THE NATURE, CHARACTERISTICS AND SCOPE OF NONFORMAL

EDUCATION
Topic 1

-Nonformal Education Defined/ The Nature of

Nonformal Eduction

In his article Nonformal Education for Developing

Societies,(1979), Djiwandone defines nonforml education as the method or process of
assessing the needs and interests of people, of communicating with them, of motivating them to
participate, and of helping them to acquire the necessary skills and to adopt behavioral patterns
and related activities which will improve the quality of their lives.
Coombs(1973) defines nonformal education as any organized educational activity outside
the established formal system, whether operating separately or as an important feature of some
broader activity that is intended to serve identifiable learning clienteles and learning objectives.
The Education Act of 1982, Section 24 considers NFE as one of the specialized
educational services to meet special needs of certain clientele and defines NFE as any
organized school-based educational activities undertaken by the MEC(now DECS) and other
agencies aimed at attaining specific learning objectives for a particular clientele, especially the
illiterates and the out-of-school youth and adults distinct from and outside the regular offerings
of the formal school system.
P.D. No. 1139 (1977), defined NFE as a means of providing learning to the sector of the
population who are not in a position to avail themselves of the facilities of formal education.

Topic 2 -Characteristics of Nonformal Education

Section 24 of the Education Act of 1982 provides for the inclusion of nonformal education as one
of the three types of specialized educational services intended to benefit special categories of clientele
within the context of the formal education system, the two other services being special education and
early childhood education. These are as follows:

a.) Nonformal education is usually concerned with an immediate and practical mission.
b.) It usually occurs outside the schools; any situation which affords appropriate experiences
may be employed as a learning site.
c.) It considers proof of knowledge by performance rather than by certificate.
d.) It usually do not involve highly organized context staff or structure.
e.) It usually involves voluntary participation.
f.) It is part-time activity of participants.
g.) It is less costly than formal education.
h.) Instruction seldom graded and sequential.
i.) It institutionally prescribed admission criteria.
j.) It is not restricted to any particular organization, curricular or personal classification; and it
has great promise for reknowing and expanding any of them.
k.) Selection of mentors based more on demonstrated ability than on credentials.
l.) It has potential for multiplier effects in economy and efficiency because it utilizes appropriate
personnel, media and other elements which may be available in a given situation without much
criteria and restraints.
m. ITS AREAS OF CONCERN:
1) Functional literacy
-defined as mastery of the basic reading and writing skills.
2) Basic vocational/technical skills

- it provides basic life skills and prepares people to work in a trade, crafts and others (TESDA).
3) Civic Citizenship education
- promotes the knowledge, skills and values
- involved in their own governance
- respecting individual worth and human dignity.
4) Socio-cultural development
- accept the culture of others
- society makes to individual development, people and the culture in which they live.
5) Physical fitness and sports development
- This helps students to be more active in sports like volleyball and basketball. This will help them to be
more physically fit and healthy.

6) Leadership
-the ability of an individual on how she/he can lead an organization and other leadership skills.
7) Mass media education
- media technologies
- mass communication
- involvement of technology

The revitalized NFE Program as embodied in the vision/mission of the NFE at the
threshold of the 21st century includes only four new programs;
1. Functional Education and Literacy
- refers to education that comes from a child's needs, and that uses the child's interest as
a mechanism for activating him and towards his desirable activities
a. basic literacy
b. functional education
2. Continuing Education
-education provided for adults after they have left the formal education system, consisting
typically of short and part-time courses.
a. alternative learning system
b. adult education
3. Livelihood Skills Development
-usually these are small entrepreneurial activities such as rug making, garment sewing,
and selling of dry goods.
4. Institution Building and Staff Development
- refers to the process whereby employees of an organization enhance their knowledge
and skills in directions that are advantageous to their role in the organization.
n. Target Clientele of Non Formal Education includes the following groups:
1. The employed or unemployed schools leavers in the elementary or high school;
2. The unemployed or underemployed for training in certain occupational skills.
3. Those who attended school for only a few years and those who never attended school;
4. Technical workers and even professionals- to improve their qualification and
performance.
o. It includes Classes in:
1. Adult Literacy Programs- both basic and functional;
2. Occupational skills training;
3. Community programs for OSY and adults;
4. Agricultural extension and farmer training program;
5. Youth organization;
6. Citizenship and Values Education

Topic 3 -NON-FORMAL EDUCATION AS DISTINGUISHED

FROM FORMAL EDUCATION

FORMAL EDUCATION -is highly institutionalized, chronologically graded, and

hierarchically structured educational system which spans lower primary school and the upper
reaches of the university.
While NONFORMAL EDUCTION is any organized, systematic, educational activity carried
on outside the framework of the formal school system with a view of providing selected types of
learning to particular subgroups in the population, adults as well as children and youth.
NFE here is defined as the systematization of the learning process for purposes of
practical productive ends that usually, but not always, takes place outside the formal structures
of the school system.

Topic 4 -The Education for All Programs of Development

a.)Early Childhood Care and Development-Community Based Early Childhood Classes;
* The project identifies locally appropriate models of ECCD services for each target group.
It addresses the needs of children 03 years to improve their health and nutrition, as well as their
cognitive and social development.
*The goal of the project is to improve health, nutrition status, and cognitive and social
development of children. It aims to identify an integrated early childhood care and development
(ECCD) model, especially for children under 3 years,
Specific objectives include:
* Identify and pilot cost-effective programs that are accessible for the poor target groups;
and
* Strengthen the capacity of central and local governments in the planning, financing,
coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of integrated ECCD interventions.
b.) Universalization of Quality Primary Education
* Enhancing the holding power or student retention of schools
* Using alternative teaching-learning delivery modes
* Strengthening home-school partnership
* Emphasis on higher-level thinking skills
* Upgrading teacher competencies
Problems in Universalization of Quality Primary Education:
1.Universal Access through Universal Provision of School Facilities
2. Universal Enrolment of Children
3.Universal Retention
4.Universal Achievement
5.Problem of Qualitative Improvement of Education
c.) Program for the Strengthening of Alternative
Learning System;
1.) Eradication of illiteracy
2.) Continuing education and development
d.) Continuing education for Adults and OSYs- DELSILLE, Parent Education.

Topic 5

-The Nonformal Education Program

The NFE Program in the Philippines is a multi-component program that envisions to

provide literacy and livelihood skills to functionally and basically illiterate Filipinos.
The immediate objectives are:

a. Minimize, if not eradicate basic illiteracy, and improve functional literacy in targeted
areas.

b. Develop flexible and relevant self-learning programs for out-of-school youth as

nonformal alternatives to the formal education system which will provide opportunities for selfimprovement among the poor.
c. Improve the quality and relevance of functional education and literacy, and continuing
education programs, and materials for the OSYs and adults in marginalized communities, and
provide demand-based learning, socio-economic development needs and aspirations.
d. Improve the outreach and effectiveness of community base NFE programs by
strengthening the delivery system at the local level.
e. Build up the institutional and technical capability of the DECS NFE structure to
promote and support community-base NFE programs at the local level, and manage a
decentralized interagency program.
Project Components:
Programs
A. Basic Literacy
Target: Those with zero literacy, who are likely to be the poorest of the poor.( the
1990 census showed that there are 2846,120 illiterates. In the targeted areas there are .8
million illiterates.)
B. Functional Literacy
Target: Those with basic literacy, including those with les than 4 years of schooling
or its equivalent.
Thrust/Content: Use of participatory process, where clientele will be involved in
the selection of literacy topics addressing their problems and linking them to the
livelihood-related concerns.
C. Continuing Education
Target: OSYs aged 7-16, estimated to be 2.1 million (.4 elementary school age, and
1.7 million secondary school age.)
Thrust/Content: Develop and implement an alternative learning system which
would be parallel/ comparable to the formal education system.