Curriculum Reform in Non-Formal Education: Lessons for Nigeria from African Best Practices

This study examines curriculum reform experiences in non-formal education systems across selected African countries and derives lessons for improving Nigeria's adult education curriculum framework. Nigeria's national non-formal education curriculum, developed through UBEC and state agencies, has been criticised for being rigid, culturally generic, and insufficiently responsive to local livelihood contexts. Several African countries including Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa have implemented significant non-formal education curriculum reforms in recent years with documented success. This study uses a comparative policy analysis methodology, examining curriculum reform policy documents, implementation reports, and evaluation findings from Ghana's National Functional Literacy Programme, Kenya's Adult Literacy Programme, and South Africa's Adult Basic Education and Training system. Key dimensions compared include curriculum contextualisation approaches, community participation in curriculum development, language policy, and outcomes assessment frameworks. Comparative findings are mapped onto Nigeria's current curriculum weaknesses identified through document review and stakeholder interviews with 25 Nigerian adult education curriculum specialists. Results indicate that locally contextualised curriculum development, mother tongue instruction in early literacy stages, and competency-based assessment frameworks are the strongest shared success factors across the African comparators. Nigeria's current curriculum is significantly weaker in all three dimensions. The study concludes that Nigeria's non-formal education curriculum requires comprehensive reform informed by regional best practices. It recommends an immediate UBEC-led curriculum review process with community co-design, mother tongue provisions, and competency-based assessment frameworks.

Keywords: curriculum reform, non-formal education, African best practices, Nigeria, adult literacy.