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2. NFE Components in the EFA national plan
Non-Formal Education (NFE) programs in Cambodia are planned and implemented by a wide range of governmental and non-governmental organizations and bodies. These include the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, including the EFA Secretariat, the Ministry of Women and Veteran Affairs, the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture. Non-governmental partners as well as informal community groups have also played important role in serving the disadvantaged population .
As a general approach, national- level bodies must focus on setting overall objectives and methodology in addition to training, facilitating and supporting provincial-level structures. Actual detailed planning, selection and training of teachers and instructors, and implementation will take place at the provincial, district and commune level, usually in joint partnerships between governmental, non-governmental and community organizations. This Non-Formal Education Action Plan is, therefore, programmatic and indicative in nature, setting out overall goals, objectives and methodologies, rather than providing specific project details.
The basic purpose of the action is twofold:
- to provide a coherent framework for governmental, non-governmental, international, community and funding agencies, to plan, organize, monitor and evaluate non-formal education programs in Cambodia; and
- to provide an ongoing framework for defining and adapting non-formal education policies, structures and programs.
2.1.Overall Goal
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Non-formal education has a major role to play in creating the human resource base necessary for achieving national goals of peace, sustainable poverty reduction, economic growth and social equality. The Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) adopted by the government include a reduction in extreme poverty, improvement in health, access to education and gender equality. Children, youth and adults will acquire the skills necessary to participate in, and benefit from, overall national development and enhance their own quality of life.
The national goal is to achieve Education For All (EFA) by 2015. The six core EFA goals are:
- Ensure that by 2015, all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality.
- Ensure that the learning needs of all young people and adults are meet through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programs.
- Achieve a 50 percent in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.
- Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.
- Expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantage children.
- Improve all aspects of the quality of education and ensure excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcome are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeric and essential life skills.
2.3 Priorities for non-formal education
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Seven key non-formal education priorities have been identified. The first five priorities are specific programs focused on targeted populations:
- Functional literacy for youth and adults;
- Primary and lower secondary equivalency programs for out-of-school children, youth and young adults;
- Short-term income generation skills training for youth and adults;
- Post-literacy programs which sustain and expand levels of literacy; and
- Family education for early childhood development.
The sixth and seventh priorities cut across and support all programs:
- An integrated community-based learning approach; and;
- Capacity building for effective management.
While quality formal schools may eventually (in 25 or 30 years) become the most common modality for achieving basic education for most children and youth, creating such a school system is still a long way off in Cambodia and a generation of children and youth cannot be denied their right to an education in the meantime. At the same time, the long-term goal of building and maintaining a formal education system requires a pro-learning environment of educated parents and young adults who value education sufficiently to support their children and provide time and resources for learning. Non-formal education modalities are particularly appropriate to providing this education base.
2.4 Principles of Action » Up
In this framework, non-formal education will operate under three inter-related principles. Progress in all three will be a necessary condition for effective movement on any and all of the specific programs.
2.4.1. Defining clear non-formal education targets: While almost the whole population has some claim to non-education resources, for some the claim is greater. These include the 36% of the population living in poverty and socio-cultural exclusion; the 15% of children who do not enroll in primary school; the 47% of children who do not complete grade 5; and the 37% of people over 15 years of age who are illiterate. All of these people are overwhelmingly occupied with survival and earning a livelihood and full-time education is not an option.
Within these broad categories, NFE programs will place an over-riding emphasis on women and girls, the disabled, ethnic minorities and migrant workers. The National EFA Plan also identifies high-priority needs for resettled Khmer Rouge communities; children and adolescents in urban slums; and demobilized soldiers and their families. Use of existing literacy, poverty, health and other national statistical surveys and "maps" should enable NFE programs to be effectively targeted.
2.4.2.Decentralization of non-formal education programs: The government is committed to an ongoing education reform process which, among other priorities, stresses the need to move away from the highly rigid and centralized education structures and content of the past towards a much more practical and flexible, decentralized approach. Non-formal education, in particular, requires a decentralized framework which allows programs to effectively meet the needs of local communities and empower individuals to manage their own learning and development. National authorities will train provincial authorities to plan and then support them in their NFE programs. In a similar manner, provincial authorities will train district, commune and community bodies to plan and then support them. At its apex, are the "community learning centres" which are established at local village temples or other cultural facilities.
2.4.3.Improving the quality of all non-formal education interventions:
Quality of learning outcomes is a critical issue for achieving NFE goals. For non-formal education, key assessment indicators include: quality of access; quality of learning achieved; and the quality of institutional development. For example:
quality of access: actual enrolment patterns for each of the targeted program activities (participant numbers, age, gender, ethnicity, poverty level, etc.); reach and timing of programs delivered; and completion rates.
quality of learning: core competencies acquired; relevance of learning (i.e. did the activity "make a difference" in lives of learners); appropriateness and flexibility of teaching methods and materials; and length and intensity of participation.
quality of institutional development: effectiveness and relevance of "staff" training (at all levels); evidence of improved needs assessments, planning and design (at all levels); and number of collaborative activities undertaken.
2.5 Overall timeframe » Up
The Non-Formal Education Action Plan covers the period from 2003 to 2015. The timeframe is divided into three rough categories: the short-term (to 2005); the medium-term (to 2010); and the long-term (to 2015). In general terms, the short-term is characterized by some expansion of current activities but will be focused primarily on development and adaptation of programs, curricula, materials and training and expansion of capacity to deliver all non-formal education programs. The medium term is characterized by a large expansion of all program activities and the implementation of the lower secondary equivalency program. The long-term focuses on achieving full EFA goals for non-formal education.
2.6 Resource mobilization » Up
There are not sufficient human and financial resources, nor enough institutional capacity currently available in Cambodia, in either the government or non-government sector, to adequately meet all the learning needs of the population in a timely way. If the national education goals are to be met by 2015, a tremendous mobilization of resources will be needed.
This will require a massive expansion in the capacity of national and provincial authorities to train and support district and commune organizations. Additional external human resources, including those from professional volunteer organizations, will undoubtedly be required to assist for many years. Non-governmental agencies, currently at the forefront of piloting and implementing non-formal education programs, will need to expand their programs. Additionally, there will need to be a correspondingly large increase in multi-lateral and bi-lateral funding from external sources.
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