The organisation of the adult education system requires sufficient funds. These funds are provided by the Federal government, State government, and local community and individuals efforts.
(1) Help by the Federal Government:
According to the provisions of the American constitution the Federal Government extends much financial help in supplementing the expenditure on adult education projects.
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This help is in millions of dollars. On the basis of this help adult education projects are implemented throughout the country. Acts passed from time to time have proved very helpful. Smith Hughes Act, George Barden Act and Smith T ever Act have been praiseworthy.
The Federal Government spends money on the education of adult farmers under the Agriculture Extension Service for increasing crop production, storage, preservation, cattle-breeding, house-keeping, various vocational activities and cottage industries.
This Agriculture Extension Service successfully leads to the social, national, home community, cultural and personal development of the farmers. The Federal Government provides financial help of nearly twenty-five million dollars for agriculture programmes to local leaders, agriculture development clubs, 4 H clubs, home demonstration agents, county agriculture agents and project councils.
Community groups, leaders, government experts, local committees, and various agriculture development representatives, whose number exceeds 6 thousand, go from village to village, trying to improve the social, national, home and personal life of the farmers.
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These workers make arrangements for information on modern agricultural researches, inventions, lecture on new agriculture methods, hold exhibitions, guidance programmes, etc., which benefit the rural adults to a great extent.
Radio, television and cheap publications are very important for adult education extension in U.SA. They broadcast various literary, social, cultural, political and vocational programmes. The Federal Government bears the financial responsibility of radio, television education programmes and cheap publications.
Such audio-visual aids might be helping about fifteen million adults every week. Discussions, lectures and question-answer programmes are also held. Some active workers get the summaries of these programmes published in order that cheap adult education literature may be available to the adults.
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(2) Help by the State Governments:
More than fifty per cent of the States of U.S.A. give financial help for adult education programmes. 15 States give partial help. California, Pensylvania, New York and 10 other States bear most of the expenditure incurred on adult education institutions.
In California, 64 per cent adult education expenditure is met through grant-in-aid from the State Government, 20 per cent from the local sources, 2 per cent from fees and rest of the 14 per cent from other sources.
In Michigan State, only 5 per cent of the expenditure is met from the State aid, 43 per cent from the local taxes, and 42 per cent from fees. Thus the development of adult education is more in those States which spend more and less in States which spend less on adult education.
(3) Public help on education:
Besides regular schools in U.SA, there are many public institutions which provide adult education, such as religious centres, libraries, reading rooms, museums and clubs, etc. Their size depends on their financial conditions. Some evening adult education institutions provide training in specific technical vocations.
City Evening Trade School, New York and Frank Trade School, Los-Angeles are such adult education institutions which along with training in vocational and commercial subjects provide technical education from ordinary machines to heavy machines like aero planes. Institutions run by Education Boards are controlled by local education officers.
Local, community, religious and commercial institutions, too, are influenced by the administrative and financial co-operation of these education officers. Adult education institutions conduct their programmes successfully on the basis of local financial co-operation and facilities.
(4) University help:
Adult education institutions fulfill their obligations at different levels. Here, higher education institutions and private universities provide higher education of graduate and post-graduate level. These institutions organise education of both short and long duration.
These adult education institutions of the university level receive grants from the Federal and State Governments from time to time. The number of graduate level institutions is more than other adult education institutions.
In 1992, there were about 800 adult-education institutions for higher education level which have been imparting education from general subjects to technical, industrial, vocational and specific ability subjects.
Extension projects have led to sufficient development in rural areas. Agriculture-Extension programmes are successfully conducted under the Agriculture-Extension projects. Agriculture schools and Agriculture-Learning-Extension centres are run by the Agriculture Department and they receive help and grant from the Federal and State Governments.
The Director of Extension Courses looks after the programmes of agriculture extension centres and schools. The Director of Extension Courses is considered to be the man who undertakes the responsibility of providing information on agricultural subjects to home life in rural areas.
(5) Finances of Private, Community and other Adult- Education Institutions:
Mostly it is seen that these institutions are organised on the basis of contributions, donations and gifts. Their programmes and projects are like those of public institutions, but the expenditure on education programmes is sanctioned by the members of the Board of Trustees whereas in public institutions the expenditure on adult education is sanctioned by the Congress (parliament).
If the funds sanctioned are insufficient, fees are charged by the institutions. In order to make the adult education programmes purposeful and successful, it is necessary to conduct them with combined effort of various agencies.
In 1950, National Education Association of U.S.A. and American Association of Adult Education jointly sponsored adult education programmes. As a result of this joint effort, both the institutions were united into the Adult Education Association of U.S.A now the papers and magazines published by this Association are called Adult Education Magazines. Such mergers and joint efforts have, brought in uniformity and coherence in the adult education organisation.
In U.S.A, many adult education institutions provide education through correspondence only for the sake of earning money. These community adult education institutions organise adult education based on different methods and techniques.
Harvard University Trade Union Fellowship programmes and Lusaville University conduct teaching programmes through radio and correspondence. Among the non-public institutions, New York University is the best in the adult education department.