After Botswana became independent of British rule in 1966, a series of five-year plans for economic development were written and put into action. Education was always seen by development planners as essential for development; by 1977, the government was promoting education for human resource development. Every child in the country was to be given a good basic education in a primary school provided by the government. In 1977 the government also established the Department of Nonformal Education within the Ministry of Education to provide basic education to illiterate adults. Botswana's Third National Development Plan (1973-78) involved literacy programs in the development strategy of the country. 1980 was to be an experimental year when programs would be designed and put into place, personnel would be trained, and materials would be produced and field tested. The goal was for the total eradication of illiteracy by 1985-86. However, leaders in the country did not make literacy education a priority, and little money was budgeted for the effort. Nevertheless, the educational structure is in place, with District Adult Education Officers and Literacy Assistants trained to implement the program. It is estimated that 65,000 persons have been served by the program, with 20,000 made literate. Much more work is left to be done to help the approximately 223,000 illiterates in the country. (KC)