The role that can be played by adult education in rural areas, with special reference to Bakenberg Area in the Northern Province

Abstract

This research paper examines the role of adult education in rural areas, particularly in the Bakenberg area of the Northern Province. The role of adult education in South Africa and other countries is carefully studied, as is the availability and potential impact of adult educational programmes in the Bakenberg area. The study comprises five chapters. The first chapter provides an overall statement of the problem, along with the aim, scope and methods of research. Chapter two conducts a review of relevant literature, to define a number of key concepts. This chapter further examines adult education in certain developed and developing countries, to determine the pertinence of these cases to the South African context. Chapter three examines the instruments used in the collection of data. This was achieved through the administering of questionnaires to principals, teachers and community nurses working in Bakenberg area, as well as through interviews with the chief of Bakenberg and his indunas. Chapter four presents and analyses the data collected. Chapter five summarises the main points of the study and the findings of the research. The data indicates that adult education has not yet been implemented in Bakenberg area. Accordingly, chapter five offers, by way of conclusion, a number of recommendations for the provision and successful maintenance of adult education in this part of the Northern Province. As this study makes clear, adult education should be given high priority in Bakenberg area as in all of South Africa's rural communities, where illiteracy and lack of skills and knowledge are perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty and dependence.