Programme Planning and Management in Adult Education Organisations in Nigeria

This study examines programme planning and management practices in adult education organisations in Nigeria, assessing the extent to which systematic planning frameworks are applied and their relationship to programme effectiveness outcomes. Adult education organisations operating in Nigeria include state agencies, civil society organisations, international NGOs, and community-based bodies with varying levels of planning capacity and institutional sophistication. The absence of standardised planning frameworks across these organisations contributes to inconsistent programme quality and limited accountability. This study uses a survey design, collecting data from 95 programme managers and supervisors in 20 adult education organisations operating in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Enugu. Planning practices assessed include needs assessment, goal setting, resource planning, monitoring and evaluation, and stakeholder engagement. Programme effectiveness outcomes are self-reported and verified through available participant records. Regression analysis identifies planning practice determinants of effectiveness. Findings reveal that organisations applying formal needs assessment and monitoring and evaluation systems produce significantly stronger learner outcome data. Participatory planning approaches involving community stakeholders in programme design are associated with higher learner attendance and completion rates. Smaller community-based organisations show the largest planning capacity gaps, particularly in monitoring and evaluation. The study concludes that programme planning quality is a strong predictor of adult education effectiveness in Nigerian organisations. It recommends that UBEC develop a planning competency framework and fund planning capacity building for all UBEC-supported adult education organisations.

Keywords: programme planning, adult education management, UBEC, monitoring and evaluation, Nigeria.