Partnership Development for Adult Education Programme Sustainability in Imo State

This study examined partnership development strategies and their role in promoting adult education programme sustainability in Imo State, South East Nigeria. Dependence on government funding alone is increasingly untenable for sustaining comprehensive adult education services, making multi-stakeholder partnerships a critical sustainability strategy for programme managers. The study adopted a descriptive survey design involving 65 adult education programme managers, community organisation representatives, private sector partners, and government officials drawn from three local government areas. Partnership assessment tools, document analyses of partnership agreements, and structured interview guides informed data collection. Findings revealed that existing partnerships in Imo State's adult education landscape were predominantly informal, poorly documented, and characterised by unequal power dynamics that limited community partner agency in programme decisions. Corporate social responsibility funding from Imo-based companies was largely untapped, with few adult education managers possessing the proposal development and relationship management skills needed to secure private sector engagement. Faith-based and community-based organisations represented the most reliable partnership sources but were underutilised in formal programme structures. Recommendations include developing a formal adult education partnership strategy for Imo State, building programme managers' capacity in partnership development and social enterprise skills, creating partnership engagement frameworks that clarify roles, responsibilities, and accountability mechanisms for all partner types, and establishing a state adult education partnership fund to leverage and match partner contributions. Sustainable programme financing models should be incorporated into all future programme design processes. Keywords: partnership development, programme sustainability, adult education, Imo State, multi-stakeholder engagement.