Journal of Social Development in Africa (2000), 15,1,15-25 
Overcoming Destitution through Literacy: 
A Case of the Disabled Persons' Literacy 
Programme in Kano State, Nigeria 
SABO A INDABAWA* 
ABSTRACT 
This paper describes an experimental literacy programme for the disabled, set up in 
Kano (1), Nigeria between 1989 and 1990. The programme's objective was to help 
the destitutes to overcome some of their socio-economic drawbacks. The programme 
took off with the enrolment of 450 people. At the end of the programme, 
380 participants or 84.4% sat for and passed the qualifying examination. As 
expected, 70 people from among the neoliteratcs found jobs in the Civil Service 
bureaucracy, while 250 or 55.5% were able to continue their education in the postliteracy 
programmes organised by the State Agency for Mass Education. However, 
the lack of funds, inadequate professional preparation of the instructors, and 
discontinuity of the programme limited its potentially wider impact. It is therefore 
advocated that multi-lateral and international donor bodies such as the British 
Council, UNICEF and UNDP should provide fiscal assistance to such programmes, 
in order to create a basis for promoting greater global equity. 
Introduction 
Literacy helps development in a variety of ways. It provides opportunities for the 
optimum acquisition of basic skills which arc useful for everyday life. It is a tool 
to enable the conscicntisation and emancipation of people from class oppression, 
enabling them to become more completely human (Frcire 1974). It also helps to 
promote peace and human survival (Bhola 1990). Similarly, literacy can serve as 
an instrument for coping strategies of women and children involved jn war and 
*Dr Sabo A Indabawa, BA Ed, M Ed PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Adult 
and Nonformal Education, University of Namibia. His areas of interest are Literacy and 
Gender Studies. 
(J) Kano is one of the 30 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. According to a census 
conducted in 1991, it had a population of 5,632,040 people, making it the second largest 
state in the country. Its main economic activities are farming and commerce. The people 
speak Hausa and are for the most part Muslim.
16 Sabo A Indabawa 
conflict situations (Indabawa 1995a). Above all, literacy is vital as a means of 
empowering people to overcome poverty, disease, social immobility, helplessness, 
malnutrition, the prevalence of preventable diseases, and lack of productivity 
(Ampenc 1980); thereby ameliorating severe destitution (Indabawa 1991). 
Yet in Nigeria, as in most developing countries, illiteracy is high among adults, 
particularly disadvantaged groups (Akinpclu 1994). Those most affected include 
women in the rural areas and urban slums, as well as the poor and the disabled. In 
fact, Nigeria's adult illiteracy rate stood at 46% in 1992 (CBN 1992). Since this 
situation has not favoured the possibility for rapid social, economic and political 
development; Nigeria has taken steps to educate its adult population, since the 
first mass literacy programme of June 1946. These efforts, however, have been 
sporadic, so it comes as no surprise that the complete eradication of adult illiteracy 
nationwide has by no means been effected. In 1994, a total of 43.6 million 
Nigerians were still illiterate, indicating that Nigeria ranks fifth out of the nine 
major countries in the world, constituting 705 million adult illiterates. Increased 
attempts have been made to drastically reduce adult illiteracy, with Nigeria's 
active participation in the Jomiicn Declaration of 1991. This aimed to provide 
Education For All (EFA) by the year 2000, through the intensification of adult and 
nonformal education activities among signatory nations. 
The initiative to promote literacy among disabled people in Kano State, is one 
such programme, designed to enable equal access to basic education, as enshrined 
in the National Policy on Education (NPE 1981). In Kano State in particular, the 
programme had the additional objective of overcoming destitution (Indabawa 
1991); as the rising number of "destitutes", which is a generic term including all 
people affected by a variety of disabilities, has become a source of concern. 
This paper examines the basic literacy programme for the disabled, which the 
Kano State government ran from 1989 to 1990. Given the positive results of this 
experiment, it is one to be commended for situations, in which existing injustices 
and disadvantages negate the effective involvement of disabled people in the life 
of the wider community. 
The Level of Destitution in Kano State 
Since 1987, Kano State government has been concerned with the high numbers 
of destitutes among the population. In fact, a survey indicated that in 1987 there 
wcrcl.5 mi hondestitutes in Kano Gndabawa 1991). One of the most immediate 
social problems posed by widespread destitution, is the common practice of 
begging m the streets of urban centres. There have been other problems as well. 
A state survey of 85,112 street beggars showed the nature and distribution of
disabilities as follows: 
Table 1: Disabilities among Beggars in Kano State, 1992 
Disability Number Percentage 
Blind 
Cripple 
Leper 
Deaf/dumb 
Juveniles 
Mentally disabled 
Able bodied (lazy) 
Others 
TOTAL 
Source: This is amodified version of Table 1 in Auwal, M.N. (1992) "Almajirci: 
A Degenerated Social Institution" in Education Today, Vol. 5, No. 3, p.26. 
The above table gives an idea of the kind of destitution, which tends to lead to 
street begging. Sadly, the majority of destitutes are juveniles with hardly any 
visible physical disability. Perhaps the prevailing high levels of poverty are a vital 
factor in this case. More so, the largest proportion of juveniles come from the rural 
areas to the cities in search of a more modern life. Due to this phenomenon, as well 
as other consequences of destitution, Kano State government decided to evolve 
a new social policy, which would re-awaken the social consciousness of these 
people. 
The initiative took off with the inauguration of four committees of experts on: 
(i) the destitutes 
(ii) the Almajirai (child beggars) 
(iii) women, and 
(iv) social mobilisation. 
Once these committees were formed with academics from the Federal University 
located in the city (the Bayero University, Kano), and notable retired and serving 
bureaucrats; terms of reference were defined for their operation. After a six-month 
period of deliberation, the committee submitted reports to the government with 
far-reaching recommendations, deemed necessary for improving the situation. 
Overcoming Destitution through Literacy 17 
9,834 
7,734 
7,366 
3,817 
37,817 
4,007 
10,118 
3,494 
85,112 
11.7 
9.2 
8.8 
4.5 
44.8 
4.8 
4.2 
12 
100
18 SaboAIndabawa 
For the destitutes, a major recommendation was for the provision of opportunities 
for basic education, with an emphasis on vocational competence. Disabled people 
iave the same right to basic education which: 
connotes fundamentals, which in turn reflect those aspects of behaviour 
modification required by the individual within an environment, without 
•which slhe would be so handicapped that s/he would be living at the 
periphery of the society, not benefittingfrom it and not contributing to its 
welfare and improvement. (Fafunwa 1990) 
The questions asked, therefore, were: how the destitutes could be provided with 
this kind of education, which agency would be responsible, what would be taught, 
and what would follow once this form of education had been acquired. 
Basic Literacy Education for the Destitute 
The operational definition of basic literacy in the context of the Kano programme 
has been to consider it as: 
Denoting the ability to acquire and optimally utilise the enabling skills of 
reading, writing and numeration, in a given language (local or foreign)for 
the effective and efficient pursuit of everyday activities involving the 
individual in society. (Indabawa 1995a) 
Phe question of language is vital, as according to the National Policy on 
Education, instruction in the first three years of basic education, whether formal 
>r nonformal, should be in the mother tongue or the language of the immediate 
immunity. In fact, this has been found to be a means for facilitating faster and 
nore effective learning. For adult literacy, the process is much easier given that 
fie adult (a person of 15 years and over), has already acquired the necessary 
inguistic competence. It is also true that the transition to a second language then 
ecomes easier. 
Generally, basic literacy education is divided into two major phases. The first 
: \he,Basic level and the second is the Post-literacy level. The Basic level usually 
ists for a period of six to nine months. The Post-literacy level, on the other hand, 
ms for up to two years. At the completion of these two phases, a participant 
ould have acquired the knowledge, skills, attitudes and aptitudes equivalent to 
at of a primary school leaver, whose education, however, usually lasts for six 
sars, with an obvious higher cost in terms of lime and human, as well as material
Overcoming Destitution through Literacy 19 
resources. 
The running of the basic literacy programme usually takes place in the months 
of January to July or September, on the basis of one and a half to three hours per 
day, for two to three days per week, and undertaken at evening periods beginning 
from 4.00 p.m. 
Basic literacy for the destitutes in Kano was jointly organised by the Kano State 
Rehabilitation Board for the Disabled, established in the early 1980s, in order to: 
...promote the welfare of the disabled and provide vocational training 
(programmes) for the rehabilitees. It was also charged with the responsibility 
of finding employment for the disabled and for caring for the elderly 
and other handicapped. (Bello 1976:3) 
and the Kano State Agency for Mass Education (AME), that came into being on 
the 1st of April 1980, with the following objectives: 
(i) to serve as an instrument for the eradication of illiteracy among adults, 
drop-out youths, and as a source of enlightenment among people in the 
state and for the provision of facilities for continuing education; 
(ii) to develop in adults and youths the ability to use the skills acquired to 
enhance their knowledge and understanding of their social and physical 
environment, in order to improve their standard of living and their state of 
well-being; 
(iii) to develop in adults and youths alike, attitudes and commitments 
towards active participation in the transformation of their immediate 
locality and the nation at large; 
(iv) to prepare the adults and youths in the promotion of such activities, 
which the Agency may deem purposeful and constructive in terms of the 
overall development of the state and the nation; and 
(v) to serve as a localised resource centre with training facilities in artisan 
crafts (AME 1980-1989: 1). 
In the exercise of its duties (iv) and (v) above, and based on its known capability 
to provide vocational education programmes, the AME was probably the most 
appropriate government agency to partake in this collaborative endeavour.
20 Sabo A Indabawa 
Implementation of the Programme 
Soon after the coming together of the two agencies on the programme, a survey 
was conducted with a view to opening literacy classes in the targetted destitute 
areas of the State. Initially, 450 adult learners were enrolled to begin the first 
phase, with 21 classes in 11 local government areas as indicated in Table 2 below: 
Table 2: Basic Data on the First Phase of the Literacy for the Disabled 
Programme, 1989 
Local Government 
Municipal 
Gezawa 
Rano 
T/Wada/Kiru 
Dambatta/Kazaure 
Gumcl/Ringim 
Dutsc/Birnin Kudu 
Jahun/Kafin Hausa 
Hadejia 
Wudil/Gaya 
Bichi/Dawakin Tofa 
TOTAL 
Source: AME (1990) Report on the First Phase of the Disabled Basic Literacy 
Programme. 
So, on the 1st of June 1989, the programme took off with a government grant of 
N85O.0O0 (Eighthundredand fifty thousand Nairaonly), orthe sum of US$ 106,250 
(at the rate of N8 = $1 in 1989). In addition, the government provided the 
instructional materials, paid the monthly honorarium of the Instructors/Facilitators, 
and provided a monthly stipend of N50.00 (I.e., US$6.25) for each of the 
participants. Perhaps the next question to ask is: what was the content of teaching 
and learning material? 
According to the national syllabus, the content is based on the effective 
teaching of adult learners to read, write and numerate in the Hausa language. In 
specific terms, the following is a summary of what was taught: 
Male 
70 
2
2
2
0 
25 
2
2
0
0 
22 
55 
2
2
7
5 
- 20 
299 
Total 
Enrolment 
Female 
90 
33 
3
2
0
0 
20 
1
7
8
0 
2
8
0 4
2
0
8 
40 
35 
110
5 
15 
1
1
5
3 
40 
43
5
0 
151 450
Overcoming Destitution through Literacy 21 
vowels; consonants; formation of words; construction of sentences; use of 
basic punctuation marks; writing a simple letter; addressing an envelope; 
posting of letters; simple composition writing; paragraphing; counting 0- 
9; units and tens (1-99); hundreds and addition; simple subtraction; 
multiplication; division; exchange ofnaira andkobo; time; units of length; 
units of measurement; units of weights. (NCME1992:1-11) 
In addition to these, the students were encouraged to learn at least one trade from 
an array of ten vocational activities. This was in order to promote rehabilitation, 
which in the opinion of Townsend (1966) refers to: "The process of restoration of 
the handicapped to the fullest physical, mental, social, vocational and economic 
usefulness of which they arc capable". Or according to Bello (1996): "... caring 
through the provision of basic living facilities, or making one socially functional 
after disablement, illness or abject poverty". 
Results of the Programme 
The basic literacy phase was completed in November 1989. No subsequent phase 
followed the initial one. The adult learners who remained on the programme were 
380 or 84.4%, and this proportion of students sat for the certification examination 
set by the State Agency for Mass Education. It is significant to note that "... 
begging constitutes the single most disrupting influence on the students" (i.e., 
adult learners) (Auwal 1992: 27). Yet; of the number that sat for the final 
examination, 368 or 81.7% managed to pass. They were each given completion 
certificates and a token gift at a very colourful graduation ceremony. Thus, on the 
basis of performance per programme (PPP), the pass rate of 81.7% indicates that 
the first phase was very successful. There remains a pertinent question, however, 
which is the following: what will happen to the pioneer set after the completion 
of the programme? 
In accordance with an existing legislation which came into force in October 
1958, government departments and identifiable (i.e. registered) companies and 
other private concerns are expected to provide employment opportunities for 
disabled persons, who have undergone formal or informal training with valid 
certificates as proof of this (Abba 1991). The legislation constituted a part of the 
ensuing basic literacy programme for the destitutes in Kano. However, after 
completing the programme, only 70 of these people (15.5%) were absorbed into 
the civil service bureaucracy. One explanation for this is that there were not 
enough job openings in the service for the kind of qualification the participants
22 Sabo A Indabawa 
had acquired. Another explanation is that the wages for these rather lowly posts 
were unattractive to the neoliterates. Others felt that the neoliterates had better 
options in terms of employment, especially in terms of self-employment in the 
various trades they learnt during the programme. 
Whatever the reason, many of these people were unable to find jobs after 
completing the programme. There are other reports which indicate that many of 
the participants decided to enrol in the next level, that is, the post-literacy 
programme, which the State Agency for Mass Education operates in many parts 
of the S tate. About 225 or 55.5 % of the successful graduates took advantage of the 
post-literacy programme to continue their education. This will probably lead to 
better jobs, higher income and improved standards of living for these people in the 
future. 
Some Criticisms of the Programme 
Several criticisms have been raised and discussed, regarding the programme's 
laudable efforts. First, many felt that the number in the first phase (i.e. 450 
participants) was inadequate, given the existence of 1.5 million people in the 
category of destitutes. At the rate of 450 per session, it means that a total of 3,333 
years will be needed to eradicate illiteracy among the target group. Even this will 
only be possible if the number of destitutes remains constant. This is improbable, 
given the increasing pauperisation and the continuous marginalisation of the 
disabled generally. This is more so in developing countries, where destitution has 
become an endemic problem. The number of the annual target group is also 
nadequate to meet the expectation of providing Education For All by the year 
2000. 
The second criticism relates to the inappropriateness of the content It is now 
common knowledge that the content of all informal educational programmes 
ihould be determined by the learners themselves. It should not by any means be 
imposed on them, as was the case in this instance. In fact, many beneficiaries of 
the programme confirmed that they never knew who decided the content, nor were 
they ever consulted on the matter (Dahiru and Iliya 1996). 
A third criticism was the method used to teach the disabled adult participants, 
rhe "banking/dehumanising" concept as outlined by Freire (1972) was the one 
idopted here. Not much effort was put into orienting the Instructors/Facilitators 
is to the ways of leaching special adult groups, such as those targetted in this 
irogramme. For example, teachers need to know how to teach the blind, the deaf, 
)r the mentally disabled. None of the instructors were sufficiently prepared for the 
ensuing tasks. No doubt, the banking method is unsuitable for the purpose, for it
Overcoming Destitution through Literacy 23 
is characterised by some degree of "bondage and disempowcrment, it neglects the 
adult learners' personal identity and fosters the spirit of dependence" (Avosch 
1995). There was also the issue of lack of credit facilities for the neoliterales, 
which would have promoted self-employment. Inadequate enforcement of the 
legislation on the employment of the disabled ncol iterate adults was also criticised. 
This applied particularly to the industrial sector and to private concerns 
(which are extensive), where no record indicated the absorption of the neolitcrates. 
It is al.so true that the efforts of non-governmental bodies in this area were not 
coordinated enough to influence the process. There are certainly many other 
observations and serious criticisms that can be made of the programme. 
Despite these negative factors, it is evident that Kano State has taken a serious 
step in providing appropriate education for the destitutes. They have been given 
the opportunity to learn, as well as to overcome their state of helplessness through 
the utilisation of the knowledge and abilities the programme offers. What is most 
impressive is the fact that Kano State is the only state in Nigeria to ever take such 
an open step in reaching out to the destitutes. If this kind of effort were to be 
sustained, equity would gradually come to fruition, one day making the world a 
better place for everyone. 
Conclusion 
This paper reviewed the literacy programme for destitutes, that was planned and 
implemented in Kano, Nigeria, with a view to helping them overcome the 
problems posed by their objective conditions. This small-scale effort, despite its 
brief duration, has proved that adult destitutes can learn and that what they learn 
can generate social and economic returns for self-reliance, in the pursuit of a 
fulfilling life. Governments should take such initiatives more seriously; while 
non-governmental organisations, as well as multi-lateral and donor agencies such 
as the British Council, UNICEF and UNDP should contribute (especially in fiscal 
terms) to this kind of venture, as the term ination of the Kano programme was said 
to be due to lack of funds. 
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