Thirty-five years after independence the Mozambican illiteracy rate has been reduced from 93% to just over 50% according to official statistics. Although this indicates an enormous achievement in the area of education, the challenge of today still is to design appropriate adult basic education programmes including literacy, numeracy and life skills. Studies carried out in the framework of the research programme of the Adult Education Department of Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique reveal the dilemmas encountered in designing such programmes. By uncovering these dilemmas this article aims to display critical issues regarding the content and the implementation of literacy and non-formal education programmes for adults relevant to their context. As the Mozambican research programme was part of a cooperation with universities in South Africa and the Netherlands, the issues will be discussed against the background of this international cooperation.