india nonformal education

2008/ED/EFA/MRT/PI/52

Country profile prepared for the

Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2008

Education for All by 2015: will we make it?

India

Non-formal education

Amit Mitra

2007

This profile was commissioned by the Education for All Global Monitoring Report as background information to assist in drafting the 2008 report. It has not been edited by the team. The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and should not be attributed to the EFA Global Monitoring Report or to UNESCO. The profile can be cited with the following reference: “Country Profile commissioned for the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2008, Education for All by 2015: will we make it? For further information, please contact

I n for m a t ion on N a t ion a l Pr ovision in g of N on - For m a l Edu ca t ion : I n dia Re por t

By Am it M it r a

Th e Pr oce ss of I n for m a t ion Com pila t ion

ƒ Most of t he inform at ion on NFE in I ndia is available on t he int ernet and t he relevant w ebsit es used t o com pile t he inform at ion have been m ent ioned.

ƒ Apart from t he int ernet , a recent w orkshop on skill developm ent for t he inform al sect or ( February 12- 13t h) yielded a lot of inform at ion as m any key funct ionaries of t he NFE sect or at t ended.

ƒ Given t he volum e and t he confusing nat ure of t he dat a available, a lot of t he inform at ion provided have been som ew hat overlapping; how ever, t he t em plat e given has been adhered t o as m uch as possible.

A. Cou n t r y le ve l in for m a t ion on N FE

1. Concept ualisat ion of NFE in t he count ry

At t he out set , it w ould be relevant t o m ent ion t hat alt hough life- long learning has ent ered t he academ ic discourse, t he NFE sect or in I ndia st ill t ends t o equat e educat ion w it h basic lit eracy and num eracy w hile ot her skills are r elegat ed t o acquisit ion of t echnical skills as in a vocat ional educat ion program m e.

The basic concept ualisat ion of NFE is subst ant ially influenced by t he UN definit ions.

Form al educat ion in I ndia refers t o t he hierar chically st ruct ured educat ion syst em running from t he kindergart en t hrough t he universit y, including inst it ut ions of t echnical and professional educat ion and t raining.

‘I nform al educat ion’, also oft en t erm ed as ‘incident al educat ion’, is seen as t he unorganized educat ion acquired during t he ent ire life span of an individual t hrough int eract ion w it h ot her m em bers of t he societ y. Hence, inform al educat ion is in fact accept ed as a life long process t hrough which every indiv idual acquir es at t it udes, values, skills, and know ledge, t o a large ext ent condit ioned by his/ her environm ent .

ƒ N FE

NFE is concept ualised as an organized educat ional act ivit y, occurring in t he t radit ional fram ework of form al educat ion syst em . Form al educat ion is highly st ruct ured and rigid. I t is charact erized by uniform it y t o a large ext ent . The m aj or charact erist ic feat ure of NFE in I ndia is it s flexibilit y in t erm s of or ganizat ion, t im ing and durat ion of t eaching and learning, client ele groups, age group of learners, cont ent s, m et hodology of inst ruct ion and evaluat ion procedure. I t is t his charact erist ic feat ure of NFE, w hich has m ade it a crit ical m ode for reaching out t o t he hardest - t o- reach group of children and yout h, bot h in rural and urban I ndia, in order t o achieve t he m uch desired goal of educat ion for all [ UNESCO E 9 init iat ive, w ww .unesco.org/ educat ion/ e- 9/ init iat ive and K. Biswal, Nat ional I nst it ut e of Educat ional Planning and Adm inist rat ion, New Delhi, I ndia; in ANTRI EP ( bi- annual newslet t er) Vol 6, No 2; July- Decem ber2001] .

ƒ D e fin ing Lit e r a cy in t h e I n dia n Con t e x t

The Nat ional Lit eracy Mission ( NLM) , t he m ost im port ant st at e m echanism for im part ing NFE, defines lit eracy as acquiring t he skills of reading, w rit ing and arit hm et ic and t he

abilit y t o apply t hem t o one's day- t o- day life. Thus t he goal of t he NLM goes beyond t he

sim ple achievem ent of self- reliance in lit eracy and num eracy of funct ional lit eracy. The achievem ent of funct ional lit eracy im plies:

ƒ Self- reliance in t he 3 Rs.

ƒ Becom ing aware of t he causes of deprivat ion and m oving t ow ards am eliorat ion of t heir condit ion by part icipat ing in t he process of developm ent

ƒ Acquiring skills t o im prove t heir econom ics st at us and general w ell- being ƒ I m bibing values of nat ional int egrat ion, conservat ion of environm ent , wom en's

equalit y, and observance of sm all fam ily norm s.

ƒ The acquisit ion of funct ional lit eracy result s in em pow erm ent and a definit e

im provem ent in t he qualit y of life. I t helps t o ensure t he part icipat ion of t he m asses in sharing t he benefit s of t he inform at ion era ( ww w.nlm .nic.in) .

Povert y and equit y com prise m aj or dist inct ive elem ent s of t he concept ualisat ion. The 3 Rs have been charact erized in t he NLM t hus:

Reading

ƒ Reading aloud, wit h norm al accent , and at a speed of 30 words a m inut e, a sim ple passage on a t opic of int erest t o t he learner.

ƒ Silent reading at 35 w ords a m inut e, of sm all paragraphs in sim ple language. ƒ Reading wit h underst anding t he road signs, post ers, sim ple inst ruct ions and

newspapers/ broadsheet s designed for neo- lit er at es.

ƒ Abilit y t o follow sim ple w rit t en passages relat ing t o one's w orking and living environm ent

Writ ing

ƒ Copying, wit h underst anding, 7 words a m inut e. ƒ Taking dict at ion at 5 w ords a m inut e.

ƒ Writ ing w it h proper spacing and alignm ent .

ƒ Writ ing independent ly, short let t ers and applicat ions, and filling in form s of day- t o-day use t o t he learner

Num eracy

ƒ Reading and writ ing num erals 1- 100.

ƒ Doing sim ple calculat ions ( w it hout fract ion) involving addit ion and subt ract ion up t o 3 digit s, and m ult iplicat ion and division by 2 digit s.

ƒ Working know ledge of m et ric unit s w eight s, m easures currency, dist ance, area and unit of t im e.

ƒ Broad idea of proport ion and int erest s ( not involving fract ions) and t heir use in pract ical sit uat ions.

( ht t p: / / www .nlm .nic.in)

ƒ Life Sk ills Edu ca t ion

The concept of life skills educat ion as t he focus of all educat ional program m es and processes has been adopt ed by t he Minist ry of Hum an Resource Developm ent ( MHRD) , Governm ent of I ndia.

The Governm ent seeks t o follow an int egrat ed approach t o lit eracy. “ This m eans, t he Tot al lit eracy Cam paign and t he Post Lit eracy Program m e will operat e under one lit eracy Proj ect . This approach w ould enable t he enorm ous illit eracy problem t o be t ackled in a holist ic m anner. By t reat ing t he im part ing of funct ional lit eracy as a cont inuum rat her t han as a one of benefit for t he illit erat e person, progress of lit eracy effort s would be m ade goal-direct ed. Lit eracy cam paigns would cont inue t o run in t hose areas where t here are lar ge pools of residual illit eracy. At t he sam e t im e, for t hose who have crossed t he basic learning phase, program m es of consolidat ion, rem ediat ion, vocat ional skills, int egrat ion w it h life

skills ( em phasis added) and such ot her aspect s would be considered t he basic

unit ” ( ww w.educat ion.nic.in) .

The charact erizat ion of life sk ills is not available; but speaking t o MHRD officials; it appears t hat t hey follow t he st andard int ernat ional definit ions in relat ion t o NFE.

Som e NGO NFE providers ordered t he life skills different ly for t he I ndian cont ext in a 2001 UNESCO- support ed st udy conduct ed by an I ndian NGO, REMEDI A Trust , on life skills educat ion wit hin t he NFE sect or; w it h a view t o address issues relat ed t o drug abuse and HI V/ AI DS prevent ion.

According t o t he NGOs part icipat ing in t he st udy, `self awareness is t he first necessary life skill. By using t he Socrat ic Met hod, t he st udent s can be helped t o debat e t he issue of an individual’s place in a fam ily, a social group, a com m unit y, and a count ry. The young people can be m ade aware of t heir right s and dut ies and t heir responsibilit ies t o t hem selves and societ y. The need t o preser ve t heir physical and m ent al healt h has t o be realized. The t w in essence of self aw areness is t he life skill of em pat hy. Awareness of self should be count erbalanced by aw areness of ot hers, t heir different t hinking, feelings, desires and w ishes. This requires som e im aginat ion and fellow feeling. I t is part of a process of socializat ion and self cont rol. I ndian cult ure em phasizes em pat hy w it h hum an beings, anim als and t he nat ure around us. This skill has t o be cult ivat ed carefully, especially am ong st reet and slum children as t hey oft en exhibit an aggressive st ance in self prot ect ion.

Crit ical t hinking and creat ive t hinking is t he next pair of life sk ills. Training in t hinking is very rare in form al as well as non- form al classroom s in I ndia; and t oday as t he m edia sends out a const ant st ream of m essages, it is im port ant t o begin crit ical list ening and asking t he right quest ions. Training young people t o ask for cause- effect relat ionship and t hen for rat ional t hinking is essent ial, if t hey are going t o w it hst and pressure.

Decision m aking and problem solving com es som ewhat easier t o children who are on t he

st reet s rat her t han t o children who are prot ect ed by t he fam ily. Since, in I ndia, t he group rat her t he individual are given im port ance, t hese skills m ay be fost ered by debat es where individual differences can em erge and can be defended by logical argum ent s.

Coping w it h em ot ions and st ress first requires adm it t ing em ot ions and st ress. I n t he I ndian

societ y, em ot ions and st ress are regarded as sham eful and st oicism is encouraged. Therefore, t he discipline of st anding aloof from one’s em ot ions, recognising t hem and coping wit h t hem is an exercise t hat has t o be carefully t aught so t hat t he ext rem e posit ions of eit her denying em ot ions or t ot ally giving in t o em ot ions are avoided.

Effect ive com m unicat ion and int erpersonal relat ions skills are im port ant t o young people in

order t o m aint ain bot h t heir independence and t heir friendships. I n I ndia, friendship bet ween young people of t he sam e sex has been m ore highly regarded t han elsewhere. Even in I ndia, fam ily bonds, t hough st rong, need careful nurt ure. Drugs do not t em pt whose fam ily bonds are st rong. Fam ilies offer t he young prot ect ion from drugs and st ress. Two m aj or life skills necessary are spat ial orient at ion and orient at ion in t im e. The non-verbal spat ial skill is needed t o pract ice art s and craft s, which are part of t he I ndian way of

life. Most vocat ional program m es depend on spat ial skills. Orient at ion t o t im e helps t he young t o plan for t heir fut ure. I t has been discovered t hat t he disadvant aged do not have t his orient at ion, so t hey t end t o live in t he present and do not save or invest m oney t hey earn for t heir m orrow.

I f t he young who com e t o t he NFE cent res begin t o underst and t he t im e- line and t he cause and effect relat ionship, t hey w ill begin t o appreciat e how t heir effort of t oday w ill bear fruit t om orrow. Many young people do not have a clear not ion of how yest erday, t oday and t om orrow are linked. They have a vague not ion of weekdays and m ont hs but if t hey are going t o part icipat e in t he m odern w orld of t echnology, t hey m ust have orient at ion t o bot h space and t im e.

Considering t he large num ber of out - of- school children, an im port ant hum an resource in I ndia, it is necessary t o device ways of giving t hem t hese life skills t hat will help t hem handle adult responsibilit ies w it hout failure and st ress; m aking t hem t he st rengt hs of t heir com m unit ies’ ( ` Life skills in Non- Form al Educat ion: A Review’ by I ndian Nat ional Com m ission for Cooperat ion w it h UNESCO, Minist ry of Hum an Resource Developm ent , New Delhi and UNESCO, New Delhi; 2001. ht t p: / / www.ibe.unesco.org/ AI DS) .

It is, however, not known or reported how this set of characterisations are actualised in the

Indian setting.

ƒ Life lon g Le a r n in g

Lifelong learning is em phasised, at least in t heoret ical t erm s, in t he I ndian NFE cont ext . One of t he m ost int erest ing set of proposals w it h respect t o lifelong learning in I ndia w as advocat ed by Gandhi as I ndian independence approached. He saw t hat I ndian educat ion was bookish and European in out look - and t ot ally inappropriat e t o t he m aj orit y of people w ho w ere villagers. At t he sam e t im e Gandhi was com plet ely against t he idea t hat t here should be t wo t ypes of educat ion - urban and rural. He felt t hat t here was a great need for cit y dw ellers t o have m ore cont act w it h t he land.

The program m e t hat Gandhi proposed w as t hat m anual work should be t he basis for t hree or four hours per day and t hat t raining of t he m ind should st em from t his. The cent ral craft t hat he recom m ended w as t hat of spinning – first ly, because spinning wheels or charka w ere cheap, t radit ional and sim ple t o use. Secondly, because it was a good exam ple of 'bread labour' ( it had a useful social funct ion) . Thirdly, because spinning t hen led t o ot her act ivit ies, t hat could be perform ed wit h skill. He argued t hat m ent al powers of inquiry and research m ust find scope for developm ent t hrough craft . He also said t hat craft m ust be collect ive, wit h t eacher and st udent s j oining in service t o t he com m unit y. Vinoba Bhave, one of Gandhi's follow ers, gave t he follow ing list of t he essent ial ar eas of know ledge t hat all childr en should have: facilit y in speech, know ledge of great poem s by heart , discussion of t he ideas of Gandhian philosophy; t he basic concept s of science and t he laws of healt h, nut rit ion, hygiene, and cookery ( Sadler 1974: 84- 5) ( See Gandhi and inform al educat ion) . All t his form ed part of Gandhi's w ork around com bat ing unt ouchabilit y and cult ivat ing com m on reconciliat ion and village rehabilit at ion ( Woodcock 1972: 79) . ht t p: / / ww w.infed.org/ lifelonglearning/ sout h.ht m

The Gandhian approach had m ore of a philosophical m ooring t han a pract ical one. I n t he lat er decades, on a m ore pragm at ic level, t he NLM w as launched t o im part funct ional lit eracy t o non- lit erat es in t he count ry in t he age group of 15- 35 years in a t im e bound m anner. The NLM event ually aim s at ensuring t hat t he Tot al Lit eracy Cam paigns ( TLC) and t heir sequel, t he Post - Lit eracy Program m e ( PLP) , successfully m ove on t o Cont inuing Educat ion ( CE) , which provides a life- long learning and is responsible for t he creat ion of a learning societ y ( ht t p: / / w ww .pib.nic.in) .

Moreover, t hrough t he Open Universit ies and dist ance learning init iat ives, m echanism s are in place t o upgrade skills at regular int ervals and develop new com pet encies. People's needs of lifelong learning are const ant ly expanding. The Open Universit y Syst em was init iat ed in t he count ry t o augm ent opport unit ies for higher educat ion as an inst rum ent of dem ocrat ising educat ion and also t o m ake it a lifelong process. The first Open Universit y in t he count ry was est ablished by t he st at e governm ent of Andhra Pradesh in 1982. I n 1985, t he cent ral governm ent est ablished t he I ndira Gandhi Nat ional Open Universit y ( I GNOU) ( ht t p: / / www. educat ion.nic.in/ higedu) .

2 . Th e Le ga l Foun da t ion s of N FE Policie s

The I ndian Const it ut ion in it s 86t h _{Am endm ent Act , 2002 st ipulat es: Right t o Educat ion,}

“ The St at e shall provide free and com pulsory educat ion t o all children of t he age of six t o fourt een years in such m anner as t he St at e m ay, by law, det erm ine."

However, t he m ost im port ant official confirm at ion of t he need for expanding adult educat ion services in I ndia cam e in t he form of t he Nat ional Policy Resolut ion of 1968. The first im port ant init iat iv e in adult educat ion- - t he Nat ional Adult Educat ion Program ( NAEP) – was not est ablished unt il 1978. I t defined educat ion as lit eracy, funct ionalit y, and conscient isat ion, and alt hough it s st ruct ures were event ually est ablished, t hey did not alw ays funct ion effect ively.

I n 1980, t he program was renam ed ( it was now sim ply called t he AEP – Adult Educat ion Program m e) and expanded from a 10- m ont h t o a 3- year program wit h em phasis on healt h, fam ily planning, and funct ional program m es. Unfort unat ely, t he AEP was not ext rem ely successful eit her. The m ain t hrust of t he new Nat ional Program of Adult Educat ion ( est ablished in 1986) is like it s predecessors in t hat it s m ain t hrust is efficiency rat her t han equit y and it s general m ode is t echnocrat ic. w ww .eric.ed.gov/

The 1986 educat ion policy envisages a nat ional syst em which will t ake det erm ined act ion t o bring about universal prim ary educat ion and prom ot e t he spread of adult lit eracy , t hereby helping t o reduce inequalit ies. The educat ion syst em w ill be based on a nat ional curricular fram ework which cont ains a com m on core as well as com ponent s specific t o each region. The core will cut across subj ect areas and will be designed t o prom ot e such values as I ndia's com m on cult ural herit age, egalit arianism , dem ocracy and secularism , equalit y of t he sexes, prot ect ion of t he environm ent , observance of t he sm all fam ily norm , and t he scient ific approach. Pace- set t ing schools called Navodaya Vidyalayas w ill provide qualit y educat ion t o part icular ly gift ed children, irr espect ive of t heir fam ilies' m eans, and will prom ot e excellence as well as equit y and social j ust ice. The 1986 policy also em phasizes t he need t o raise t he level of invest m ent in educat ion from about 4 per cent of nat ional incom e in 1986 t o 6 per cent by 1990 and even higher t hereaft er ( A new policy for educat ion – I ndia; UNESCO Courier, February 1989, by Anil Bordia) .

I t has t o be not ed t hat educat ion in I ndia is on t he concurrent list , t hat is, it is t he j oint responsibilit y of bot h t he Cent re and t he St at es. This leads t o a considerable am ount of confusion and indeed passing t he buck in t he act ualisat ion of responsibilit ies in im part ing educat ion.

While I ndia is a signat ory t o t he EFA processes, in t erm s of legislat ions, t he educat ion processes are governed by Governm ent Orders ( GOs) passed from t im e t o t im e. The fram ework does not seem t o be j ust ifiable in t he sense t hat t he st at e cannot be t aken t o court for non- im plem ent at ion of t he educat ion policies.

3 . Gove r na n ce & Fin a n ce

The m aj or im plem ent ing bodies of t he NFE com e under t he Minist ry of Hum an Resource Developm ent ( MHRD) . The MoLE ( Minist ry of Labour and Em ploym ent ) is account able for

som e m odular vocat ional t raining courses. Moreover, according t o various officials, t here are som e 17 Minist ries and Depart m ent s, w hich claim t o provide NFE vocat ional t raining t hrough various schem es and program m es. I nform at ion on t his is not readily available.

ƒ Su pe r v ision

I n t erm s of supervision of NFE, t he Nat ional Policy on Educat ion, 1986, inst ruct s t he need for a subst ant ial st rengt hening of t he supervisory and adm inist rat iv e apparat us of NFE. Rat her t han depending on t he urban- orient ed bureaucrat ic m odel, em phasis is laid on t aking up well designed proj ect s of approxim at ely 100 NFE cent res, in a com pact and cont iguous area. Supervisors should be select ed from t he local com m unit y and if possible, an experienced and com m it t ed NFE I nst ruct or. These persons should be int ensively t rained and wherever possible, t here should be t he involvem ent of an organisat ion of cont inuing educat ion program m e. Village Educat ion Com m it t ees should be set up as envisaged in NPE/ POA ( Nat ional Policy on Educat ion / Program m e of Act ion) t o involve t he local com m unit y in t he program m e and also t o m ake t he NFE cent re in- charge account able t o it . The broad aim of t his schem e is t o effect ively involve volunt ary agencies, public t rust s, non- profit m aking com panies, social act ivist groups and t he rest , in t he im plem ent at ion of NFE program m e ( ht t p; / / www.edu.nic.in/ policy/ npe86- m od- 92) .

ƒ Fina n ce

The m ain source of finance of t he NFE proj ect s is t he st at e. The Nat ional Lit eracy Mission allocat es budget for t he NFE in t he 10t h Plan in Table 1:

Ta ble 1 : Financial Projections: Tenth Plan (2002-2007)

FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS: TENTH PLAN (2002-2007) [Rs. in 10 millions] SCHEME 2002-2003

2003-2004

2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 Total

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Literacy Campaings and

Operation Restoration 60.00 50.00 50.00 40.00 22.00 222.00 Continuing Education for

Neo-literates 333.00 373.50 294.50 314.50 214.50 1530.00 Jan Shikshan Sansthan 35.00 40.00 40.00 40.00 45.00 200.00 National Literacy Mission

Authority 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 10.00

*Population Education in AE 2.50 -- -- -- -- --

Directorate of Adult Edn. 19.50 22.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 102.00 National Institute of Adult

Education 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00

Support to Non-Governmental

Organisations 21.00 24.00 25.00 26.00 27.00 123.00

TOTAL 474.00 509.00 431.50 442.50 330.50 2188.00

* Budget provision for 2002-2003 made in DAE budget and from 2003-2004 to 2006-2007, it has been made under the scheme of Support to Non-Governmental Organisations

The schem at ic break- up is of t he 10t h Plan out lay for adult educat ion is given in Table 2: (Sou r ce for bot h Tables 1 & 2 is t he Nat ional Lit eracy Mission websit e;

Ta ble 2 : Sch e m a t ic br e a k u p of 1 0 t h pla n ou t la y for a du lt e du ca t ion fix e d by t he pla nn in g com m ission

SCH EM ATI C BREAK UP OF 1 0 TH PLAN OUTLAY FOR AD ULT ED UCATI ON

FI X ED BY TH E PLAN N I N G COM M I SSI ON [Rs. in 10 millions] S.N O. SCH EM ES Te n t h Pla n

Ou t la y

Alloca t ion for N E Re gion du r in g

1 0 t h Pla n 1 . Lit e r a cy Ca m pa ign s a n d Ope r a t ion

Re st or a t ion 9 5 .0 0 9 .5 0 2 . Con t in u ing Edu ca t ion 8 2 6 .0 0 9 5 .6 0 3 . Ja n Sh ik sha n Sa n st ha n 1 3 0 .0 0 1 3 .0 0 4 . N a t ion a l Lit e r a cy M ission Au t hor it y 1 0 .0 0 0 .0 0 5 . D ir e ct or a t e of Adu lt Edu ca t ion 7 0 .0 0 5 .0 0 6 . Popu la t ion Edu ca t ion in Adu lt Edu ca t ion 8 .0 0 0 .8 0 7 . N a t ion a l I n st it u t e of Adu lt Educa t ion 1 .0 0 0 .0 0 8 . Su ppor t t o N on - Gove r n m e n t a l Or ga n isa t ion s 1 1 0 .0 0 1 .1 0

TOTAL 1 2 5 0 .0 0 1 2 5 .0 0

N ot e :

The above financial out lays are of t he 10t h Five Year Plans. I nform at ion on how m uch has act ually been spent out of t he allot t ed am ount s is not readily available. Sim ilarly dat a com paring t he expendit ure on form al and non- form al educat ion is not available readily. According t o officials in t he educat ion sect or, t he t ot al allocat ion on t he educat ion sect or as a w hole is less t han 3 percent of t he GDP. The allocat ion for NFE com prises a sm all proport ion of t he t ot al educat ion budget , despit e t he im posit ion of an educat ion cess on incom e t ax for t he last few years. Recent ly, t he com pulsory educat ion bill w as held up on t he plea of insufficient funds. A lot of t alk is on regarding t he need for public- privat e part nerships t o m eet t his financial crunch.

4 . M a n a ge m e n t

ƒ M on it or in g

Monit oring of lit eracy cam paigns is one of t he im port ant act ivit ies of t he Direct orat e of Adult Educat ion.

I n order t o ensure reliabilit y as w ell as st eady flow of inform at ion in lit eracy cam paigns, t he St at e Direct orat e of Adult Educat ion ( SDAEs) have been asked t o m onit or lit eracy cam paigns. The Direct orat e has t aken st eps t o st rengt hen t he m onit oring syst em by involving St at e Direct or at es in regular m onit oring of t he progress of lit eracy cam paigns in each of t he dist rict s. Det ailed guidelines were evolved and issued by t he Direct orat e for st rengt hening of m onit oring syst em under t hese guidelines. SDAEs are required t o hold m ont hly m eet ing in which t he presence of Secret ary, Zilla Saksharat a Sam it is, Direct or, SRC and ot her resources persons has been m ade m andat ory. The St at e Direct or at es are now required t o consolidat e t he dist rict report s at t he st at e level and forward t he sam e t o t he Cent ral Direct orat e of Adult Educat ion, w hich is t o exam ine crit ically t hese report s and subm it feedback t o t he St at e Direct orat e.

The St at us Report s of Lit eracy and Post Lit eracy Cam paigns are brought out at t he end of each quart er.

ƒ Eva lua t ion

Wit h a view t o ensuring effect ive im plem ent at ion of t he lit eracy cam paigns t he NLM has now int roduced m ore m eaningful and rigorous evaluat ion syst em .

Each lit eracy cam paign is now required t o t ake up concurrent evaluat ion of t he ongoing program m e t hrough an out side agency nom inat ed by t he St at e Direct orat es of Adult Educat ion. The St at e Direct orat es have been asked t o em panel agencies for undert aking concurrent evaluat ion. Concurrent evaluat ion aim s at quick m id- t erm appraisal of a proj ect t o assess t he st rengt hs and weaknesses of an ongoing program m e and t o ident ify correct ives for im provem ent of t he program m e.

Guidelines on Concurrent Evaluat ion are evolved and circulat ed t o all lit eracy cam paign dist rict s and St at e Direct orat es ( educat ion.nic.in/ cd50years) .

The NLM had planned for a com prehensive and syst em at ic M&E, ant icipat ing dat a flows from learners groups on t he ground on t o t he dist rict headquart ers, t o t he st at es and t hen t o t he Cent re. I nt ernal m ont hly m onit oring w as also expect ed t o be com plem ent ed wit h form al int ernal evaluat ions when required. Ext ernal spot checks were also part of t he m onit oring plans. The hope was t o collect policy or ient ed feedback t hat could be collat ed for use at 6- m ont h int ervals. Concurrent Monit oring as well as Quick Appraisals were t o be conduct ed at all t he various lev els and locat ions of t he overall syst em . Dat a in t he Monit oring syst em was t o be used t o develop program evaluat ions in all t he aspect s of form at ive evaluat ion, evaluat ion of inst ruct ion, and out com e evaluat ion.

I n addit ion t o in- house m onit oring and evaluat ions, large- scope evaluat ions of TLC's w ere m andat ed t hat were t o be paid for by t he cent ral governm ent . At least t hree evaluat ions had t o be conduct ed in each TLC: ( 1) a quick appraisals at t he beginning; ( 2) a m id- t erm evaluat ion; and ( 3) an end- t erm evaluat ion. The list of quest ions t hat evaluat ions should find answ ers t o w ere also est ablished. The st at e governm ent s had t o cont ract t hese evaluat ions w it h out side expert s - - in universit y depart m ent s, specialized inst it ut es, or NGO's who have acquired a reput at ion for doing good evaluat ion work, and were on t he approved list . Norm at ive fram es for m et hodology, for t est ing achievem ent , for definit ion of success are also provided.

I n addit ion, an official of t he Minist ry of Hum an Resource Developm ent ( Depart m ent of Educat ion and lit eracy) of t he rank of a Deput y Secret ary ( Teacher Educat ion) has been assigned t o oversee all t he m at t ers pert aining t o t he schem e of Teacher Educat ion and of m onit oring t he TE schem e in t he count ry as a whole ( w ww .edu.nic.in) .

By 2002, som e 14 years aft er it s launch, t he NLM, using goal- orient ed, area- specific and t im e- bound st rat egies, had covered 574 of t he nat ion's 598 dist r ict s. As m any as 302 dist rict s were already offering cont inuing educat ion program s. Tot al enrolm ent had t ouched 125 m illion adult s, w it h som e 12 m illion volunt eers leading learners groups. As m any as 71.45 m illion had becom e lit erat e ( ht t p: / / w w w. unesdoc.unesco.org) .

ƒ Re se a r ch a n d Tr a in in g

The Nat ional I nst it ut e of Educat ion Planning and Adm inist rat ion ( NI EPA) , under t he MHRD is t he governm ent body conduct ing research and t raining in t he NFE sect or. The I nst it ut e com prises of t he Depart m ent of school and Non- Form al Educat ion, w hose prim e focus is on t he crit ical issues of school educat ion, non- form al and adult lit eracy providing st rong em pirical base in order t o cont ribut e m ore m eaningful input s for developing and im proving educat ion. The Depart m ent m aint ains close linkages w it h governm ent , non- governm ent and int ernat ional agencies w it h t he obj ect ive of rest ruct uring educat ional syst em at sub-nat ional, sub-nat ional and int ersub-nat ional levels ( w ww .educat ion.nic.in) .

Apart from NI EPA, civil societ y organisat ions lik e ASPBAE and Nirant ar are act ively involved in t raining and research in t he NFE sect or.

ƒ D e pa r t m e n t s of N FE a t t h e N a t iona l Un ive r sit ie s

The Universit y Grant s Com m ission ( UGC) has played a key role in shaping t he charact er of Universit y Adult Educat ion in I ndia since t he launching of t he Nat ional Adult Educat ion Program m e in 1978. During t he last t wo decades, t he UGC has not only form ulat ed a num ber of guidelines on adult cont inuing educat ion program m es, but has also provided one hundred per cent funding support t o universit ies t o im plem ent t he program m es. Today as m any as 93 universit ies have set up Adult Educat ion Depart m ent s and t hey have im plem ent ed a variet y of program m es ( ww w.ugc.ac.in) .

ƒ N a t ion a l fr a m e w or k for t h e t r a in in g of N FBE e du ca t or s a n d t r a in e r s

The hist ory of adult educat ion in I ndia shows t hat due em phasis and im port ance has been given t o t raining st rat egies, program m es and policies. Wit h t he launching of t he NLM, Proj ect Form ulat ion Guidelines were issued. These guidelines were supposed t o be im plem ent ed in operat ionalising t he Lit eracy and Adult Educat ion Program m e t hroughout t he count ry

At t he Nat ional Level Training Program m es are designed by t he NLM, Direct orat e of AE, and Managem ent inst it ut ions. At t he St at e Level t he Program m es are designed and organized by t he St at e Resource Cent res ( SRCs) , St at e Lit eracy Mission Aut horit ies ( SLMA) and ot her educat ional inst it ut ions. At t he Dist rict Level t he t raining program m es are designed and organized by SRCs, t he Dist rict I nst it ut ions for Educat ional Training ( DI ET) , The Zilla Saksharat a Sam it ies ( ZSS) , Jan Shikshan Sanst hans ( JSS) and t he NGOS, while at t he Com m unit y Level t he t raining program m e is run by t he ZSS, t he JSS, NGOs, t he Block Resource Cent res ( BRC) and t he Lit eracy Resource Cent res ( LRC) .

To conduct t raining program m es at different levels a pyram idal approach is adapt ed, wit h t he Core Group, t he Resource Persons, Mast er Trainers and last ly t he I m plem ent ers.

The t raining of core group and key resource persons is conduct ed by SRC. The Resource persons t rain t he m ast er t rainers and t he m ast er t rainers t rain t he I m plem ent ers.

The funds are provided t o dist rict agencies by Nat ional Lit eracy Mission ( NLM) t hrough t he St at e Lit eracy Mission Aut horit y ( SLMA) .

The t raining Program m e available for NFE facilit at ors have facilit y for Pre Service ( basic role and responsibilit ies) , I n service ( when new issues are int roduce t o program m e) and Short Course w hich is need based.

The program m es are organized in t he following m et hods: t he SRC t raining group t ravels t o t he dist rict s for t raining, t he Core group Conduct s Dist rict Resource Persons ( RP) t raining, t he RPs go t o Block for Mast er Trainers ( MT) t raining, and t he MTs go t o t he Panchayat s for Volunt eers ( VTs) t raining. For occasional courses, t hey go up t o t he dist rict / block or t o t he St at e level also.

The m ain cont ent s of t he t raining program m e are t o explain t he part icipant s t he Concept of Cont inuing Educat ion program m e and it s im port ance; t he est ablishm ent of CE Cent res ( CEC) and Nodal CECs; t he m anagem ent of CEC and Nodal CEC; t he program m es organized at t hese CECs; t he roles and dut ies of a facilit at or and t he st rengt hening of t he CEC and launching innovat ive program m es and skill developm ent program m es

The part icipant s of t he t raining program m es are select ed at Dist rict / Block/ Panchayat lev el by t he ZSS ( Dist rict Lit eracy Com m it t ees) w hile for t he Core group and t he ot her special t raining; SRC gives t he crit eria for select ion of t rainees.

The SRC assesses t he usefulness and im pact of t he t raining program m es t hrough it s Research and Developm ent Cell. The St at e also assesses by m onit oring and ext ernal evaluat ion.

B. I n for m a t ion a bou t m a j or t ype s of N FBE a ct ivit ie s

There are m any, m any providers of NFE program m es in I ndia. Apart from t he NGO init iat ives, including t he fam ous ones lik e t he BGVS and Nirant ar, t here are Cent ral Governm ent and St at e Governm ent I nit iat ives t oo. I t really would not be an exaggerat ion t o say t hat alm ost ev ery m inist ry except t he Defence, Hom e and Ext ernal Affairs runs som e kind of program m e or t he ot her. This is apart from t he TLC init iat ive under t he NLM. The m edium of inst ruct ion is t he St at e vernacular t hat is in t he dom inant language of t he st at e. Thus in Ut t ar Pradesh, Bihar or Jharkhand, it is Hindi and field observat ions show t hat t his creat es problem s for, say, t he et hnic indigenous groups like t he t ribals. Also, t he official language of t he st at e is t he st andard colloquial one and oft en not follow ed by t he speakers of part icular dialect s.

The t eaching- learning m et hods of t he program m es are generally hard t o com e by. For m ost program m es, ( t he except ion being t he TLCs of t he 1990s) t here are hardly any com prehensive evaluat ion report s available in t he public dom ain on t hese aspect s. Som et im es it is even difficult t o pin- point who runs a part icular program m e. The NI OS and t he NCVT ( Nat ional Council of Vocat ional Training) schem es are run by t he governm ent approved cent res ( I TI s) as w ell as NGOs like Don Bosco.

The pict ure get s m ore com plicat ed as one t ries t o com pile an indicat ive list of program m es t hat are supposed t o provide basic lit eracy plus, t hat is t ry t o im part life skills and/ or econom ic developm ent ( incom e- augm ent ing) skills. The bigger pict ure t hat has t o be kept

in m ind is t hat of t he low lit eracy rat es ( 65.4 percent overall, 75.4 percent m ale and 54.1 percent fem ale in 2001) as well as t he elem ent ary school ( class 1- 5) dropout rat e ( 31.4 percent in 2003- 4) in I ndia. Also, insofar as skill t raining ( t hat is im part ing lit eracies apar t from basic lit eracy and num eracy) is concerned, it has t o be kept in m ind t hat “ t he act ual num ber of persons expect ed t o ent er t he labour force is about 12.3 m illion persons per annum …t he num ber of t hose ent ering wit h som e degree of form al t raining is about 1.5 m illions” ( Mit ra, A p.159, “ Decent Work in t he I nform al Sect or: Sout h I ndia” in Madhu Singh ( ed) 2005, Meet ing Basic Needs in t he I nform al Sect or, Springer, The Net herlands) . The num bers of t hose who are possibly prov ided for, t he governm ent and NGO init iat ives put t oget her j ust don’t m at ch t he high dem and.

Against t his background, t he rest of t his sect ion gives a glim pse of som e of t he m aj or NFE init iat ives in t he count ry.

N FE Pr ogr a m m e s

1. One of t he m aj or governm ent init iat ives, t h e Tot a l Lit e r a cy Ca m pa ign ( TLC) run by t he Nat ional Lit eracy Mission ( NLM) , was st art ed in 1988- 89, init ially as an experim ent . I t was area specific, t im e bound, volunt eer based, out com e orient ed and had a m ass program m e charact er. The core act ivit ies of t he program m e were lit eracy and num eracy. The t arget ed age group was illit erat es in t he age of 15 t o 35. Aft er t he cam paign was over, t he neo- lit erat es m oved on t o Post - lit eracy Program m es ( PLP) and Cont inuing Educat ion ( CE) . The m inim um durat ion of t he TLC was 6 m ont hs wit h PLP and CE was 3 m ont hs. The program m e was im part ed in t he vernacular and t he t rainers w ere local volunt eers. I n t he init ial phases, lit eracy was t he only com pet ency focused on.

However, I n t he light of EFA goals and t arget s set up in t he Dakar Fram ework for Act ion and clear ly aligned t o social and gender equit y t hrust s, t he NLM, under t he aegis of MHRD in 2003, felt t he necessit y t o effect a cert ain re- focusing of it s st rat egies pursued since 1999. The EFA- NPA’s ( Nat ional Plan of Act ion) new “ t hrust areas” in lit eracy include achievem ent of 75 percent lit eracy level by 2007, a m ult i-pronged st rat egy t o address regional, social and gender dispar it ies in lit er acy, refocusing lit eracy, post - lit eracy and CE program m es t o increase and st rengt hen w om en’s part icipat ion, t o bridge gender gap in lit eracy, encouraging PL and CE dist rict s t o pay special at t ent ion on m obilizat ion and organizat ion of wom en int o neo- lit erat e and self- help groups ( SHGs) , special at t ent ion t o socially disadvant aged groups like Schedule Cast es / Scheduled Tribes and wom en.

2. Anot her governm ent - run program m e for UEE, w it h a view t o Alt ernat ive Schooling and alt ernat ive educat ion t o a sect ion of drop- out s, is t he Sa r va Sik sh a Abh iy a n ( SSA) , st art ed in 2001. The im port ant feat ures of SSA are Educat ion Guarant ee Schem e ( EGS) and Alt ernat ive and I nnovat ive Educat ion ( AI E) t hat seeks t o base it self on st r ong com m unit y involvem ent and m icro planning exercises. The EGS & AI E generally cover children in t he age group of 6- 14 years; however, for children wit h disabilit ies, it cov ers children up t o t he age of 18 years, com plying wit h t he provisions of Persons wit h Disabilit ies ( Equal Opport unit ies, Prot ect ion or Right s and full Part icipat ion) Act , 1995.

The SSA has laid down various st rat egies for adolescent girls t oo. They are sim ilar t o int ervent ions adopt ed under t he Mahila Sam akhya program m e and several ot her NGO run program m es in different st at es. These include Jagj agi cent res, short durat ion m ot ivat ional and lit eracy cent res w hich are resident ial in nat ure, from where t he girls could go on t o at t end longer durat ion resident ial cam ps. The focus of t hese m ot ivat ional/ preparat ory cent res, apart from induct ing t he girls int o t he form al syst em is also im part t o life orient ed and gender sensit ive educat ion. The

learners apart from reading and w rit ing get inform at ion regarding legal aid, healt h care, environm ent and wom en issues. The SSA also offers bridge Courses, rem edial courses, Back- t o- School Cam ps wit h a focus on m ainst ream ing out of school children int o regular schools.

3. Ja n Sh ik sh a n Sa n st h a n ( JSS), originally known as t he Shram ik Vidyapeet h, w as first est ablished in t he count ry in Worli, Mum bai in 1967.

JSS or t he I nst it ut e of People’s Educat ion w as init ially launched as a polyvalent or m ult i- facet ed adult educat ion program m e aim ed at im pr oving t he vocat ional skill and qualit y of life of workers and t heir fam ily m em bers. The program m e was evolved t o respond t o t he educat ional and vocat ional t raining needs of num erous groups of adult and young people living in urban and indust rial areas and for persons who had been m igrat ing from rural t o urban set t ings. Now w it h t he em ergence of m illions of neo- lit erat es t hrough t he t ot al lit eracy cam paigns and t he t ransform at ion t hat has t aken place in t he econom ic and social set up over t he years, t he role and scope of t hese polyvalent educat ional inst it ut es have w idened m anifold.

I n t he changed scenario, t he focus of JSS is now shift ing from indust rial w orkers in urban areas t o t he num erous neo- lit erat es and un- skilled and unem ployed yout h t hroughout t he count ry. The Sanst hans act as dist rict level resource support agencies especially in regard t o organizat ion of vocat ional t raining and skill developm ent program m es for t he neo- lit erat es and ot her t arget groups of t he cont inuing educat ion schem e. Originally t he JSS schem e was rest rict ed t o urban, sem i- urban and indust rial areas. Now, t he area of operat ion has been ext ended t o t he ent ire dist rict s including rural areas. As per t he revised guidelines issued by t he Governm ent of I ndia, at least 25 percent of t he beneficiaries of t he Jan Shikshan Sanst han should be neo- lit erat es.

The JSSs offer around 255 different t ypes of vocat ional courses - from candle and agarbat t i m aking, sewing and em broidery t o com put er courses.

Earlier, t he JSSs were set up under t he aegis of non- governm ent organizat ions, St at e Governm ent s and Universit ies. On t he ot her hand, JSS Delhi is direct ly under t he Governm ent of I ndia. How ever, as per t he revised guidelines issued by t he Governm ent of I ndia, t he Jan Shikshan Sanst hans w ill funct ion only under t he NGOs. Effort s are on way t o t ransfer all t he Jan Shikshan Sanst hans t o run under t he aegis of t he St at e Governm ent s t o t he NGO sect or.

I n t he year 2004- 5, t here were 157 inst it ut ions wit h t he t raining capacit y of 0.35 m illion, w it h 0.15 m illion t rained so far.

4. Est ablished in 1989 as Nat ional Open School ( NOS) by MHRD, Governm ent of I ndia, t he N a t iona l I n st it u t e of Ope n Schoolin g ( N I OS) was renam ed in July 2002 and is t he largest Open Schooling Syst em in t he World Providing Alt ernat ive Schooling Syst em .

The NI OS has 1805 academ ic st udy cent res and 917 Vocat ional st udy cent res t hroughout t he count ry wit h 249 Cent res for Open Basic Educat ion. The enrolm ent for t he last 5 years has been 1.4 m illion st udent s.

The NI OS offers open vocat ional educat ion, package courses, six m ont hs and one year vocat ional courses, life enrichm ent courses, st and- alone vocat ional subj ect s, as w ell as vocat ional subj ect s in com binat ion wit h academ ic subj ect s.

The broad vocat ional areas com prise subj ect s ranging from agr icult ure, Com put er Science and I T, Engineering and Technology, Teacher Training t o Business and Com m erce as well as Healt h and Para- Medical courses.

The NI OS curriculum can be largely placed in t he cat egories of equivalency or alt ernat ive schooling, life skill t raining, as well as t raining in incom e generat ion program m es.

The NI OS uses t he exist ing infrast ruct ure of Part ner I nst it ut ions, like t he Governm ent al I nst it ut ions, I ndust rial Training I nst it ut ions ( I TI s) , t he NGOs, and Privat e I nst it ut ions called Accredit ed Vocat ional I nst it ut es ( AVI s) .

Pot ent ial Beneficiar ies of t his schem e are t he rural poor and urban slum dw ellers, t he socially and econom ically deprived, t he disabled or different ly abled, unem ployed yout h and adult s, em ployed and part ially em ployed workers, form al school dropout s, wom en and girls, m igrat ory populat ion, hill and desert dwellers, life long learners, hobby skill learners and open schooling for all learners.

Som e of t he courses, like Com put er Science and I T, Engineering and Technology Com put er Science and I T and Engineering and Technology run by t he NI OS are t aught in English.

The educat ors / t rainers of t he NI OS- run courses are personnel t rained in t he concerned subj ect s from accredit ed inst it ut ions.

5. Skill Developm ent based on M odula r Em ploya ble Sk ills ( M ES) – Very few opport unit ies for skill developm ent are available for t he out of school yout h and exist ing workers, especially in t he inform al sect or. Most of t he exist ing skill developm ent program m es are long t erm in nat ure. Considering t heir educat ional, social and econom ical background, it was concluded t hat t he poor and less educat ed persons can not afford long t erm t raining program m es due t o higher ent ry qualificat ions and opport unit y cost .

Consequent ly, a new fram ework for Skill Developm ent for t he inform al sect or has been evolved by t he DGET ( Direct orat e General of Em ploym ent and Training – Minist ry of Labour and Em ploym ent ) t o address t he above m ent ioned problem s. MES would benefit different t arget groups like w orkers seeking cert ificat ion of t heir skills acquired inform ally; w orkers and I TI graduat es seeking skill upgradat ion, early school drop- out s and t he unem ployed.

The curricula has been developed ranging from agricult ure t o food processing and banking and account ing.

The curriculum is approved by t he NCVT ( Nat ional Council of Vocat ional Training) and t he t im e t aken t o gain t he qualificat ion w ill vary according t o t he pat hw ay t aken and w ill be kept very flexible for persons wit h different backgrounds and experience.

6. The governm ent of I ndia runs va r iou s N FE sch e m e s for adult s in t he realm of

in com e ge n e r a t ion. There are about 17 governm ent al depart m ent s and m inist ries offering t raining in various areas. Som e of t he schem es are:

D W CRA: I nt roduced in 1982- 83, as a sub- schem e of t he I nt egrat ed Rural

Developm ent program m e, DWCRA aim s at developing incom e- generat ing skills and prom ot ing act ivit ies am ong poor w om en in rural areas, subsequent ly im proving

t heir social and econom ic st at us. The basic unit under t his schem e is a group of 10-15 poor wom en ( t hough t he size m ay be sm aller in different areas) .

The program m e is im plem ent ed by t he Dist rict Rural Developm ent Agencies. Any econom ic act ivit y suit ed t o groups of w om en in line w it h t heir skills, apt it udes and local condit ions can be t aken up under t he schem e. NGOs are also involved in t he im plem ent at ion of t he program m e and are support ed by t he Council for Advancem ent of People's Act ion and Rural Technology ( CAPART) , an organisat ion set up under t he Minist ry of Rural Areas and Em ploym ent t o coordinat e t he developm ent w ork of volunt ary agencies in I ndia. However, due t o poor backward and forward linkages, lack of spont aneous financial support and select ion of non-viable act iv it ies, several groups of beneficiaries are no longer support ed.

TRYSEM: Est ablished in 1979, t he Training of Rural Yout h for Self- Em ploym ent is

aim ed at developing t echnical and ent repreneurial skills am ong rural yout h from fam ilies below t he povert y line aged from 18 t o 35 years, t o enable t hem t o t ake up incom e- generat ing act ivit ies. Training given under t his schem e is based on t he needs of t he area, and is provided at such t raining cent res as t he I TI s, com m unit y polyt echnics, ext ension t raining cent res, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, khadi and village indust ry boards, st at e inst it ut es of rural developm ent or inst it ut ions run by volunt ary agencies. Training under t his schem e is norm ally for six m ont hs, during w hich t he t rainees receive a st ipend. Besides, financial assist ance is also provided t o t he t raining inst it ut ions and m ast er craft sm en. However t he TRYSEM has a weak link w it h t he overall st rat egy of self- em ploym ent . The t raining is generally not relat ed t o t he capacit y or apt it udes of t he t rainees and unrelat ed t o t he dem and for a part icular skill.

Pr im e M in ist e r 's Roz ga r Yoj a na : Launched in Oct ober 1993, t he Prim e Minist er's

Rozgar Yoj ana ( PMRY) aim s at providing w age em ploym ent and self- em ploym ent t o educat ed unem ployed yout hs aged bet ween 18 and 35. The schem e envisages com pulsory t raining for ent repreneurs for a period of 15 t o 20 working days for t he indust rial sect or aft er a loan is approved. The schem e is t arget ed t o provide assist ance t o 220,000 educat ed yout hs during t he year 1999- 2000. An evaluat ion of t his program m e ( I AMR, 2000) revealed t hat it generat es em ploy m ent for about 2.4 persons per unit . The em ploym ent generat ion pot ent ial is found t o be m ore in t he case of indust rial unit s ( 3.5 persons) t han in t he service ( 2.2 persons) and t rade ( 1.9 persons) sect ors. Training has been useful for an overwhelm ing m aj orit y of t he beneficiaries ( 81 per cent ) . Many m ore yout h seek assist ance under t he PMRY. However, alm ost half of t he t ot al applicat ions are r ej ect ed by t he t askforce com m it t ees of t he Dist rict I ndust ry Cent res ( DI Cs) . The m ost im port ant reason behind t hese rej ect ions is inadequat e t echnical skills. Therefore, t he need for m ore t raining facilit ies is being increasingly felt by t he yout h before set t ing out on t heir vent ures. Also t here is a lack of publicit y cam paigns on t he various aspect s of PMRY like eligibilit y, fund availabilit y, skills requir ed and m arket s. As a result , t here is lit t le awareness am ong t he yout h about t he schem e.

Apart from t he schem es m ent ioned above, t here are var ious ot her schem es which offer inform al apprent iceship as well as on- t he- j ob t raining by various m inist ries. They are:

ƒ Vocat ional Training in Krishi Vigyan Kendras – Farm Science Cent re. ƒ Vocat ional Training in Khadi and Village I ndust ries

ƒ Swarn Jayant i Gram Swaroj gar Yoj na ƒ St ree Shakt i

ƒ Swarn Jayant i Sahari Roj gar Yoj na

ƒ Test ing and cert ificat ion of skills of w orkers engaged in t he I nform al sect or ( DGET) and m any m ore.

I nform at ion on t hese schem es and program m es are hard t o com e by as t here is no com prehensive/ syst em at ic docum ent at ion cent rally available.

Apart from t he purely governm ent set up and run NFE schem es, t here are som e init iat ives run by t he NGOs. Forem ost am ong t hem is t he BGVS.

The im pet us t o init iat e a m ass act ion for renew al w as propelled from such an underst anding. A volunt ary agency, Bha r a t Gy a n V igya n Sa m it i ( BGV S) w as form ed t o init iat e a m ass act ion for renewal, out of m any volunt ary groups working under t he loose um brella of t he 'People's Science Net w ork' ( PSN) .

BGVS considers lit eracy as a possible st art ing point for social t ransform at ion, and a m eans for a crusade against condit ions t hat m aint ain illit eracy, a crusade against com m unalism , a crusade against dependence and oppression. The cent ral slogan of BGVS has been " science and lit eracy for nat ional int egrat ion and self- reliance" . Through t his, it seeks t o capt ure t he " em ot ional" support of t he people. The BGVS's involvem ent wit h t he TLCs, which t ook off in various dist rict s, was varied. I t s role ranged from m ot ivat ion t o proj ect for m ulat ion and init iat ion, act ively and in a part icipat or y fashion, depending on t he requirem ent s of t he part icular sit uat ion. Looking at how a broad dem ocrat ic m ovem ent , w it h t he part icipat ion of t he st at e m achinery, can reach out t o m illions of people and overcom e t radit ional hurdles, BGVS, in collabor at ion wit h various PSN groups, has been explor ing furt her areas of developm ent and possibilit ies for int ervent ion. I t is int ervening in areas such as universalisat ion of elem ent ary educat ion, science popularisat ion, part icipat ory wat ershed developm ent program m es, rural ent erprise program m es, library and cult ural m ovem ent s, healt h, environm ent prot ect ion and sust ainable m odels of developm ent .

N ir a n t a r, a resource cent re for gender and educat ion, w as set up in 1993. Over t he past decade Nirant ar has worked t owards fulfilling it s m andat e of em pow ering w om en t hrough educat ion – by enabling access t o inform at ion, prom ot ing lit eracy and engendering educat ion processes. They do t his t hrough direct field int ervent ions, t raining and capacit y building, creat ing educat ional resources and research and advocacy. Nirant ar is act ively involved wit h t he wom en’s m ovem ent and ot her dem ocrat ic right s m ovem ent s and bring concerns cent ral t o t hose m ovem ent s int o t heir educat ional w ork.

I t m ust be point ed out t hat t here are innum erable NGOs providing NFE using governm ent as w ell as t heir ow n m odels all over t he count ry. Till dat e t here exist s no com prehensive m apping of t hese init iat ives.

The t raining of core group and key resource persons is conduct ed by SRC. The Resource persons t rain t he m ast er t rainers and t he m ast er t rainers t rain t he I m plem ent ers.

The funds are provided t o dist rict agencies by Nat ional Lit eracy Mission ( NLM) t hrough t he St at e Lit eracy Mission Aut horit y ( SLMA) .

The t raining Program m e available for NFE facilit at ors have facilit y for Pre Service ( basic role and responsibilit ies) , I n service ( when new issues are int roduce t o program m e) and Short Course w hich is need based.

The program m es are organized in t he following m et hods: t he SRC t raining group t ravels t o t he dist rict s for t raining, t he Core group Conduct s Dist rict Resource Persons ( RP) t raining, t he RPs go t o Block for Mast er Trainers ( MT) t raining, and t he MTs go t o t he Panchayat s for Volunt eers ( VTs) t raining. For occasional courses, t hey go up t o t he dist rict / block or t o t he St at e level also.

The m ain cont ent s of t he t raining program m e are t o explain t he part icipant s t he Concept of Cont inuing Educat ion program m e and it s im port ance; t he est ablishm ent of CE Cent res ( CEC) and Nodal CECs; t he m anagem ent of CEC and Nodal CEC; t he program m es organized at t hese CECs; t he roles and dut ies of a facilit at or and t he st rengt hening of t he CEC and launching innovat ive program m es and skill developm ent program m es

The part icipant s of t he t raining program m es are select ed at Dist rict / Block/ Panchayat lev el by t he ZSS ( Dist rict Lit eracy Com m it t ees) w hile for t he Core group and t he ot her special t raining; SRC gives t he crit eria for select ion of t rainees.

The SRC assesses t he usefulness and im pact of t he t raining program m es t hrough it s Research and Developm ent Cell. The St at e also assesses by m onit oring and ext ernal evaluat ion.

B. I n for m a t ion a bou t m a j or t ype s of N FBE a ct ivit ie s

There are m any, m any providers of NFE program m es in I ndia. Apart from t he NGO init iat ives, including t he fam ous ones lik e t he BGVS and Nirant ar, t here are Cent ral Governm ent and St at e Governm ent I nit iat ives t oo. I t really would not be an exaggerat ion t o say t hat alm ost ev ery m inist ry except t he Defence, Hom e and Ext ernal Affairs runs som e kind of program m e or t he ot her. This is apart from t he TLC init iat ive under t he NLM. The m edium of inst ruct ion is t he St at e vernacular t hat is in t he dom inant language of t he st at e. Thus in Ut t ar Pradesh, Bihar or Jharkhand, it is Hindi and field observat ions show t hat t his creat es problem s for, say, t he et hnic indigenous groups like t he t ribals. Also, t he official language of t he st at e is t he st andard colloquial one and oft en not follow ed by t he speakers of part icular dialect s.

The t eaching- learning m et hods of t he program m es are generally hard t o com e by. For m ost program m es, ( t he except ion being t he TLCs of t he 1990s) t here are hardly any com prehensive evaluat ion report s available in t he public dom ain on t hese aspect s. Som et im es it is even difficult t o pin- point who runs a part icular program m e. The NI OS and t he NCVT ( Nat ional Council of Vocat ional Training) schem es are run by t he governm ent approved cent res ( I TI s) as w ell as NGOs like Don Bosco.

The pict ure get s m ore com plicat ed as one t ries t o com pile an indicat ive list of program m es t hat are supposed t o provide basic lit eracy plus, t hat is t ry t o im part life skills and/ or econom ic developm ent ( incom e- augm ent ing) skills. The bigger pict ure t hat has t o be kept

in m ind is t hat of t he low lit eracy rat es ( 65.4 percent overall, 75.4 percent m ale and 54.1 percent fem ale in 2001) as well as t he elem ent ary school ( class 1- 5) dropout rat e ( 31.4 percent in 2003- 4) in I ndia. Also, insofar as skill t raining ( t hat is im part ing lit eracies apar t from basic lit eracy and num eracy) is concerned, it has t o be kept in m ind t hat “ t he act ual num ber of persons expect ed t o ent er t he labour force is about 12.3 m illion persons per annum …t he num ber of t hose ent ering wit h som e degree of form al t raining is about 1.5 m illions” ( Mit ra, A p.159, “ Decent Work in t he I nform al Sect or: Sout h I ndia” in Madhu Singh ( ed) 2005, Meet ing Basic Needs in t he I nform al Sect or, Springer, The Net herlands) . The num bers of t hose who are possibly prov ided for, t he governm ent and NGO init iat ives put t oget her j ust don’t m at ch t he high dem and.

Against t his background, t he rest of t his sect ion gives a glim pse of som e of t he m aj or NFE init iat ives in t he count ry.

N FE Pr ogr a m m e s

1. One of t he m aj or governm ent init iat ives, t h e Tot a l Lit e r a cy Ca m pa ign ( TLC) run by t he Nat ional Lit eracy Mission ( NLM) , was st art ed in 1988- 89, init ially as an experim ent . I t was area specific, t im e bound, volunt eer based, out com e orient ed and had a m ass program m e charact er. The core act ivit ies of t he program m e were lit eracy and num eracy. The t arget ed age group was illit erat es in t he age of 15 t o 35. Aft er t he cam paign was over, t he neo- lit erat es m oved on t o Post - lit eracy Program m es ( PLP) and Cont inuing Educat ion ( CE) . The m inim um durat ion of t he TLC was 6 m ont hs wit h PLP and CE was 3 m ont hs. The program m e was im part ed in t he vernacular and t he t rainers w ere local volunt eers. I n t he init ial phases, lit eracy was t he only com pet ency focused on.

However, I n t he light of EFA goals and t arget s set up in t he Dakar Fram ework for Act ion and clear ly aligned t o social and gender equit y t hrust s, t he NLM, under t he aegis of MHRD in 2003, felt t he necessit y t o effect a cert ain re- focusing of it s st rat egies pursued since 1999. The EFA- NPA’s ( Nat ional Plan of Act ion) new “ t hrust areas” in lit eracy include achievem ent of 75 percent lit eracy level by 2007, a m ult i-pronged st rat egy t o address regional, social and gender dispar it ies in lit er acy, refocusing lit eracy, post - lit eracy and CE program m es t o increase and st rengt hen w om en’s part icipat ion, t o bridge gender gap in lit eracy, encouraging PL and CE dist rict s t o pay special at t ent ion on m obilizat ion and organizat ion of wom en int o neo- lit erat e and self- help groups ( SHGs) , special at t ent ion t o socially disadvant aged groups like Schedule Cast es / Scheduled Tribes and wom en.

2. Anot her governm ent - run program m e for UEE, w it h a view t o Alt ernat ive Schooling and alt ernat ive educat ion t o a sect ion of drop- out s, is t he Sa r va Sik sh a Abh iy a n ( SSA) , st art ed in 2001. The im port ant feat ures of SSA are Educat ion Guarant ee Schem e ( EGS) and Alt ernat ive and I nnovat ive Educat ion ( AI E) t hat seeks t o base it self on st r ong com m unit y involvem ent and m icro planning exercises. The EGS & AI E generally cover children in t he age group of 6- 14 years; however, for children wit h disabilit ies, it cov ers children up t o t he age of 18 years, com plying wit h t he provisions of Persons wit h Disabilit ies ( Equal Opport unit ies, Prot ect ion or Right s and full Part icipat ion) Act , 1995.

The SSA has laid down various st rat egies for adolescent girls t oo. They are sim ilar t o int ervent ions adopt ed under t he Mahila Sam akhya program m e and several ot her NGO run program m es in different st at es. These include Jagj agi cent res, short durat ion m ot ivat ional and lit eracy cent res w hich are resident ial in nat ure, from where t he girls could go on t o at t end longer durat ion resident ial cam ps. The focus of t hese m ot ivat ional/ preparat ory cent res, apart from induct ing t he girls int o t he form al syst em is also im part t o life orient ed and gender sensit ive educat ion. The

learners apart from reading and w rit ing get inform at ion regarding legal aid, healt h care, environm ent and wom en issues. The SSA also offers bridge Courses, rem edial courses, Back- t o- School Cam ps wit h a focus on m ainst ream ing out of school children int o regular schools.

3. Ja n Sh ik sh a n Sa n st h a n ( JSS), originally known as t he Shram ik Vidyapeet h, w as first est ablished in t he count ry in Worli, Mum bai in 1967.

JSS or t he I nst it ut e of People’s Educat ion w as init ially launched as a polyvalent or m ult i- facet ed adult educat ion program m e aim ed at im pr oving t he vocat ional skill and qualit y of life of workers and t heir fam ily m em bers. The program m e was evolved t o respond t o t he educat ional and vocat ional t raining needs of num erous groups of adult and young people living in urban and indust rial areas and for persons who had been m igrat ing from rural t o urban set t ings. Now w it h t he em ergence of m illions of neo- lit erat es t hrough t he t ot al lit eracy cam paigns and t he t ransform at ion t hat has t aken place in t he econom ic and social set up over t he years, t he role and scope of t hese polyvalent educat ional inst it ut es have w idened m anifold.

I n t he changed scenario, t he focus of JSS is now shift ing from indust rial w orkers in urban areas t o t he num erous neo- lit erat es and un- skilled and unem ployed yout h t hroughout t he count ry. The Sanst hans act as dist rict level resource support agencies especially in regard t o organizat ion of vocat ional t raining and skill developm ent program m es for t he neo- lit erat es and ot her t arget groups of t he cont inuing educat ion schem e. Originally t he JSS schem e was rest rict ed t o urban, sem i- urban and indust rial areas. Now, t he area of operat ion has been ext ended t o t he ent ire dist rict s including rural areas. As per t he revised guidelines issued by t he Governm ent of I ndia, at least 25 percent of t he beneficiaries of t he Jan Shikshan Sanst han should be neo- lit erat es.

The JSSs offer around 255 different t ypes of vocat ional courses - from candle and agarbat t i m aking, sewing and em broidery t o com put er courses.

Earlier, t he JSSs were set up under t he aegis of non- governm ent organizat ions, St at e Governm ent s and Universit ies. On t he ot her hand, JSS Delhi is direct ly under t he Governm ent of I ndia. How ever, as per t he revised guidelines issued by t he Governm ent of I ndia, t he Jan Shikshan Sanst hans w ill funct ion only under t he NGOs. Effort s are on way t o t ransfer all t he Jan Shikshan Sanst hans t o run under t he aegis of t he St at e Governm ent s t o t he NGO sect or.

I n t he year 2004- 5, t here were 157 inst it ut ions wit h t he t raining capacit y of 0.35 m illion, w it h 0.15 m illion t rained so far.

4. Est ablished in 1989 as Nat ional Open School ( NOS) by MHRD, Governm ent of I ndia, t he N a t iona l I n st it u t e of Ope n Schoolin g ( N I OS) was renam ed in July 2002 and is t he largest Open Schooling Syst em in t he World Providing Alt ernat ive Schooling Syst em .

The NI OS has 1805 academ ic st udy cent res and 917 Vocat ional st udy cent res t hroughout t he count ry wit h 249 Cent res for Open Basic Educat ion. The enrolm ent for t he last 5 years has been 1.4 m illion st udent s.

The NI OS offers open vocat ional educat ion, package courses, six m ont hs and one year vocat ional courses, life enrichm ent courses, st and- alone vocat ional subj ect s, as w ell as vocat ional subj ect s in com binat ion wit h academ ic subj ect s.

The broad vocat ional areas com prise subj ect s ranging from agr icult ure, Com put er Science and I T, Engineering and Technology, Teacher Training t o Business and Com m erce as well as Healt h and Para- Medical courses.

The NI OS curriculum can be largely placed in t he cat egories of equivalency or alt ernat ive schooling, life skill t raining, as well as t raining in incom e generat ion program m es.

The NI OS uses t he exist ing infrast ruct ure of Part ner I nst it ut ions, like t he Governm ent al I nst it ut ions, I ndust rial Training I nst it ut ions ( I TI s) , t he NGOs, and Privat e I nst it ut ions called Accredit ed Vocat ional I nst it ut es ( AVI s) .

Pot ent ial Beneficiar ies of t his schem e are t he rural poor and urban slum dw ellers, t he socially and econom ically deprived, t he disabled or different ly abled, unem ployed yout h and adult s, em ployed and part ially em ployed workers, form al school dropout s, wom en and girls, m igrat ory populat ion, hill and desert dwellers, life long learners, hobby skill learners and open schooling for all learners.

Som e of t he courses, like Com put er Science and I T, Engineering and Technology Com put er Science and I T and Engineering and Technology run by t he NI OS are t aught in English.

The educat ors / t rainers of t he NI OS- run courses are personnel t rained in t he concerned subj ect s from accredit ed inst it ut ions.

5. Skill Developm ent based on M odula r Em ploya ble Sk ills ( M ES) – Very few opport unit ies for skill developm ent are available for t he out of school yout h and exist ing workers, especially in t he inform al sect or. Most of t he exist ing skill developm ent program m es are long t erm in nat ure. Considering t heir educat ional, social and econom ical background, it was concluded t hat t he poor and less educat ed persons can not afford long t erm t raining program m es due t o higher ent ry qualificat ions and opport unit y cost .

Consequent ly, a new fram ework for Skill Developm ent for t he inform al sect or has been evolved by t he DGET ( Direct orat e General of Em ploym ent and Training – Minist ry of Labour and Em ploym ent ) t o address t he above m ent ioned problem s. MES would benefit different t arget groups like w orkers seeking cert ificat ion of t heir skills acquired inform ally; w orkers and I TI graduat es seeking skill upgradat ion, early school drop- out s and t he unem ployed.

The curricula has been developed ranging from agricult ure t o food processing and banking and account ing.

The curriculum is approved by t he NCVT ( Nat ional Council of Vocat ional Training) and t he t im e t aken t o gain t he qualificat ion w ill vary according t o t he pat hw ay t aken and w ill be kept very flexible for persons wit h different backgrounds and experience.

6. The governm ent of I ndia runs va r iou s N FE sch e m e s for adult s in t he realm of in com e ge n e r a t ion. There are about 17 governm ent al depart m ent s and m inist ries offering t raining in various areas. Som e of t he schem es are:

D W CRA: I nt roduced in 1982- 83, as a sub- schem e of t he I nt egrat ed Rural Developm ent program m e, DWCRA aim s at developing incom e- generat ing skills and prom ot ing act ivit ies am ong poor w om en in rural areas, subsequent ly im proving

t heir social and econom ic st at us. The basic unit under t his schem e is a group of 10-15 poor wom en ( t hough t he size m ay be sm aller in different areas) .

The program m e is im plem ent ed by t he Dist rict Rural Developm ent Agencies. Any econom ic act ivit y suit ed t o groups of w om en in line w it h t heir skills, apt it udes and local condit ions can be t aken up under t he schem e. NGOs are also involved in t he im plem ent at ion of t he program m e and are support ed by t he Council for Advancem ent of People's Act ion and Rural Technology ( CAPART) , an organisat ion set up under t he Minist ry of Rural Areas and Em ploym ent t o coordinat e t he developm ent w ork of volunt ary agencies in I ndia. However, due t o poor backward and forward linkages, lack of spont aneous financial support and select ion of non-viable act iv it ies, several groups of beneficiaries are no longer support ed.

TRYSEM: Est ablished in 1979, t he Training of Rural Yout h for Self- Em ploym ent is aim ed at developing t echnical and ent repreneurial skills am ong rural yout h from fam ilies below t he povert y line aged from 18 t o 35 years, t o enable t hem t o t ake up incom e- generat ing act ivit ies. Training given under t his schem e is based on t he needs of t he area, and is provided at such t raining cent res as t he I TI s, com m unit y polyt echnics, ext ension t raining cent res, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, khadi and village indust ry boards, st at e inst it ut es of rural developm ent or inst it ut ions run by volunt ary agencies. Training under t his schem e is norm ally for six m ont hs, during w hich t he t rainees receive a st ipend. Besides, financial assist ance is also provided t o t he t raining inst it ut ions and m ast er craft sm en. However t he TRYSEM has a weak link w it h t he overall st rat egy of self- em ploym ent . The t raining is generally not relat ed t o t he capacit y or apt it udes of t he t rainees and unrelat ed t o t he dem and for a part icular skill.

Pr im e M in ist e r 's Roz ga r Yoj a na : Launched in Oct ober 1993, t he Prim e Minist er's Rozgar Yoj ana ( PMRY) aim s at providing w age em ploym ent and self- em ploym ent t o educat ed unem ployed yout hs aged bet ween 18 and 35. The schem e envisages com pulsory t raining for ent repreneurs for a period of 15 t o 20 working days for t he indust rial sect or aft er a loan is approved. The schem e is t arget ed t o provide assist ance t o 220,000 educat ed yout hs during t he year 1999- 2000. An evaluat ion of t his program m e ( I AMR, 2000) revealed t hat it generat es em ploy m ent for about 2.4 persons per unit . The em ploym ent generat ion pot ent ial is found t o be m ore in t he case of indust rial unit s ( 3.5 persons) t han in t he service ( 2.2 persons) and t rade ( 1.9 persons) sect ors. Training has been useful for an overwhelm ing m aj orit y of t he beneficiaries ( 81 per cent ) . Many m ore yout h seek assist ance under t he PMRY. However, alm ost half of t he t ot al applicat ions are r ej ect ed by t he t askforce com m it t ees of t he Dist rict I ndust ry Cent res ( DI Cs) . The m ost im port ant reason behind t hese rej ect ions is inadequat e t echnical skills. Therefore, t he need for m ore t raining facilit ies is being increasingly felt by t he yout h before set t ing out on t heir vent ures. Also t here is a lack of publicit y cam paigns on t he various aspect s of PMRY like eligibilit y, fund availabilit y, skills requir ed and m arket s. As a result , t here is lit t le awareness am ong t he yout h about t he schem e.

Apart from t he schem es m ent ioned above, t here are var ious ot her schem es which offer inform al apprent iceship as well as on- t he- j ob t raining by various m inist ries. They are:

ƒ Vocat ional Training in Krishi Vigyan Kendras – Farm Science Cent re. ƒ Vocat ional Training in Khadi and Village I ndust ries

ƒ Swarn Jayant i Gram Swaroj gar Yoj na ƒ St ree Shakt i

ƒ Swarn Jayant i Sahari Roj gar Yoj na

ƒ Test ing and cert ificat ion of skills of w orkers engaged in t he I nform al sect or ( DGET) and m any m ore.

I nform at ion on t hese schem es and program m es are hard t o com e by as t here is no com prehensive/ syst em at ic docum ent at ion cent rally available.

Apart from t he purely governm ent set up and run NFE schem es, t here are som e init iat ives run by t he NGOs. Forem ost am ong t hem is t he BGVS.

The im pet us t o init iat e a m ass act ion for renew al w as propelled from such an underst anding. A volunt ary agency, Bha r a t Gy a n V igya n Sa m it i ( BGV S) w as form ed t o init iat e a m ass act ion for renewal, out of m any volunt ary groups working under t he loose um brella of t he 'People's Science Net w ork' ( PSN) .

BGVS considers lit eracy as a possible st art ing point for social t ransform at ion, and a m eans for a crusade against condit ions t hat m aint ain illit eracy, a crusade against com m unalism , a crusade against dependence and oppression. The cent ral slogan of BGVS has been " science and lit eracy for nat ional int egrat ion and self- reliance" . Through t his, it seeks t o capt ure t he " em ot ional" support of t he people. The BGVS's involvem ent wit h t he TLCs, which t ook off in various dist rict s, was varied. I t s role ranged from m ot ivat ion t o proj ect for m ulat ion and init iat ion, act ively and in a part icipat or y fashion, depending on t he requirem ent s of t he part icular sit uat ion. Looking at how a broad dem ocrat ic m ovem ent , w it h t he part icipat ion of t he st at e m achinery, can reach out t o m illions of people and overcom e t radit ional hurdles, BGVS, in collabor at ion wit h various PSN groups, has been explor ing furt her areas of developm ent and possibilit ies for int ervent ion. I t is int ervening in areas such as universalisat ion of elem ent ary educat ion, science popularisat ion, part icipat ory wat ershed developm ent program m es, rural ent erprise program m es, library and cult ural m ovem ent s, healt h, environm ent prot ect ion and sust ainable m odels of developm ent . N ir a n t a r, a resource cent re for gender and educat ion, w as set up in 1993. Over t he past decade Nirant ar has worked t owards fulfilling it s m andat e of em pow ering w om en t hrough educat ion – by enabling access t o inform at ion, prom ot ing lit eracy and engendering educat ion processes. They do t his t hrough direct field int ervent ions, t raining and capacit y building, creat ing educat ional resources and research and advocacy. Nirant ar is act ively involved wit h t he wom en’s m ovem ent and ot her dem ocrat ic right s m ovem ent s and bring concerns cent ral t o t hose m ovem ent s int o t heir educat ional w ork.

I t m ust be point ed out t hat t here are innum erable NGOs providing NFE using governm ent as w ell as t heir ow n m odels all over t he count ry. Till dat e t here exist s no com prehensive m apping of t hese init iat ives.