Integrating literacy and non-formal education in Burkina Faso's education policy

This paper reports on Burkina Faso's experience with literacy training and non-formal education. It briefly reviews literacy policy and strategies from the post-colonial period to the creation of the Permanent Centers for Literacy and Training (CPAF) in 1991. It places special emphasis on (i) the importance of non-formal education as a source of provision that can make up for the shortcomings of the formal system, (ii) the linkages between the formal and non-formal sectors, iii) the problems facing the literacy and non-formal sub-sector, (iv) the strengths and potential that the sub-sector can leverage to build its capacity and reorganize to meet the educational needs of the population.