Within this group, Switzerland's DDC acts as lead institution, the Association for the Promotion of Non-Formal Education (APENF) in Burkina Faso serves as host institution for the working group coordinator, and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) provides technical and strategic support. A core group of agencies has taken key responsibility for promoting the non-formal sector. The working group is governed by a steering committee and conducts its operational activities through a scientific and strategic committee. The members of the working group represent education ministries, development agencies, NGOs, and institutions involved in non-formal education (NFE). Such initiatives are of increasing interest to African policymakers as they address the challenges of quality basic education for all. It was created to study the nature and impact of many forms of education and training provided outside the formal school system, including programs for adults. Working Group on Non-Formal Education (WGNFE) of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) is an organization of continental scope, formed in Dakar in 1996 with the participation and support of the following countries (ministries of education) and development agencies: Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Mauritania, Namibia, Senegal, Zanzibar, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (DDC), the Commonwealth Secretariat, UNESCO, and the Club du Sahel. What is the Working Group on Nonformal Education? It can thus help to revitalize education in Africa by forging closer links between education and the realities of everyday life.Ĭlearly, education will never be enjoyed by all without a wide variety of non-formal or 'non-school' forms of provision: 'second chance' schools for children having passed the legal enrollment age community schools for children in areas lacking formal provision literacy and 'post-literacy' programs for teenagers and adults programs combining basic education with various forms of vocational training and so on. Moreover, non-formal education is better placed to meet the needs of disadvantaged groups and offers the advantage of being grounded in the workplace and the grassroots level. It also enables countries to consider their educational needs in a more holistic manner as they progress toward the goal of education for all. Non-formal education does not merely fill a gap. For this reason, individuals and communities are turning to alternative forms of provision, which may be grouped under the broad heading of non-formal education.
To meet these demands, a wide variety of innovative educational programs are required, which cannot be provided by the formal education system.
African countries face many new challenges that also offer new opportunities.ĭemocratization, globalization, decentralization of governance systems, HIV/AIDS, and other factors are reshaping learning needs and priorities.