Social Mobilisation for Adult Literacy in Botswana By Juma E. Nyirenda Abstract This article is about social mobilisation as a development communication approach which enhances people's participation in social or development programmes or projects. It examines the concept and elements of social mobilisation and the extent to which social mobilisation has been applied to improve people's participation in the Botswana national literacy pro- gramme. The analysis of social mobilisation practice in Botswana has shown that when mobilised, people participate in large numbers in development programmes. For example, mobilisation activities which were mounted during a period of one year between when the programme started as an experiment and when it was officially launched as a national programme resulted in impressive participation statistics. Finally, the article suggests the application of both social mobilisation and a literacy approach that is amenable to social mobilisation, if Botswana is to eradicate or greatly reduce adult illiteracy by the year 2000. Dr. Juma E. Nyirenda is a senior lecturer, Communication Studies Unit, Department of Adult Education, University of Botswana. 58 La Mobilisation Sociale et l'Alphabetisation au Botswana Par Juma E. Nyirenda Rtsumt Cet article porte sur la mobilisatin sociale comme l'une des approches possibles, capables de renforcer la participation du plublic a tous les niveaux de la vie sociale, tout en s'impliquant d'avantage dans les programmes et les projets de developpement. On y fait l'examen du concept et des elements de la mobilisation sociale, en se servant de l'exemple du Botswana, pour illustrer comment cela a ete utilise dans le programme national de d'aphabetisation. L'analyse de cette pratique de la mobilization sociale, au Botswana, montre qu'il est possible d'influencer les gens de s'impliquer davantage et en grand nombre dans les programmes de developpement. On a remarque, par exemple, que la mobilisation des activites, depuis, l'etape pilote jusqu'a l'etape de la realisation, pendant une periode d'un an, augmentait grandement la participation des membres de la communaute concernee. Pour terminer, cet article preconise la mobilisation sociale et notamment l'approche de l'alphabetisation, comme moyen de mobiliser le public, si le Botswana entend eliminer ou, du moins, diminuer largement l'analphabetisme, vers l'annee 2000. Dr. Juma E. Nyirenda est Maitre de Conference dans le domaine des Etudes en Communication, Departement de l'Alphabetisation des Adultes, l'Universite de Botswana. 59 Introduction After attaining independence in 1966 the new government of Botswana did not immediately give priority to adult literacy work as was the case elsewhere in post-colonial Africa. Literacy activities were conducted on a small scale and sporadically (Gaborone, et al, 1987 and 1988). The Department of Commu- nity Development was created soon after independence and one of its tasks was to organise adult literacy classes merely as a foundation of community development work. These classes were unsuccessful and were eventually closed because of two main reasons. First, the specialist literacy staff left for other departments because they had lost interest in the work. And secondly, the classes experienced considerable high drop-out rates. In 1973, a UNESCO consultant recommended a functional literacy programme for Botswana which would attempt to eradi- cate illiteracy within a period of ten years. The consultant proposed the use of extension personnel of various ministries as field organisers. The government rejected the recommendation for a nationwide literacy programme because it was considered too ambitous and demanding on the extension staff who already had their priorities at that time (Bhola, 1983Mutanyatta, 1990). During the first ten years after independence, adult literacy was neglected in Botswana. It was the 1977 National Commis- sion on Education that gave emphasis and priority to adult literacy and related it to the development of Botswana. The report of this Commission stated that: Another priority which cuts across all of the out-of-school education programmes is literacy. A fully literate population is an important long term objective if Botswana's other national objectives are to be met. We do not emphasize literacy as a separate programme, because experience in other countries indicates that literacy should not be pursued in isolation from other development programmes as an end in itself. It is best acquired in the context of efforts to achieve greater productivity, health or control over one's environment; and, indeed, it will itself contribute to achievement of these goals (p. 167). Consequently, in 1978 the Ministry of Education established 60 a new Department of Nonformal Education (DNFE) which was charged with the responsibility of undertaking adult literacy work. Through a process of consultation countrywide, the DNFE influenced formulation of policy and strategy for a national literacy programme. In 1979 the government accepted and adopted a policy for a national programme to eradicate illiteracy in Botswana. And in 1980 the National Literacy Programme (NLP), as it became known, began as an experiment, involving five of the country's nine districts. It was officially launched a year later. The programme targetted 250,000 men, women, and adolescents between 1980 and 1985 (Bhola, 1983; Townsend Coles, 1985; Gaborone, et al. 1988; Mutanyatta, 1990; The Government of Botswana, 1993). The external evaluation of 1986 conducted by Gaborone et al. (1988) showed that the NLP failed to reach its original target audience by far. They argued that "the initial target was unreal- istic in terms of both numbers and time-table. It was not based on any accurate assessment of the extent, location, needs and charactersistics of the illiterate population" (p. 354) .They further stated that the programme was the responsibility of a single implementing department with little involvement of local govern- ment departments in the districts. The NGOs had not been involved and learner participation in issues of policy and implementation was little. The problems of low participation by learners and instructors, high drop-out rates among learners and lack of involvement by other partner organisations have persisted in the NLP. Further- more, the DNFE which is the implementing organisation, has continued to work in isolation of other national and district organisations which would otherwise play a part in the imple- mentation of the programme. For instance, the 1993 National Commission on Education observed that "there is evidence of high levels of drop-out and inefficiencies in the organisation of the learning groups" (p.279). The DNFE report on its part shows that learner participation in literacy classes is decreasing while the drop-out rate seems to be increasing annually. Total learner 61 enrolments are said to have decreased from 38,660 in 1985 to 20,667 in 1993, while the enrolment of Literacy Group Leaders (literacy teachers) has gone down from 1,480 in 1985 to 1,090 in 1993 ( Legwaila, 1993). The persistence of these problems appear to suggest that participation of people, whether as recipients or providers, in a social or development programme or project does not occur automatically and therefore it should not be taken for granted. Adults must be aware of the importance of a literacy programme and be motivated to participate in it. Their participation needs to be prepared or mobilised. Bhola (1984) states that motivations are not spontaneous. Learners have to be motivated to learn and mobilised to come to literacy classes to acquire literacy skills. And those who are literate have to be mobilised as monitors, teachers, and leaders in the programme. Communities too have to be mobilised to support literacy programmes with resources. Hall (1985) refers to political mobilsation which is an element of social mobilisation. He says political mobilisation is a base for stimulating widespread re- flection and action on educational or health concerns. This paper, therefore, examines the concept of social mobili- sation as an approach in development communication and the extent to which it has been applied to improve people's partici- pation whether as learners, instructors, or supporters in the National Literacy Programme (NLP) of Botswana. It also sug- gests some communication strategies for social mobilisation for adult literacy in Botswana and other developing countries with conditions similar to those in Botswana. Social Mobilisation Social mobilisation increases the participation of the people in any development programme or project. As Bhola (1989) has rightly stated, social mobilisation provides for the participation of everyone. However, social mobilisation for social change or development is a fairly new approach to development communi- cation. 62 The Concept Social mobilisation can mean making people ready or preparing them for participation in a development programme or project. People will participate in a development programme if, among other factors, they are aware of it, are motivated to be involved and possess the necessary knowledge, attitudes and/or skills required for participation. For instance, an individual will par- ticipate in a literacy programme as a beneficiary if he/she is aware of it and is motivated. This is the essence of social mobilisation (Nyirenda, 1988). Social mobilisation evolved out of UNICEF's interest in com- munity participation which was seen as an essential factor for delivering services to the urban and rural poor populations. The concept was synthesized from many experiences and its definition became clearer in the highly successful Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI). When the EPI started, it experienced many problems like indifference by communities, ineffective health workers and lack of logistical support. UNICEF learned two major lessons from the EPI project: that the success of a programme was dependent upon the mobilisa- tion of all possible resources and the deployment of all commu- nication channels. It also learned that a programme must be seen as a political and economic priority and given the support of the nation's political leadership (McKee, 1992). The October 1985 Bogota UNICEF seminar on the EPI and social mobilisation in child survival and development revolution defined social mobilisation as "mobilizing awareness about the child as a priority to lead to or enable action for child survival and development" (UNICEF, 1985). And the December 1985 Harare consultative meeting of the Eastern and Southern African region defined social mobilisation as "a process of modifying the behaviour of a large number of people to demand satisfacffon of their needs through self-reliant organized efforts" (UNICEF, 1985). These definitions suggest that social mobilisation makes 63 many people aware of their needs and equips or prepares them to do something about these needs. The Harare meeting further agreed that the ultimate unit for social mobilisation is the family household in the community, for this is where the beneficiaries of social or development programmes live and frequently inter- act. In essence therefore, the family and other social institutions and organisations should be mobilised in order to ensure a full and effective participation of all individuals in the households and communities. Elements of Social Mobilisation McKee (1992) identified and listed five main elements of social mobilisation through which the process of mobilising human and financial resources for a development programme takes place. These are: • Political Mobilisation which enables a programme to win a country's political and policy commitment to ensure that the necessary resources are allocated to the programme. Political commitment is rather difficult to define, but a more reliable measure for it is the extent of political, human and material resources allocated to the implementation of a given programme. It targets policy and decision makers such as legislators, ministers and the president; • Government mobilisation which aims at informing and enlisting the cooperation and help of government organisa- tions existing within the communities, and at the national level, such as extension departments and local government agencies. • Community mobilisation to inform and gain the commit- ment of local political, religious and traditional leaders; as well as non-governmental organisations, women's groups, and other social groups and organisations. 64 • Corporate mobilisation to secure the support and partici- pation of commercial organisations such as local and international corporations and business organisations. For example, national producers and distributors of con- sumer goods can arrange for their products to carry pro- literacy messages. • Beneficiary mobilisation which aims at informing, motivat- ing and gaining the participation of the programme bene- ficiaries. In literacy programmes, the learners have to be motivated to join literacy classes and those who are literate have to be mobilised as teachers and leaders of the learning groups. The specific communication strategies used in each of the elements of social mobilisation varies from country to country, and largely depends on the knowledge gained from the research into the country's socio-cultural, socio-political and socio-eco- nomic contexts as well as available communication channels and media resources. Communication strategies here refer to the way in which media channels and resources are organised to achieve the objectives of social mobilisation for adult literacy. For example, strategies that can be used in political mobilisation include a combination of advocacy, lobbying, using goodwill ambassadors, workshops and the mass media. Beneficiary mobilisation on the other hand can be achieved through a combination of community meetings, workshops, drama, dance and the mass media. In all cases, effective strategies call for the use of an integrated approach. Moemeka (1989:16) defined this approach as that "which combines interpersonal and mass media approaches into one.avoiding their limitations and prob- lems, but taking advantage of their potentials". 65 Aim and Objectives McKee (1992:13) has stated that social mobilisation "is aimed at mustering national and local support for a general goal or programme through a much more open and uncontrolled pro- cess, giving ownership to the community as a whole. The process is concerned with mobilizing human and financial resources". Hence, a major aim of social mobilisation is to gain the support of the entire public and ensure their participation in a development programme. As McKee (1992:14) put it, social mobilisers "are more con- cerned with building national consensus and carrying out a broad educational process through all possible channels, a process which should energize and uplift a people". During the Bogota seminar (UNICEF, 1985), the following objectives of social mobilisation were enumerated: • to understand and modify people's behaviours, ideas and beliefs; • to increase their awareness, knowledge, and ability to organize for self-reliance; • to help them to be motivated to know about their rights and duties, and to start to demand satisfaction of their needs; • to mobilize all available resources. In other words, social mobilization aims at informing commu- nities about development programmes intended for them for purposes of raising awareness. The information so given should arouse the communities to think and ultimately act on the messages. In so doing, attempts are made to reinforce existing values, beliefs, and behaviour or to persuade them to accept change that would support the goals and objectives of the programme's activities. What's more, success calls for mobilis- ing all available resources to serve the goals and objectives of the programme. From these objectives, it is clear that strategies for social 66 mobilisation for development must be based on an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of a country's social, cultural, political and economic contexts, hence, the need and impor- tance of conducting research for social mobilisation. Research for Strategies In order to formulate appropriate social mobilisation strategies for a development programme, research must be conducted at two levels, namely the national and community levels. It is necessary to do this because social mobilisation for any devel- opment project or programme, whether in literacy, health, or family planning, must be based on an in-depth and comprehen- sive understanding of both the country and the communities, especially as regards their social organisation and communica- tion resources. This research calls for the understanding of three broad areas namely: • The social-cultural profile of the communities in which the development programme will be introduced and imple- mented. For example, if it is a literacy programme, research should address questions like: Is the community aware about literacy as a problem and a hinderance to individual and community development? What is the present level or rate of literacy? What are the people's present values, beliefs, attitudes and practices relating to the problem of illiteracy? • The socio-political organisations (governmental, non gov- ernmental, and corporate) existing within the communities and at the national level. The analysis should identify the nature and extent of the presence of these organisations. Is there government presence in form of school teachers, agricultural extension workers, social or community devel- opment workers, health workers etc? What NGO services exist in the communities? What are their capacities and 67 willingness to support the programme activities or some of the activities? Are there influential people and/or poten- tially influential people in the community such as tradi- tional leaders, religious leaders or political leaders? How can these people be involved in the activities of the programme? Are there commercial organisations such as local corporations and business organisations? How can these be involved? • Communication channels and media resources available in the communities and at the national level. The research should answer questions such as: What communication channels exist in the communities and at the national level (for example, radio, newspapers, magazines, music, dance, drama, story tellers, etc?) Do people have access and exposure to these media channels? Do the communities have printing resources, graphic design and production facilities, recording studios, communication experts, and other media resources? To what extent do people have access to these media resources? What is the cost? In all cases, as many issues as possible should be addressed in the research. The purpose or goal is to gain a deeper and comprehensive understanding of both the community and na- tional contexts. Information from such research should prove very useful in the formulation of appropriate strategies for social mobilisation. These strategies should aim at, among other things, identifying the major actors, building coalitions and networks between and among the various organisations relevant to the programme, as well as generating national commitment to the programme. Scholars like Hamadache and Marti (1986) and Hall (1985) emphasize that political will is one of the major factors that determine the success of any literacy programme. 68 Experience in Botswana During the experimental period of the NLP in 1980 up to the day of launching its full operations in mid-1981 there were some activities which were akin to social mobilisation. Three urgent tasks during that period were to recruit and enrol up to 10,000 learners for the year, to recruit and train 27 Literacy Assistants (LAs) as full-time field staff and to recruit and train over 200 Literacy Group Leaders (LGLs) to be deployed into the five districts in which the NLP had started on an experimental basis. In order to achieve these tasks, meetings were held through- out the five districts with chiefs, headmen, and other community leaders. The outcome was the formation of learning groups which started in August, 1981 in many of the experimental districts (Bhola, 1983). Townsend Coles (1985:141) explains that "it was essential to mobilise all assistance possible to tell people of the programme, generate enthusiasm for it and indeed establish it as a major national effort" According to Townsend Coles, mobilisation activities carried out during that period included speeches by the Minister of Education which frequently referred to the NLP, to the extent that the awarenes of the Members of Parliament (MPs) was raised and those whose districts were not covered by the programme began demanding that their constituencies be included. A weekly radio programme for the learners and their LGLs was also started. It was used mainly to transmit messages and answers to questions raised by the learners in their letters or the Broadsheet. Monthly Broadsheets were then published and distributed free to all the learners. Its publication which started in 1980 saw the circulation rise from 10,000 to 40,000 at the time of official launching of the full operations of the NLP. Along with this, the DNFE logo was distributed widely. The day for the official launching of the NLP was declared a special day for literacy. On this day, mobilisation activities were intensified through special radio programmes, public events in the districts, and articles in the government-owned newspaper. 69 The post office also issued commemorative postage stamps (Townsend Coles, 1985). While the above activities were aimed at raising the awareness about the NLP among politicians, the learners, and the general public, social mobilisation as an approach to development communication does not only constitute making people aware about the existence of a development project or programme. In addition, it must simultaneously motivate people to participate, enlighten them more on the programme, modify or reinforce their beliefs, values and behaviour which support the goals and objectives of the programme, as well as mobilise all available resources. In other words, social mobilisation is a broad educational process about a development programme through all possible communication media channels which prepares and ensures the people's participation, including the immediate beneficiar- ies. In Botswana, however, this process was carried out only at the awareness raising level. The activities did not, for instance, educate people about the problem of illiteracy in the country and how an individual citizen is disadvantaged by it. Neither was the cooperation and collaboration of government organisations, corporations (both parastatal and private), non-governmental organisations, and many other social organisations mobilised. This explains why the DNFE has continued to operate without any direct involvement or participation of these organisations. However, in spite of the limited nature of these mobilisation activities, their outcome was remarkable. In 1980 about 7,676 learners were enrolled, and 300 LGLs and 28 LAs recruited and trained. In 1981 better results were achieved: 23,630 learners were enrolled and 1427 LGLs and 105 LAs recruited and trained (Legwaila, 1993 and 1994). Thus over a period of one year, the enrolment of learners more than trebled, while the recruitment of LGLs and LAs went up by nearly four times. This shows that mobilisation activities were on the right track as far as telling the people of the programme, generating enthusiasm for it and establishing it as a major national effort were concerned 70 (Townsend Coles, 1985). A research-guided effort would, how- ever, have achieved more. There were no mobilisation activities in the years that followed the full launching of the NLP operations. It seems that many factors that determine the success of a national development programme, such as a literacy operation, were taken for granted thereafter. These factors include a sustained awareness of the whole nation, national or political commitment, creation of coalitions among different organisations, and indeed the par- ticipation of the learners and literacy teachers. However, with time, experience revealed the need for a sustained social mobilisation programme to ensure increased participation. About four years later, enrolment of learners and recruitment of LGLs began to decline steadily. The downward trend in enrolment of learners suggests both low participation of potential learners and a high drop-out rate among those who enrol. That of LGLs on the other hand, suggests waning interest in literacy work by potential literacy teachers and/or problems related to the recruitment and retention of such personnel, say, low incentives in form of monetary rewards and job security. In general, the situation depicits a lack of involvement of the communities and other key organisations in the NLP. This partly explains why up to now, the target of reaching 250,000 illiterates has not been and is far from being attained. Communication Channels It was realised in 1991 that it was essential to mobilise both potential learners and learners in the NLP in order to improve their enrolment and participation. The DNFE decided to start what it called social mobilisation workshops. The idea to start these workshops was mooted after the realisation by the DNFE literacy staff that literacy statistics and participation in literacy classes were at their lowest compared to the situation in the early 1980s (Legwaila, 1994). Their aim "is to create a forum for community leaders, 71 extension workers, local authorities, illiterate people, politicians and communities to identify and discuss reasons and problems which prevent illiterate people from enrolling in literacy classes" (Legwaila, 1994:7). Specific objectives include identifying and discussing prob- lems that prevent illiterate people from enrolling in literacy classes; soliciting for ideas and advice from community leaders in the areas with literacy classes; and establishing rapport with illiterate people and learning from them, reasons which prevent them from enrolling in literacy classes.. Others are providing a chance for the NLP staff and extension workers to share views and experiences on problems which prevent the illeterate from enrolling. It also offers the NLP staff an opportunity to come up with action plans based on their field experience. The workshops are conducted in the villages with many illiterate people who do not attend literacy classes. Although 34 such workshops had been held by April 1995, it is too early to assess their impact on the NLP. They are planned to continue until the year 2000 (Legwaila, 1994). Social mobilisation workshops are one of the many interper- sonal and group communication channels. Other channels include seminars, public lectures, addresses by community leaders, group discussions, study groups, question and answer sessions, drama, dance, music and story-telling. The workshops in Botswana mainly use group discussions and question and answer sessions between the NLP staff and the members of the community. Despite the effectiveness of these communication channels in introducing change and effective development behaviour, they are limited in their geographical coverage since they do not extend beyond the community in which they are applied. Workshops can only be conducted periodically in selected places. But combining them with mass media publicity en- hances their coverage across the nation and ensures that messages are disseminated rapidly. Currently in Botswana, social mobilisation workshops are not integrated with the national 72 media such as radio broadcasting and newspapers, thereby negating their contribution to finding national solutions to the problem of low participation in the shortest possible time. Other Meetings Recently, the DNFE embarked on holding two types of meetings, namely full council meetings and what can be called community meetings. The main purpose of these meetings is to make people aware of the problems the NLP is experiencing and collectively identify solutions to them. Full council meetings in the villages, towns and cities are addressed by DNFE senior literacy staff from the head office in Gaborone. They are meant "to make the councillors aware of the Literacy Decade and the problems that exist in the programme, and to request them to help the Literacy Programme staff in whatever way they see fit in spreading the literacy message" (Legwaila, 1994:11). So far, full council meetings have been addressed in eight out of a total 13 councils in the whole country. The exercise is to continue until all councils have been covered. Community meetings are held regularly by District Adult Education Officers (DAEOs) with relevant village-based organi- sations and the DNFE field staff. The aim of these meetings is "to discuss problems relating to the National Literacy Programme with both the Literacy Group Leaders and members of the Village Development Committees" (Legwaila, 1993:33). For example the DAEO of Kweneng District addressed Village Development Committee meetings in several villages of the district to discuss problems of the NLP. Like workshops, meetings too are limited in both spatial and temporal coverage. As such they cannot be used to disseminate messages rapidly across the nation. Be that as it may, they are relatively effective at the time and in the localities where they are applied. Experience in Botswana has shown that it is essential for social mobilisation to be an integral part of the regular activities 73 of the NLP. Inclusion of social mobilisation in the overall plans for literacy activities should not be done only when problems emerge. The DNFE itself has conceded that eradication or great reduction of illiteracy "cannot be achieved by one department alone. This then calls for a combined effort from government departments, parastatal organisations, the private sector, non- governmental organisations and individuals" (Legwaila, 1994:12). Implied in this statement is the urgent need for cooperation and collaboration of these organisations so that their resources can be harnessed to achieve the goals and objectives of the NLP. In short, the different organisations must be mobilised and coordi- nated. As already stated, communication strategies for social mobi- lisation to be adopted in a particular country are dependent on in-depth research conducted at the community and national levels. They will also vary according to the element of social mobilisation in which they are applied. The section that follows suggests communication strategies that could be applied in social mobilisation for adult literacy in Botswana and other African countries with similar conditions. Communication Strategies The NLP is a relatively large programme in terms of coverage and participants. Its priority objective is the eradication of adult illiteracy in Botswana by the year 2000. It is hoped that "by the end of the decade, every Motswana, or at least the majority will be literate" (Legwaila, 1994:20). Whereas the achievement of this objective is a great and important challenge facing the country, infrequent mobilisation workshops and community meetings are highly unlikely to increase people's participation and mobilise the required resources. Experience in Africa and elsewhere indicates that large literacy programmes which have registered success are those that have incorporated social mobilisation. Examples of Nicara- gua, the former Soviet Union, Tanzania, Iraq, Ethiopia, China 74 and Cuba are instructive (Carron and Bordia, 1985; Bhola, 1984). However, application of social mobilisation characterises a campaign approach to adult literacy. The campaign approach was consiciously discouraged in the Botswana NLP because the planners believed it was associated with socialist countries and therefore ideologically unsuitable for the country (Gaborone et al.,1988). This is, however, contrary to Bhola's analysis of the situations in which social mobilisation had been applied and found that "neither the need to mobilise, nor the ability to mobilise is confined to a particular type of political culture. Both socialist societies and representative democracies have done successful mobilisation of their people when faced with important chal- lenges" (1984:146). Besides, the use of campaigns in develop- ment programmes requiring urgent national action is not a new phenomenon in Botswana. Two national and one regional radio learning group cam- paigns were mounted in the 1970s. The first campaign, Setsh- aba le Toqamaano - The People and the Plan, was mounted in 1973 to popularise the first Five Year National Development Plan. It ran over a period of five weeks with about 1400 groups (Colclough and Crowley, 1974). The second campaign, Lefatshe La Rona - Our Land, was organised in 1976 to inform and consult the nation on policy proposals advocating a change in the use of tribal grazing land. It involved over 3,500 groups and 53,000 citizens (Ministry of Local Government and Lands, 1977). The regional radio learning group campaign organised in Western Botswana in 1979, was on civic education. It aimed at making people aware of how government operated, the kind of services it provided, and how they could actively participate in government and development. These campaigns were organised because the challenges facing the nation were important, urgent and required national participation. Furthermore, the face-tor face extension methods could not be relied upon since they are limited in coverage and effect in a country with scattered settlement patterns. Therefore, since the NLP in Botswana is 75 faced with an urgent and Important challenge of eradicating or greatly reducing adult iliteracy within the next five years, the suggestion for a campaign approach as an overall strategy to achieve this objective seems plausible. This approach is more amenable to social mobilisation than all the other approaches, namely the basic education, functional and conscientisation literacy approaches, given that it seeks to involve all sectors of society in order to make all adult men and women in a nation literate within a particular period (Lind and Johnson, 1990). The foregoing discussion argues for the campaign approach to become predominant in the NLP. Currently the NLP is mainly influenced by the basic education approach since literacy classes are only offered to adults who demand it. Perhaps this explains the problems that have beset the programme such as low participation of LGLs, drop-out rates among the learners, and the lack of involvement of many other organisations. The Mass Media In Botswana, social mobilisation can use the following commu- nication strategies involving the mass media of radio broadcasts, newpapers, and the rural press: Open radio broadcasting: Can be used to inform individuals and communities about the literacy programme, raise their aware- ness, and also motivate them into participating. Open radio broadcasting emphasizes the production of messages which are aimed at people in their homes or wherever they are. Producers of such programmes neither make an effort to organise the listening audience, nor prepare or distribute supporting print materials to the audience. Radio forum broadcasting: Can be used to teach literacy and to reinforce the skills just learned in the programme. The strategy involves the production of radio lessons on a consistent sched- 76 ule, for broadcast to an organised audience unlike in open radio broadcasting. The broadcasts are usually supported by printed materials. The target audience is organised into listening groups who first listen then discuss the broadcast literacy lesson. After discussion, the group may decide on appropriate follow-up action such as seeking clarification on unclear parts of the lesson. This strategy requires careful advance planning of the radio programmes and support print materials, among other steps to be taken (Rogers et al., 1977; Nyirenda, 1982 and 1986; and Hall, 1985). Radio campaigns: Can be used to inform all sectors of society about the programme and raise their awareness about it, motivate illiterate adults to participate, and also impart literacy knowledge. It can also be used to reinforce existing values and behaviour patterns or persuade people to change to new ones. Radio campaigns combine the features of listening and discus- sion group techniques, but extend over a short period of time usually three to six months (Nyirenda, 1986). Newspapers: These can provide literacy lessons and pull-out sheets of alphabet charts and motivational posters to attract both literacy teachers and learners; as well as other training materials for literacy teachers and supervisors. Arrangements can be made with the existing newspaper especially the govern- ment-owned Daily News. Private papers cannot be used exten- sively for social mobilisation since they have to operate commer- cially. Rural Press: The rural press in Setswana can be developed in remote rural areas where newspapers do not reach. A typical rural press involves the local community in its story gathering, production and distribution of the newspaper unlike urban- based newspapers which do not involve them in any way. It is a useful ingredient especially for post-literacy activities built in a literacy programme. 77 In addition communication strategies applying the interper- sonal and group communication media can also be used in social mobilisation for literacy. For instance drama, dance and music can be performed in communities, schools, during special events, on radio etc. in order to inform, educate and motivate people about the literacy programme. Community gatherings of various kinds can also be used, for example, for community and beneficiary mobilisation. Greater advantage could also be taken of Kgotla meetings and those of the Village and District Development Committees. Other communication strategies involving interpersonal and group communication media which Botswana can capitalize on include the use of school children, public lectures, seminars, study groups, discussion forums, story-telling as well as film and video shows. It must be emphasized that the appropriate and actual communication strategies to be used in social mobilisation for literacy in Botswana will very much depend on the knowledge to be gained from the inquiry into the socio-cultural, socio-political and socio-economic contexts of the country at both the commu- nity and national levels. Therefore, these suggestions for com- munication strategies are only a guide to what is possible in Botswana, given the existing social structures, media channels, and resources. Conclusion Success of the NLP in reaching its target of making 250,000 illiterate Botswana adults and youths literate is yet to be seen. The programme has over the years been beset by problems like low participation by both the learners and literacy instructors, high drop-out rates among the learners, and little involvement of other organisations. The challenge of eradicating or reducing illiteracy by the year 2000 requires urgent national action. Analysis of Botswana's experience with social mobilisation has revealed that people participate in development programmes 78 when mobilised. The radio learning group campaigns of 1973 on the first national development plan, the 1976 campaigns on government's land reform proposals as well as the mobilisation activities mounted during the first year of the NLP are clear testimonies to this fact. The 1991 initiative by NDFE to mobilise both potential learners and learners by relying predominantly on social mobi- lisation workshops has been hampered by the problem of geographical coverage of such workshops. Therefore, social mobilisation applying a combination of a variety of communica- tion strategies in an integrated way is what Botswana requires. This paper suggests a campaign approach to providing literacy to adults as an overall strategy for achieving the goal of eradi- cating or greatly reducing adult illiteracy in the shortest possible time. While this paper suggests some communication strategies for social mobilisation for Botswana as a guide, formulation of the actual strategies should be based on an in-depth and compre- hensive understanding of the country's socio-cultural, socio- political and socio-economic contexts at both community and national levels. References Bhola, H.S.(1983), The Promise of Literacy Campaigns, Programs and Projects, Baden-Baden, Germany: Nomos Verlagsge- sellschaft. Bhola, H.S.(1984), Campaigning for Literacy: Eight National Ex- periences of the Twentieth Century, with a Memorandum to Decision Makers. Paris: Unesco. 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