1. Uganda offers an example of a low intensity program of literacy and basic education for youth and adults carried out through a pluralistic approach with different actors freely offering what they believe is the best contribution to the effort. Literacy education for youth and adults is one branch of the two-pronged approach to promote literacy for all in Uganda; the other is Universal Primary Education, launched in 1997. Adult literacy is treated as one of the strategies in the struggle against poverty, in which Uganda has made significant progress during the last decade.

2. This paper explores the extent to which the varied literacy provisions in Uganda are offering a holistic lifelong learning perspective. It starts by looking at the context of literacy in Uganda, particularly the socio-economic and policy framework. It then examines the key features of literacy provision in Uganda before proceeding to look more specifically at: the program structure and its link to continuing education; current methodology and its contribution to empowerment for lifelong learning; skills development for work and life; and the impact of literacy.

3. The paper takes a special look at how the multifaceted provision of opportunities has enriched the literacy education environment, especially through the development of networking and the provision of forums for sharing ideas and experiences. The paper finally highlights good practices and challenges ahead and specifies implications for practice, policies and cooperation. The key findings the paper brings out are listed in paragraphs 4 and 5 below.

4. Objectives and approaches of the different adult literacy programs in Uganda are varied but are generally relevant to learners’ needs and interests. All programs have the goal of linking the learning to work and life. However, in many cases weaknesses in implementation hinder the fulfillment of this goal. All the programs, with the exception of very few, are at the basic literacy level and have no explicit provision for continued and lifelong learning and for linking adult literacy to formal education. The objectives for the government functional adult literacy program include the promotion of continued learning while at work and at home but there are no arrangements or practices in place to fulfill this objective. The reason given for the absence of such provision in practice is that the government has no resources to satisfy both the demand for basic literacy for the millions of the non-literate population and at the same time provide for adult continuing education.