Triumphs, Challenges, and Prospects of the Adult Basic Education Programme in Botswana

Adult education is an internationally recognised framework for national development, especially for unemployed youth and adult learners. The study focuses on Botswana’s Adult Basic Education Programme (ABEP). Though the programme is monitored continuously, beneficiaries’ views of the triumphs, challenges, and prospects they face are still unknown, which led to the current study evaluating the programme at four villages in Botswana’s Kgalagadi district through face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions with education officers, adult educators, and learners. The findings revealed that Botswana has a strong policy for adult education and training, which can ensure providing qualified educators for the programme; ABEP can be workable, achievable, and sustainable if adequately monitored and improved; bad road infrastructure, inadequately qualified educators and limited educational resources, etc. stall the prospects of ABEP. The article sheds insights into how far adult and continuing education can capacitate its beneficiaries.