ii) NFE should no longer be considered as a low-cost model for primary education, Its unit cost ought to be comparable with that of formal schooling. An effort should be made to provide for indicative costs rather than detailed and rigid cost break-up as at present.

iii) The scheme should provide enough flexibility in regard to duration, nature, content and management of NFE and while ensuring achievement of MLLs.

10

(iv) Revamping of organisational structure of NFE at National, State, District and Project levels so as to provide for greater professionalism, autonomy and space. A group of experts may be associated with the NFE programme at the national level to aid, advise and provide technical resource support to the Ministry, State Governments and NGOs. At the state level autonomous societies may be created to devote exclusive attention to all aspects of the programme.

v) Emphasis should be on consolidation of existing programme and limited expansion so as to improve efficiency and quality.

vi) Development of certain non-negotiable principles and postulates on the lines of Lok Jumbish Project which may form the basis of M.O.Us with states for delivery of NFE of satisfactory quality. There is need for norm- setting with regard to each and every aspect of the programme, equipment, material, training, evaluation, certification etc.

vii) Provision of adequate remuneration and career advancement opportunities for Instructors, Supervisors and other functionaries responsible for NFE.

viii) Introduction of pre-induction training programme for NFE functionaries and strengthening of in-service training through DIETs, with special emphasis on multigrade teaching skills and competency based learning.

ix) Development of learner and area specific NFE models for girls, working children., tribal children, first generation learners, minorities, slum areas and street children.

x) Exploring the possibility of providing relevant vocational inputs in NFE, particularly at upper primary levels in collaboration with experienced NGOs.

11

xi) Forging of effective partnership with NGOs, Panchayat Raj institutions and the local community for decentralised planning and management of NFE.

xii) Working out modalities for involvement of industry and business for provision of opportunities for non- formal education at the work place.

xiii) Viewing NFE as an instrument of women's equality and providing for appointment of larger number of women functionaries at all levels.

xiv) Development of necessary linkages with the Open school system and continuing education programmes to upgrade the knowledge and skills of NFE Instructors.

xv) During the 9th Plan focus would be laid on the development of self-learning material. Workbook and work-sheet type of self-learning material would be encouraged. This would entail increase in investments for teaching-learning material at the NFE centre for Primary as well as upper primary level of learning.

Programmes in NFE during 9th Plan

The effort during 9th Five Year Plan would be to expand the existing programme of Non Formal Education cautiously and to focus on its consolidation and improvement by enhancing investments, increasing operational efficiency, revamping organisational structures and providing for decentralisation as well as greater community participation. It is envisaged that a larger responsibility would be entrusted to voluntary organisations for promotion of non-formal and alternative schooling,

Expansion

It is proposed to expand the NFE programme in educationally backward states and backward areas of other States by establishing 50,000

12

new NFE centres, bringing the total number of centres at the end of 9th Plan to 3,30,000 centres. The expenditure on these centres, in accordance with the enhanced pattern of investment would be Rs.3814.47 crores.

Since NFE is primarily a scheme for disadvantaged groups, efforts would be made to identify areas with high incidence of drop outs for opening NFE centres. The focus during the 9th plan would be to cover out-of-school children of migratory labourers at work site, nomadic tribes, street children, children in urban slums, remote rural areas and difficult and inaccessible areas. Credible voluntary agencies would be encouraged to take up the NFE programme in these target areas.

Consolidation

It is widely acknowledged that a large number of existing NFE centres are dysfunctional or are not functioning at the optimum level. During the 9th Plan it is proposed to take necessary steps to increase the proportion of functional centres substantially. For this purpose State's would be expected to review the location of all existing NFE centres so as to consider their relocation on the basis of micro- planning and school mapping exercises with participation of Panchayat Raj Institutions and Village Education Committees, The re-location of NFE centres should also take into account the generation of a positive demand for primary education among women and disadvantaged sections of society in backward areas as an outcome of successful Total Literacy Campaigns (TLCs).

Increase in expenditure on NFE centres

On the basis of review of NFE programme during 8th Five Year Plan, the feed back received from State Governments and the comparative success of non-formal components of Lok Jumbish and Shiksha Karmi Projects, it is imperative that the investments on NFE centres are increased substantially in the 9th Plan. Keeping this in view, it is proposed that the cost of running a

13

primary NFE centre in 9th Plan would be increased from Rs. 8725 at the present to Rs.23,670 and the cost of an upper- primary NFE centre from Rs. 14,150 to Rs.34,670. There would be a provision for annual increase 10% increase in the cost per centre to take care of the cost escalation.Within this amount it is proposed to provide States with necessary flexibility for incurring expenditure on approved items. For this purpose, the items of expenditure could be categorised as 'essential' and 'desirable'; the former being obligatory for all States and the latter being optional. States may also be given the option to incur lesser expenditure on certain items, while increasing the expenditure on other items which in their judgement and experience require greater investment in their specific context, Increased cost per centre would entail increase in the honorarium to instructors and supervisors as also greater investments in teaching learning material and continuous training of instructors. Efforts will be made to increase the daily duration of teaching to about 3 hours and the duration of the programme to a course of 3-4 years. A special problem which needs to be addressed during the 9th Plan is the high incidence of dropouts from NFE centres. Efforts would be to make NFE centre more attractive through group singing, sports and games, excursion trips, etc. In addition, cooperation of guardians, local community members and other opinion leaders would be sought to arrest the problem of drop-outs.

Equivalence with Formal system

Efforts will be made to establish academic equivalence between the products of formal primary schools and NFE centres. Such comparability will ensure the possibility of lateral as well as vertical transfer of students particularly from non-formal to the formal system. Competencies under MLL would provide the criteria for achieving and establishing equivalence. Accordingly, during the 9th Plan various programme parameters of Nonformal Education like time and duration of study, nature and quality of learning

14

materials, styles of teaching and learning, competency and training of teachers and evaluation procedures should be modified with a view to establish MLLs for the NFE system.

Testing and Certification

During the 9th Plan a system of testing and certification of NFE learners will be introduced whereby equivalence in learning achievements of NFE learners and formal school students would be established. This system will provide the basis for lateral entry from NFE to the formal system as well as facilities for the further education of pet-sons passing out from NFE in approximately the same fashion as available to persons in the formal system. These efforts would strengthen the NFE system as not only a complementary system to formal schooling but also as a supplementary strategy for achieving Universalisation of Elementary Education.

A radical change will be needed in the nature of learning materials and style of learning. It would be important to practice a system of self-paced learning in the NFE programme. Towards this end, the textbooks and other teaching-learning materials would need a radical change for different levels of NFE and alternative schooling. Integrated textbooks, workbooks having in them the competency based text, competency based and evaluation oriented exercises and unit tests and materials for self learning to ensure mastery should be designed and provided to NFE learners and instructors.

Certain parameters need to be strengthened to result in genuine equivalence in terms of pupil achievement between the formal and non- formal streams of primary education. These parameters are place of learning, time of learning, motivation of instructors, lateral transfers, textual material, self-learning materials, evaluation system, accreditation systems, systems for reinforcement and enrichment of brighter children and remediation of weak children.

15

Revamping of Organisational Structure for NFE National Level

It is felt that the existing organisational structure for non- formal education programme at the national level in the Ministry of HRD and NCERT is inadequate and insufficient. With the acceptance of criticality of NFE as an essential strategy for achieving Universalisation of Elementary Education, it is necessary that the existing structures at national level are suitably strengthened. While NCERT and the NFE Division in the Department of Education may be suitably strengthened to deal with the requirement of a larger and more efficient NFE programme, it would appear to be necessary to associate a body of professionals with the programme at the national level to provide technical resource support and to aid, advise and guide the Ministry, NCERT and State Governments in the proper implementation of NFE programme. This body could be set up on the lines of ED. CIL's Technical Support Group for DPEP, or as a part of the proposed National, Elementary Education Mission (NEEM) or as an independent Non-Formal Education Commission (NFEC).

In the 9th Plan a provision of Rs. 12.00 crores is being provided for strengthening the national structure for NFE.

State Level

It has been generally observed that from an organisational point of view NFE has not got the attention it deserves at the State level. In some States the programme is dealt with by the Directorate of Primary Education whereas in others it is being handled by the Directorate of Adult Education. In both situations the NFE Programme tends to become marginalised and neglected due to the pre-occupation of the Directors and senior functionaries with other responsibilities and tasks which have a higher priority in the organisation. On the other hand the experience of DPEP, LJP, SKP and TLC suggests that an autonomous society at the State level staffed by specialty selected experts and

16

educationists and with sufficient flexibility in financial and academic matters is able to devote the kind of exclusive and dedicated attention that schemes like NFE require if they are to achieve an acceptable degree of credibility and success. In this context it is proposed that in the 9th Plan educationally backward States which have a large NFE programme would be required to entrust the responsibility for supervision, monitoring and implementation of the programme to a specially created autonomous society on the pattern of societies which manage the above mentioned educational projects. The Director of the State level autonomous society should be selected especially from among IAS Officers and experts, in the field of education for a minimum tenure of 3 years. Other staff would be drawn on deputation from different departments and agencies includings reputed NGOs on the basis of their expertise and commitment to the NFE programme. Simultaneously action would be taken to strengthen the implementation machinery at, district and project levels. During 9th Plan it is proposed to provide Rs 322.57 crores for creation of autonomous societies for NFE at State level and for augmentation of field level machinery.

Role of PRIs and VECs.

A few States have taken the initiative in the 8th Plan to delegate responsibilities and functions regarding NFE to Panchayat Raj Institutions and/or VECs. This trend would be encouraged and supported during the 9th Plan. It would be expected that by and large decisions in regard to the following may be delegated to Panchayat Raj institutions and/or Village Education Committees:-

- Planning and location of NFE centres on the basis of micro-planning and school mapping exercise;

-Overseeing the day to day running of NFE centres; including determination of timing for centres during different seasons.

17

-Provision of arrangements for accommodation, seating, lighting, drinking water, etc.

-Selection of instructors in consultation with the community;

-Payment of honorarium to instructors;

-Supply of teaching learning materials to NFE centres.

Role of Voluntary Agencies

During 8th Plan as many as 227 new voluntary agencies have been associated with the NFE programme. The NFE centres run by voluntary agencies have also gone up steadily to 38,000. Voluntary agencies have developed innovative strategies for teaching children in difficult circumstances, developed learner specific and contextually useful learning materials, experimented with community supported NFE programmes and taken the initiative to supplement the academic component of the curriculum with vocational and skill inputs which are related to the local situation. Such efforts need to be encouraged and supported by the central govt. There is also scope for greater involvement of NGOs in non-formal education in states where their presence so far is negligible, During the 9th plan NGOs would be encouraged to act as facilitators and take under their umbrella smaller NGOs in their region for undertaking this programme. It is conceivable that some NGOs may take up area based integrated programme for achieving UEE during the 9th Five Year Plan with a strong component of NFE. A provision of Rs. 660.00 crore is proposed for support to NGOs for running NFE programmes during IXth Plan. NFE in urban slums.

One of the distressing realities of Urban life today is the massive proliferation of slums in most metropolitan cities and large urban agglomerations. It is estimated that approximately half of the population of Delhi would be residing in slums by the end of this century. However, the problems of primary education in urban slums have not been addressed

18

specifically by government so far, Several Voluntary agencies have come up with successful innovation; and experiments in educating primary school children in slum areas through a mix of properly designed academic and vocational courses which also have health and nutrition components. During the 9th Plan it is proposed to devise a special scheme for supporting NGOs who are interested in taking up non-formal education programmes at primary and upper primary level for children of urban slums and street children. A provision of Rs. 10 crores has been made for this purpose.

State Resource Centres (SRC) - Link with NFE

It is understood that originally State Resource Centres were envisaged for providing technical resource support to the Non-Formal Education programme. Over the years, their focus has shifted almost entirely to supporting the adult literacy programme. The 9-14 age group is included in the target group of the Total Literacy Campaigns. There is a felt need to develop appropriate teaching learning material for this age group as distinct from the primers in use for adult learners. The TLC and NFE clientele can be broadly categorised as non-formal learners. In this context it would be useful for SRCs to provide technical and academic support to the NFE programme for school age children also. For this purpose it is proposed, to fund the creation of NFE unit in SRCs during the 9th Plan. A provision of Rs. 20.00 crores has been made to meet this objective.

Financial Requirement For 1997-98:

Rs. in Crores)

B.E. 1996-97 R.E. 1996-97 B.E. 1997-98 (PLAN) (PLAN) (PLAN)

158.25 158.25 638.87

19

Physical:

Number of Centres proposed during 1997-98:

State Sector 2.50 lakh Centres