AGMEd · ADULT AND NON-FORMAL EDUCATION
The Kano State Agency for Mass Education
Literacy, numeracy and a trade for adults and for young people who left school early: 74,000 learners in 30 centres and 640 community circles, taught in Hausa and English.
What the Agency is responsible for
Adult and non-formal education across the State: basic literacy and numeracy classes, post-literacy and vocational classes, women's literacy circles, nomadic education, the out-of-school children programme and continuing education for adults returning to formal schooling. The Agency issues the Adult Literacy Certificate.
Adult literacy in Kano State stands at about 62 per cent, and the gap is heavily gendered: a woman in a rural ward is markedly less likely to read than a man in the same ward. The Agency exists to close that gap, and most of its learners are women in community literacy circles that meet in the afternoon, after the work of the household is done.
The second half of its work is with young people who left school early — because a family moved, because money ran out, because a child was needed at home. The Agency runs the out-of-school children programme that brings them back to a level from which they can re-enter the formal system, and the nomadic education programme that follows pastoralist communities rather than waiting for them to settle.
AGMEd at a glance
30
Learning centres
Plus 640 community literacy circles
74,000
Learners
Adults and out-of-school young people
1,900
Facilitators
Trained and paid by the Agency
1992
Established
Adult and non-formal education since 1992
How AGMEd is organised
Three tiers. A community that wants a circle should speak to the zonal officer, who can open one where twenty learners can be found.
- Agency Headquarters, Gwale — Sets the literacy curriculum, trains and pays facilitators, procures primers and materials, and issues the Adult Literacy Certificate.
- Zones — A zonal officer in each of the six zones, who opens new circles, supervises facilitators and verifies enrolment.
- Learning centres — Thirty centres and 640 community circles meeting in schools, community halls, mosques and compounds, mostly in the afternoon.
The programmes
Every programme is free. Primers, exercise books and writing materials are supplied by the Agency.
| Programme | Who it is for | Duration | What it leads to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic literacy | Adults with no schooling, reading and writing from the beginning in Hausa | 9 months, three sessions a week | Literacy Level 1 and entry to post-literacy |
| Post-literacy | Learners who have completed basic literacy | 9 months | Literacy Level 2, functional reading in Hausa and introductory English |
| Continuing education | Adults returning towards the formal system | 12 months | Literacy Level 3 and the Adult Literacy Certificate, at no charge |
| Vocational classes | Literate adults wanting a trade alongside literacy | 6 to 9 months | Tailoring, catering, knitting, soap making, poultry keeping or ICT, with a State Vocational Certificate |
| Women's literacy circles | Women meeting in their own communities, taught by female facilitators | 9 months, renewable | Literacy levels, with child care provided at the circle |
| Nomadic education | Pastoralist communities, taught on a mobile schedule that follows the herd | Continuous | Basic literacy and numeracy, and enrolment of children into the formal system where possible |
| Out-of-school children | Young people aged 9 to 17 who left school early | 12 to 24 months | Re-entry into the formal system at a class fixed by the Placement Test |
From no letters to a certificate
Three levels and an examination, over roughly two and a half years of part-time study.
Literacy Level 1
Reading and writing in Hausa from the beginning, with numbers to a hundred and simple money arithmetic. Nine months, three afternoons a week, in a circle within walking distance of home.
Literacy Level 2
Functional reading and writing: a letter, a form, a market account, a health notice. Introductory English begins here, and learners choose whether to add a vocational class alongside.
Literacy Level 3
Continuing education towards the standard of the primary leaving level, in Hausa and English, with civic and health content. Learners intending to re-enter the formal system prepare for the Placement Test here.
The Adult Literacy Certificate
Written in October in 96 centres over four subjects. There is no entry fee. The certificate is recognised by the State for employment purposes and for entry into further training.
Who leads AGMEd
The executive head answers to the Honourable Commissioner for Education through the Permanent Secretary. Formal correspondence should name the school and the local government area concerned.
Hajiya Zainab Muhammad Kura
Executive Secretary, The Kano State Agency for Mass Education
M.Ed (Adult & Non-Formal Education)
Began as a literacy facilitator in Gwale and has spent her career in adult education. She oversees 640 community circles, most of them women's circles taught by female facilitators.
masseducation@moe.kn.gov.ngMalam Ibrahim Tijjani Karaye
Director, Non-Formal Education
B.Ed (Adult Education)
Responsible for the non-formal programmes: nomadic education, the out-of-school children route and the vocational classes attached to the literacy levels. He trains and supervises the facilitator corps.
Questions learners ask the Agency
I am an adult who never went to school. Where do I start?
What does it cost?
Is there a class for women only?
My child left school in Primary 4. Can he go back?
Can I learn a trade at the same time?
A community can ask for its own circle
Where twenty learners can be found and a room can be offered, the Agency will open a literacy circle and post a facilitator to it. Speak to the zonal officer for your area, or write to masseducation@moe.kn.gov.ng with the ward, the number of learners and the room proposed.
Circles have been opened in schools, community halls, mosques, market sheds and private compounds.
Where to find AGMEd
The zonal officer for your area opens circles, posts facilitators and verifies enrolment. Enquiries about the certificate come to the Agency headquarters.
- Headquarters: Agency for Mass Education, Zoo Road, Gwale, Kano
- Telephone: +234 915 662 8858
- Email: masseducation@moe.kn.gov.ng
- Counter hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 16:00
- Adult Literacy Certificate: written in October, 96 centres, no entry fee
- Learning centres and circles: 30 centres and 640 circles across the six zones
It is not too late to learn to read
Basic literacy, post-literacy, a trade and a certificate, free of charge, in a circle near where you live.