Non-formal education in Pakistan: the only option for Pakistan's poor

By YesPakistan.com Staff Writer

Non-formal schools have begun to play a dramatic role in educating those who have long been ignored in Pakistan: the country's rural and its poor.

So important a role have they that according to the report Human Development in South Asia 1998, any plan to extend universal primary education in Pakistan by the year 2003 will not be successful unless there is a major stress on non-formal education.

This is not surprising, considering that in many, many disadvantaged areas of Pakistan, particularly the rural parts, non-formal schools are not an alternative, but rather, the only option children have to gain basic education and literacy skills.

Community mobilization and participation are the essence of the non-formal education system. The programs aim to meet the demands of the local community rather than of central or government planners. They are clearly a grassroots projects, since they are designed not by top policy-makers but by the people themselves.

This involvement is a key in factor in ensuring that basic education is provided to the disadvantaged. Local villagers design, implement and monitor these programs, thus creating a sense of community ownership.

Non-formal schools have a number of features which distinguish them from government and other schools in Pakistan. Some of these include the fact that the teachers are selected from the local community; the schools are closer in location to the children; the curriculum is practical and related to issues children face in their daily lives; there is parental and community participation in all of the different levels of the students' education, and particular emphasis is placed on educating girls and underprivileged groups.

These features also make the schools more cost-effective, since a non-formal school costs less than two percent of the capital costs of a formal school. They are also time-efficient. It takes only one month to establish a make-shift room in a house or building of a local teacher. In contrast, it takes an average of two years to begin a formal school which must be set up in a new building.

But while the quality of the physical environment may not be as good in non-formal schools, the curriculum and content of these schools is the same or sometimes, even better than formal schools.

This is why the Human Development Foundation (HDF) has established a number of non-formal schools in different parts of Pakistan as part of its work in the education sector.

HDF runs these schools with the participation of the community. The salient features of the program are:

1. The education program is carried out in collaboration with one of the existing NGO in Pakistan, which has been active in the field of education. Selection of the NGO is done based on their program and activities in that geographical location.

2. HDF's schools are basically held in one room, where one teacher educates 30-35 children. The children are of different age groups ranging anywhere from 5 years to 10 years.

3. The curriculum is the same as the government schools, but the goal is to finish the 5 years' curriculum in 3 years. This is possible because there are no summer vacations.

4. HDF is trying very hard to change the teaching methodology from the traditional "memorization" method to that of "joyful and activity based learning".

5. Like all other aspects of the program the community is asked to contribute something towards this. So the community provides a room for the school either in someone's house or by building a room.

6. Teacher's are selected whenever possible from the same community. This way there is very little turn over of teachers. Also the local people trust their children specially daughters with someone they know. The teacher also feels comfortable because he or she knows the community and can deal with several social issues.

7. The teachers have to go through a teacher's training program before beginning and then periodically after that.

8. All the expenses except the space (which is provided by the community) are borne by HDF. This includes all the material, teacher's salary, teachers' training etc.

9. The parents are charged a school management fee, which goes into a special fund. This fund is later used for the sustainability of the school.

10. There are very active parent teacher associations (PTA) in the schools. These are involved in their management.

11. There are regular meetings of all the teachers from various schools in the same community to discuss issues relevant to the education program.

HDF's schools have benefited thousands of children across Pakistan. They have also increased awareness amongst parents about the need for basic education so that these children can have a better future by securing the skills they need today.

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/17/2002 3:44:52 PM

Readers' Comment

Sebastian : 11/29/2006 11:10:22 PM
It was nice to read about the NFE, keeping in view the ineffectiveness and some of the basic longstanding problems being faced by the Pakistan Government Education system specially in rural schools, NFE does provide answers to such serious questions, yes of course its the only option to be made available for many rural, marginalized areas of Pakistan.

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