation. Security conditions in some areas may limit access on some days; the researcher planned repeat visits. Items will be read aloud for learners with limited literacy, in English, Hausa or Pidgin as required.

1.9 Operational Definition of Terms

Learning facilities: the physical and material resources used for teaching and learning in a centre, including buildings, seating, boards, lighting, water, toilets, electricity, books and other teaching aids.

Physical facilities: buildings, classrooms, seating, lighting, ventilation, water, toilets and electricity.

Instructional materials: textbooks, workbooks, charts, flash cards, reading materials and other aids used in teaching.

Programme effectiveness: the extent to which a literacy programme achieves its aims, measured here by learner attendance, retention and reading and writing performance.

Adult literacy centre: a designated venue where adult literacy classes are held regularly.

Retention: the continued enrolment and attendance of learners until the end of the programme.

References

Akintolu, M., Uleanya, C., & Letseka, M. (2022). 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

Ekpo, M. E., Umoh, U. E., & Udoaka, S. P. (2024). Adult education and entrepreneurial sustainable development in Nigeria: A study of Akwa Ibom State Agency for Adult and Non-Formal Education (2007–2023). Covenant Journal of Entrepreneurship, 8(1), 44–54. https://journals.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/index.php/cjoe/article/view/4183

Federal Government directs NMEC to enhance literacy data collection for adults and youths. (2026). Nigeria News Digest. https://www.nigerianewsdigest.com/federal-government-directs-nmec-to-enhance-literacy-data-collection-for-adults-and-youths/

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

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.

World Bank. (2025). Literacy