The purpose of this study was to assess the current state of rural adults'rnparticipation in the planning of NFE at the selected CSTCs. Furthermore, itrnwas intended to identify some of the influential hindrances against the desiredrnlevel of participatory adult training program development at the centers.rnThe study was conducted at fifteen CSTCs that are found in WesternrnOromiya. A total number of 177 subjects were included in the study. Amongrnthese,18 female respondents, 45 facilitators, and 106 male adult trainees werernselected through availability, purposive, and simple random samplingrntechniques respectively. Moreover, 8 informants engaged in Adult and NFE atrnzonal and regional level were also included.rnTwo types of questionnaire and structured interview were used to collectrnthe data. In addition, observation and document analysis were made to obtainrnfurther information. The percentage, the Chi-square test, the correlation andrnone-way AN OVA were employed to analyse the data.rnThe study indicated that the level of target groups' participation in thernplanning of NFE and training was nominal. From the findings, the facilitatorsrnand adult trainees differed significantly in ranking learning priorities (r=0.26).rnSimilarly, the weak relationship between the adults enrollment and their actualrnlearning preference (r=0.26), witnessed that the courses were not need-based.rnThe one-way ANOVA administered between the sample zones indicated thatrnthe trainees had low expectations about the outcomes of the program. Finally,rnin the findings the situational, organization and management, structura1 politicalrnand target groups characteristics were identified to be the major factors thatrninfluenced both the groups (beneficiaries and benefactors) against the desiredrnlevel of participation.