Strategic Planning for Adult Education Agencies in North West Nigeria

This study examines strategic planning practices in state adult education agencies in North West Nigeria, assessing the quality and implementation fidelity of strategic plans and their relationship to agency performance outcomes. North West states, including Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Kaduna, have some of Nigeria's highest adult illiteracy rates, making strategic management of state adult education agencies particularly consequential. This study uses document analysis of strategic plans from five North West state adult education agencies, supplemented by interviews with 40 senior agency managers and ministry officials. Strategic planning quality is assessed using a framework covering situational analysis depth, goal clarity, resource alignment, stakeholder consultation, and monitoring and evaluation provisions. Implementation fidelity is assessed by comparing planned activities against actual programme records for 2020 to 2023. Findings reveal significant gaps between plan quality and implementation, with most agencies implementing less than 55 percent of planned activities within the target period. Strategic plans are largely produced to satisfy donor reporting requirements rather than as operational management tools. Resource allocation is rarely aligned with strategic priorities, with politically driven facilitation deployments displacing merit-based programme expansion. The study concludes that strategic planning culture in North West adult education agencies is weak and insufficiently institutionalised. It recommends mandatory strategic planning training for agency leadership, annual plan review cycles with public reporting, and UBEC compliance requirements that link grant access to implementation performance.

Keywords: strategic planning, adult education agencies, North West Nigeria, organisational management, institutional capacity.