The role of adult education in community development: a case study

• Main Author: Jack, Vuyiswa Primrose
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Adult education; Adult education and state; Community development
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4375

M.Ed. === The Sinthumule/Kutama water project in the Northern Province was initiated as one of the RDP Presidential Lead Projects with an approved budget of R4 7, 75m. The Presidential Lead Projects were those projects which were funded by an emergency fund channelled by the former president Nelson Mandela through the RDP to address the problem of shortage of water as well as the associated diseases which were prevalent in the Sinthumule/ Kutama area early in 1995. The main objective was to provide 25 litres of water for each person per day, within a distance of not more than 200 metres from their homes. Residents had to pay 8c for 20 litres of water through a pre-paid system. But more importantly, as an RDP project, the aim was to educate, train and build the capacity of the targeted communities thereby bringing about community upliftment. However, the project collapsed. Communities destroyed water meters and made illegal connections in 18 villages. The reported failure of the Sinthumule/Kutama water project raised serious questions inter alia: );> was there an effective education, training and capacity building strategy and programme for Sinthumule/Kutama? );> if there was, how was it executed? Roge(s (1996) view on development which emphasises the central role of education in development formed the theoretical framework of the research. Against the preceding background the aim of the study was to investigate whether education and training of adults played a significant role in the Sinthumule/Kutama development project. A case study approach was employed to establish the role of adult education in the success or failure of the project. Purposive sampling was utilised to select a sample. Interviews were carried out and various founding documents were analysed to collect data.