Project Abstract

<p> The study was carried out to assess the functionality of literacy programmes for<br>women empowerment in Cross River State, Nigeria. In carrying out the study, three<br>research questions and three null hypotheses were developed to guide the study. The<br>study adopted survey research design. The Population of the study comprises of<br>19,256 women that enrolled in functional literacy programmes in Cross River State.<br>The sample of the study was 750 women. The instrument for data collection was a 32-<br>item structured questionnaire titled Assessment of Functional Literacy Programmes<br>for Women Empowerment in Cross River State Questionnaire (AFLPWECRSQ). The<br>instrument for the study was face validated by three experts. The internal consistency<br>of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha reliability method which<br>yielded coefficients of 0.65 for vocational skills, 0.59 for basic health practices and<br>0.65 for ICT skills for empowering women. The data for the study were collected with<br>the help of 9 research assistants. The 721 copies of the questionnaire administered to<br>the respondents, were completely filled and retrieved representing 100 % rate of<br>return. The data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation for<br>answering the research questions while t-test statistics was used to test the null<br>hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the data analysed, the study found<br>that vocational skills, basic health practices and Information and Communication<br>Technology (ICT) skills are to a low extent provided in the vocational centres for<br>empowering the women in Cross River State. There were significant (p&lt;0.05)<br>differences in the mean ratings of the responses of urban and rural women on 16 out<br>of the 32 items whereas there were no significant (p&lt;0.05) differences on the<br>remaining 16 items. Based on the above findings, the study among others<br>recommended that ggovernment should improve the physical, infrastructural and<br>organizational standards of vocational institutions for women empowerment through<br>better funding, increase involvement of international donor agencies in the health<br>intervention programmes for improved health services for women and that women<br>should be encouraged to form cooperative societies so that they can be trained and<br>empowered as a group with relevant vocational, health and ICT skills for productive<br>living. <br></p>

Project Overview

<p> INTRODUCTION<br>Background to the study<br>All over the world, increasing attention is being paid to women<br>empowerment and the need to reduce gender disparity to ensure more balanced<br>gender participation in public and private life (Olaleye and Adeyemo, 2012). This<br>is in view of the established socio-economic and political restrictive practices and<br>constraints that have not allowed women to take advantage of their numbers and<br>positions to significantly influence their environment and personal well-being;<br>(Aderinoye, 2002). Such barriers include unemployment, lack of employable<br>skills, low level of educational attainment, poverty and ingrained attitudes of<br>exclusion that marginalize their role in the decision making process in their local<br>communities. Indeed, Hodges (2001) believed that sexism is still the most serious<br>barrier to women advancement in economic, political and educational endeavours.<br>This means that gender discrimination is still an impediment to women<br>empowerment.<br>To address the persistent problem of poverty and social exclusion among<br>marginalised groups, there is a fundamental need for public authorities, together<br>with other stakeholders to intervene to guarantee learning opportunities to enable<br>2<br>those at risk to achieve competencies (EU PLA Journal Summary Report 2008 on<br>adult Literacy).<br>Sadly, a fundamental constraint to women advancement is the low level of<br>educational attainment. Illiteracy is a predominant social problem in Nigeria that<br>impacts more on women. Even though female or girl child has been deliberately<br>encouraged to acquire education by successive governments in Nigeria, but<br>poverty, ignorance, religion, etc act as impediments to the realization of these<br>efforts (Hodges, 2001).<br>However, subsequent governments in Nigeria have made efforts to address<br>these problems through functional literacy programmes. Some of which include;<br>the launching of a ten year literacy campaign in 1982 and the establishment of the<br>National Commission for Mass Literacy Adult and Non formal Education in 1990<br>under the Decree No. 17. According to Fasokun (2012), states and local<br>governments have established functional literacy centres and institutes to provide<br>opportunities and encourage women to acquire education that could help them<br>address the problems of poverty, unemployment and other hindrances that impede<br>their social and individual growth.<br>3<br>For instance, UNESCO (2005) classified Nigeria among the nine countries in<br>the world which together account for seventy percent of global illiterate<br>population. Similarly, the United States Agency for International Development<br>USAID (2005) reported that despite the transition to democracy in 1999, Nigeria<br>faces enormous illiteracy challenges. Two thirds of the country’s citizens live in<br>poverty. Corruption is endemic with Nigerians perceived as the third most corrupt<br>countries of 102 nations observed by the Transparency International in 2003.<br>Unemployment is growing up to 40% with urban youths jobless, half of adult<br>population are illiterates, close to four million Nigeria are HIV positive and 26% of<br>children die before the age of five. This pathetic picture by UNESCO and USAID<br>about Nigeria behooves more on women who are affected by these indices.<br>However, the European Commission for Adult Literacy (2008) observed that<br>functional literacy can be a veritable tool to address some of these problems as<br>literacy was born with functionality planted in its core. Therefore, there is a case<br>for investing in functional literacy programmes for women as a means of raising<br>the basic skills of disadvantaged group in order to improve productivity. Raising<br>the overall level of skills of the population will also bring a number of individual<br>and societal benefits in terms of improved health and well being, and increased<br>civic participation.<br>4<br>The antecedent of functional literacy as presented by the EU report (2008) is<br>usually traced to the UNESCO Tehran conference of 1965. Functional literacy has<br>brought literacy beyond the knowledge and ability to break the written code of a<br>system of symbols which has to be taught and learned. Functional literacy is now<br>based on the psychology of man and woman at work. It is now accepted as<br>essential element in development. The two streams of literacy and economic skills<br>are therefore closely linked to economic and social priorities and to the present<br>future manpower needs. Consequently, UNESCO (2006; 7) had advised:<br>That literacy instruction should enable illiterates left behind by the<br>course of events and who are producing little to become socially and<br>economically integrated in the new world order where scientific and<br>technological progress calls for ever more knowledge and<br>specialization.<br>The expectations that functional literacy has to impact on the beneficiaries<br>made the Persepolis Declaration of 1975 to have demanded that literacy be a<br>contribution to the liberation of man and his full development, teach<br>consciousness, make people act on the world, transform it and bring about<br>authentic development through reading the word and reading the world. Thus the<br>concept of generalized literacy has become a combination of literacy, functionality<br>and awareness (World Bank, 2002).<br>5<br>Functional literacy which is also called workplace literacy was a child of<br>development with its newest manifestation of literacy integrated with income<br>generation. It is on the above premise that Njoku(2011) argued that since literacy<br>is necessary for learning new skills for increased productivity both on the farm and<br>in the factory, it should therefore, be central to any development strategy for<br>alleviating poverty. However, UNESCO (2008) had further elaborated the features<br>of any functional literacy programmes. These are;<br>(i). Literacy programmes should be incorporated into and correlated with<br>economic and social development plans;<br>(ii). The eradication of illiteracy should start with categories of<br>populations which are motivated and which need literacy for their<br>country’s benefit;<br>(iii). Literacy programme should preferably be linked with economic<br>priorities and carried out in areas undergoing rapid economic<br>expansion;<br>(iv). Literacy programmes must impart not only reading and writing, but<br>also professional and technological knowledge, thereby leading to<br>fuller participation of adults in economic and civil life;<br>6<br>(v). Literacy must be an integral part of overall education plan and<br>educational system of each country;<br>(vi). The financial needs of functional literacy should be met out of various<br>resource, public and private as well as provided for economic<br>investments;<br>(vii). And the literacy programme should increase labour productivity, food<br>production, industrialisation, social and professional mobility,<br>creation of new manpower, diversification of economy (p6).<br>In response to UNESCO’s (2008) call to use literacy as synergy in addressing<br>the persistent problems of poverty and social exclusion among marginalized<br>groups, private and public authorities, together with other stakeholders have been<br>intervening to guarantee learning opportunities to enable those at risk to achieve<br>key competencies in vocational and health skills. Consequently many nations of<br>the world have instituted functional literacy programmes to address the issues of<br>illiteracy, poverty and unemployment in relation to their peculiar environments.<br>For instance, in Ireland, the government has the life-long learning framework;<br>while in the United Kingdom, they have the skills for life programme to cater for<br>the literacy needs of their people (EU PLA Journal on Adult Literacy Summary<br>Report, 2008).<br>7<br>Nigeria is not an exception. The National Commission for Mass Literacy,<br>Adult and Non-formal Education (NMEC) was established in 1999 to encourage<br>all forms of functional literacy programmes for youths and adult outside the formal<br>school system, such as functional literacy, remedial and vocational education<br>(Federal Republic of Nigeria FRN,2004). NMEC achieves the objectives of<br>functional adult literacy programmes by coordinating the activities and<br>programmes of adult and non-formal education nationwide which are to:<br>(i) Provide functional literacy and continuing education for adults and youth<br>who did not complete their primary education. These include the nomads,<br>migrant families and disabled groups, especially the disadvantaged<br>gender;<br>(ii) provide functional and remedial education for those young people who<br>did not complete secondary education;<br>(iii) provide education for different categories of completers of the formal<br>education system in order to improve their basic knowledge and skills;<br>(iv) provide in-services, on-the-job, vocational and professional training for<br>different categories of workers and professional in order to improve their<br>skills and give the adult citizens of the country necessary aesthetic<br>8<br>cultural and civic education for public enlightenment, Federal Republic<br>of Nigeria(FRN, 2004 ).<br>According to the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2012), the local government<br>councils are to see to the day to day running of the programmes of adult and nonformal<br>education in local government areas through which functional literacy<br>programmes are provided for women. The main thrust of functional literacy<br>programmes has been to empower beneficiaries through training in positive skills,<br>knowledge and attitude to overcome social and environmental factors in areas of<br>community health, vocational trade, environmental and political enlightenment. It<br>is on this backdrop that Kaber (2001) defined empowerment as development<br>process or activity such as skills training, management techniques or capacity<br>building, which might have some impact upon people’s ability to deal with<br>different political and administrative systems and influence decision making. The<br>areas of empowerment according to Kaber (2001) are to be focused on three<br>dimensions; the capacity to exercise strategic choices, access to resources, agency<br>and ability to influence outcome. He further observed that empowerment focuses<br>on inequalities in economic and political participation and decision making power<br>over economic resources which are in line with the United Nations Development<br>programme’s gender empowerment measures. Similarly, UNICEF Women’s<br>9<br>Equality and Empowerment framework emphasizes women’s access, awareness of<br>causes of inequality, capacity to direct one’s own interests and taking control and<br>actions to overcome obstacles for reducing structural inequality (UNICEF, 2001).<br>Obanya (2004) had identified four dimensions needed to enhance the<br>functionality of literacy programme for women empowerment. They include:<br>(i) The basic skills dimension,<br>(ii) Life skills dimension;<br>(iii) Socio-economic dimension and<br>(iv) Lifelong learning dimension.<br>The basic literacy dimension includes; reading and writing skills, numeracy<br>(working with numbers skill), graphicacy (working with signs, shapes and figure<br>skills and measuracy (notions of length, width, volume, distance, weight/measure,<br>among others. Empowerment in life skills are concerned with self-awareness<br>development dimension, analytical skills development, decisionmaking/<br>organizational skill and manipulative (technical) skills. The socioeconomic<br>dimensions have to do with; vocational skills acquisition, vocational<br>skills improvement, sustainable income-generation skills, and learning-to-learn<br>skills. In the fourth dimension, which is life long learning; empowerment is<br>10<br>directed at all forms of societal support for continuous learning and life long<br>development.<br>However, according to Huyer and Mitter (2002), there is already a structural<br>inequality in the area of Information Communication Technology (ICT), where,<br>integrating gender equality considerations into policy, programmes and projects at<br>all levels would promote social, economic and political empowerment of women.<br>Huyer and Mitter (2002) opined that:<br>a focus on the gender dimension of information and communication<br>technologies is essential not only for preventing an adverse impact of the<br>digital revolution on gender equality or the perpetuation of existing<br>inequalities and discrimination, but also for enhancing women’s equitable<br>access to the benefits of information and communication technologies and to<br>ensure that they can become a central tool for the empowerment of women<br>and the promotion of gender equality (Huyer and Mitter, 2002;3).<br>In view of the immense benefits of ICT in empowerment through skill<br>acquisition, NMEC and LGEAs organise computer based literacy programme<br>(CBLP) to create job opportunities especially for girls (Powell 2003). Computer<br>instructors from Education Authorities and resource persons are engaged in<br>different areas of ICT to give training to the women at the vocational training<br>centres. The training offer the beneficiaries’ opportunity to develop skills in areas<br>of Mobile phone recharge card printing, computer repairs and maintenance,<br>computer programming, Coral draw, storage and distribution of ICT accessories<br>and Microsoft word among others.<br>11<br>Another area of interest for women empowerment is in the vocational skills<br>acquisition (VSA). Nkoyo (2002) believed that there are several aspects of<br>vocational training that can help to address the problems of unemployment,<br>poverty, illiteracy and gender-related issues among women leading to<br>establishment of vocational skills acquisition centres (VSACs) for economic selfreliance<br>in Nigeria. Similarly, Naraya (2005) noted that in many states, women<br>education centres have been established to open up educational opportunities for<br>women folk and very often, the emphasis have been on vocational education<br>peculiarities.<br>According to the FRN (2012), vocational training centres are established in<br>every local government in collaboration with NMEC and voluntary agencies. Such<br>centres as they exist in Cross River State, train women in areas of hair dressing,<br>weaving, tailoring, cane-chair making and tie and dye. Other areas include the art<br>of making detergent, toiletries, cakes, laundry and printing. The new methods of<br>production and preservation of farm products are equally taught. Instructors from<br>the education units of the local governments and resource persons train the<br>beneficiaries in these areas of skill acquisition. Besides, there have been regular<br>health seminars in local government civic centres and community halls to educate<br>women in different areas of community health. Such seminars are usually<br>12<br>conducted under the auspices of state; local and voluntary organisations. In some<br>specialized areas resource persons are invited in those centres to train participants<br>on skills in those areas.<br>In line with the use of functional literacy through training in public health<br>and vocational skills, the women in Cross River State have been receiving<br>training in contraceptive use, nutrition, importance of breast feeding, control of<br>malaria, child care skills, etc. Instructors from the health units of the local<br>governments and resource medical personnel are engaged in those centres by the<br>local governments in collaboration with the centres for adult and non formal<br>education and some voluntary organisations. This is in recognition of the World<br>Health Organizations’ (WHO, 2006) stance that health promotion should address<br>effective empowerment strategies by providing basic health information to people<br>with health challenges through basic health programmes.<br>It is therefore evident that through skill acquisition, ICT and community<br>health programmes, women in Cross River State have been receiving functional<br>literacy programmes for their empowerment. The programmes which are provided<br>at adult literacy centres, skill acquisition and ICT centres and at civic and<br>community halls using resource persons and literacy instructors are being assessed<br>to determine the extent the programme has empowered the women.<br>13<br>The study therefore, considers it necessary to fill the gap as a result of<br>unavailable information on the types and extent functional literacy programmes<br>have empowered women in Cross River State through vocational, ICT and basic<br>health programmes for women. The outcome of this study is expected to provide<br>such information both to stakeholders or interest groups and researchers.<br>Statement of the problem<br>Functional literacy programme is seen as a means of empowering the<br>individual to cope with the requirements of personal, social and economic life. A<br>well implemented functional literacy programme is expected to provide the<br>individual with the knowledge, skills and value to enable one to overcome the<br>problems of poverty, disease and ignorance. It is on this premise that all nations<br>including Nigeria expect to use functional literacy programmes to address several<br>social, economics and political problems of women.<br>However, reaching adults especially women with literacy skills is a major<br>challenge to all countries. This is because such women are among the categories of<br>people most unlikely to participate in structured adult learning as a result of some<br>socio-cultural factors such as lack of access to education and poor employable<br>skills. To address the problem of low participation of women in education which<br>had affected their personal and social status (powerlessness) governments and non<br>14<br>governmental agencies embark on programmes aimed at using functional literacy<br>to enhance their skills.<br>Such programmes in Cross River State are in the areas of vocational skill<br>acquisition (VSA), information communication technology (ICT), and basic health<br>(BH). The objectives of establishing these programmes are to address employment<br>needs as well as problems of poverty, illiteracy and other gender related issues that<br>undermine efforts towards women empowerment.<br>Based on the lofty objectives of providing functional literacy skills in areas<br>of basic health, vocational and ICT skills, it is expected that implementation of<br>these programme in Cross River State must have impacted positively towards<br>providing the skills, knowledge and values to transform the lives of women. It is<br>therefore, necessary to determine how the vocational skills centres have been able<br>to provide the women with skills in the areas of hair dressing, weaving, sewing,<br>Cane-chair making, tie and dye. It would also determine the extent the basic health<br>programmes have critically reduced the level of ignorance on health and health<br>related matters and ensured cultural and local sensitivity in health issues (World<br>Bank 2006). Similarly, as the enormous value of ICT and vocational literacy in<br>respect to income generation, health, and information awareness are obvious, such<br>values for women in Cross River State are yet to be determined.<br>15<br>Nevertheless, available literatures to the researcher in the area of study have<br>not provided information on the extent these programmes have been able to assist<br>the women in enhancing their status or address their perceived needs. It is based<br>on this background that the researcher was interested in determining how<br>functional literacy has empowered the women in Cross River State. The problem<br>of this study therefore, was to assess the functional literacy programmes in Cross<br>River State to determine the extent the programmes have empowered the women.<br>Purpose of the study<br>The purpose of this study was to determine the extent the functional literacy<br>programmes have empowered the women in Cross River State. Specifically, the<br>study assessed the extent:<br>1. The vocational skills provided in the vocational centres have empowered<br>the women in Cross River State.<br>2. The basic health programmes have empowered women in Cross River<br>State.<br>3. The extent to which Information Communication Technology have<br>empowered women on computer-related businesses in Cross River State.<br>16<br>Significance of the study<br>The findings of the study will benefit; researchers, women activists, Cross<br>River State Agency for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-formal Education, local<br>governments, donor agencies, non-governmental organizations and community<br>development associations.<br>Researchers will see the findings of the study important document especially<br>those in area of research involving women empowerment and functional literacy.<br>The findings would also help such researchers in comparative study in other states<br>and countries implementing functional literacy programmes.<br>Cross River State Agency for Mass Literacy will use the document as an<br>assessment tool on progress or achievements so far in the implementation of<br>functional programmes for women in Cross River State. The outcome of the study<br>would also be a synergy in the self assessments of the agency on the<br>implementation of the functional literacy programme in the state.<br>The eighteen local government councils would use the document to determine<br>the weaknesses and progress of the programme. It would enable such local<br>councils address or give more attention in some aspects of the programme in their<br>areas.<br>17<br>The study would be of immense value to the ministry of women affairs to<br>determine areas of interest in addressing the needs of women with respect to<br>women empowerment. The outcome of the study can attract funding to the state<br>from the ministry in critical areas of progress or lapses to strengthen them.<br>It will also help donor agencies and other non-governmental organisations to<br>assess the extent their finances and support has helped in functional literacy<br>programmes in Cross River State. Such agencies could find the work necessary in<br>addressing similar issues in other areas. Women activists will find the study<br>interesting as it would help them in assessing the efforts of government and nongovernmental<br>organisations in empowering women in Cross River State, Nigeria.<br>International development agencies such as UNESCO and CEDAW would<br>find the document interesting as they have been implementing several programmes<br>aimed at enhancing the status of women. Some aspects of the programme could be<br>used by the agencies as reference points in new areas for women empowerment.<br>Human Rights Organisations would also see the work relevant as the impact would<br>help them address issues pertaining to the programme on how to strengthen them.<br>The work would also be significant to communities who are likely to use<br>similar programmes in their community poverty reduction strategies. Such<br>communities can use the outcome of the study as a blue print on calling for<br>18<br>Government assistance to address and empower their women. The work would as<br>well contribute to literature as it would provide information on women<br>empowerment in Cross River State, which hither to, lack available theoretical and<br>empirical information in literature.<br>Research questions<br>The following research questions were posed to guide the study:<br>1. To what extent have the vocational skills provided in the vocational<br>centres empowered the women in Cross River State?<br>2. To what extent have the basic health programmes empowered the women<br>in Cross River State?<br>3. To what extent have the Information Communication Technology (ICT)<br>programmes empowered the women in Cross River State?<br>Hypotheses<br>The hypotheses were tested at 0.5 level of significance:<br>1. There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of urban and<br>rural women on the extent the vocational skills programmes have<br>empowered women in Cross River State.<br>19<br>2. There is no significant difference on the mean ratings of urban and rural<br>women on the extent the basic health programmes have empowered the<br>women in Cross River state.<br>3. There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the urban and rural<br>women on the extent the Information Communication Technology (ICT)<br>programmes have empowered the women in Cross River State.<br>Scope of the study<br>The study is an assessment of functional literacy programmes for women<br>empowerment in Cross River State. The study covered the vocational programmes,<br>basic health programmes and ICT programmes for women in the 18 local<br>government areas of Cross River State. All the women who are beneficiaries of<br>the vocational, ICT and basic health programmes in Cross River State were used as<br>respondents in the study.<br>20 <br></p>