Functional literacy in 5th region of Mali

Evaluation covers the period 2/79-8/80 and is based on document review, interviews with project personnel and regional staff during site visits, and student responses to questionnaires. Targets through year two of the project have been exceeded in regard to the number of centers built (114 versus 60), village instructors trained (64 versus 30), Zones d"Alphabetisation Fonctionelle (ZAF) established and ZAF chiefs trained (6 versus 4 in both cases), and farmer students (723 neo-literates and 2,535 in classes versus targets of 1,200 and 2,000). A total of 3,000 students are expected to be enrolled by the project"s completion. Enrollment of women is 14% versus the usual 5%-8% in similar projects in Mali. All personnel of Operation Mills Mopti (OMM), the overall management organism, have been trained. Although community development activities have not been started due to lack of suitable OMM technicians, extension work as an outgrowth of the literacy programs is proceeding well. Farmers can read and apply agricultural materials to farm technology and eventually will be able to serve as models to non-student farmers. Demonstration fields have produced 200% higher yields than ordinary fields. Some good students have become village health workers (VHW) or accountants for village cooperatives. It is recommended that OMM coordinators attend seminars and study tours in other countries to prepare themselves to teach refresher courses to ZAF chiefs and instructors. To facilitate the final evaluation, all centers should keep good records of student attendance and performance; results of the final proficiency tests should be made available; and the "Fiche de Village" should be used to assess the project"s socioeconomic impact. The work of neo-literate VHW"s should be assessed and a list of added activities for neo-literates established, e.g., having them replace civil servants in commercializing local farm products to government agencies or assume positions as ZAF chiefs. Finally, new final output criteria should be established for this very successful project.