Section 1 of this study reviews the insufficiency of literacy and basic education programs for adults offered by the colonial Ministry of Education in Zimbabwe prior to independence (1980). While section 2 emphasizes the significance of adult education for the new nation's development, including its implications for manpower training and the assertion and reclaiming of Zimbabwe's cultural identity, section 3 describes such key elements in the planning of adult education programs for the future as literacy and basic education and vocational and technical training. Program emphases include the integration of manual and mental labor, collective organization, cooperation, and sexual equality. Section 4 focuses on political support and administration, addressing questions of costing and finance, resource development, and monitoring. Among guiding administrative principles are the establishment of nonbureaucratic structures, coordination of programs at the national, provincial/district, and village/community levels, and the establishment of evaluation processes for all aspects of the adult educastion system. The study concludes with a call for determined action in the implementation of adult education programs. (JBM)