Reflections on the impact of Mwalimu Nyerere’s vision on adult and non-formal education

Abstract

How does Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s vision of adult education guide us in planning development in changing times? In this chapter, Dr. Budd Hall and Yusuf Kassam revisit the work, vision, principles and institutional innovations that shaped adult and non-formal education in Tanzania during the 1970s. Writing from their own lived involvement at the Institute of Adult Education, the University of Dar es Salaam and later the International Council for Adult Education, the authors recount the literacy campaigns, radio learning groups and the training of adult educators under Nyerere’s leadership. Such initiatives led to dramatic reductions in illiteracy in the 1970s. Central to Nyerere’s vision was the integration of education into everyday life as a process rooted in socialist development. However, as capital driven priorities have reshaped Tanzania’s development trajectory, the authors ask what remains of this vision. They argue for reinvigorating literacy and adult education as critical tools to address contemporary challenges including climate change and deepening socio-economic inequalities.