Non-formal Education is the educational activity organized outside the formal system of education. It is simple and flexible and can be delivered at any place convenient to the learners. It is generally designed to meet the basic learning needs of disadvantaged groups and can be availed of at any age. Children out-of- schools, working children and girls who cannot attend school for the whole day can join this programme. Moreover it is the concept of recurrent and lifelong learning. In addition to that Non Formal Education is about acknowledging the importance of education, learning and training which takes place outside recognised educational institutions.

According to experts, four characteristics can be associated with Non Formal Education that includes: Relevance to the needs of disadvantaged groups, Concern with specific categories of person, a focus on clearly defined purposes and Flexibility in organisation and methods. The notion of Non Formal Education in India refers to education that mainly takes place outside of the schools that are formally organised. Moreover, non-formal is a term which is used to refer to adult literacy and continuing education for adults. This educational policy is preferred by the rural as well as urban communities, as it is not compulsory and does not lead to a formal certification. The Non Formal Education system is likely to be supported by the State authorities.

Non formal education (NFE) has been defined as any intentional and systematic educational enterprise (usually outside of traditional schooling) in which content is adapted to the unique needs of the students (or unique situations) in order to maximize learning and minimize other elements which often occupy formal schoolteachers (i.e. taking roll, enforcing discipline, writing reports, supervising study hall ,etc.).

Coombs (1973) defined non formal education as “any organized activity outside the formal system whether operating separately or as an important feature of some broad activity that is intended to serve some identifiable learning clienteles and learning objectives”.

There are several other definitions for NFE that sometimes overlap or contradict with each other. Rogers (2005) classified different definitions into the following categories:

• A system: a collection of organizations and programs different from the formal education system
• A process: with different teaching-learning relationships than those in formal education, a less hierarchical format
• A concept, a subject worthy of study and writing about
• A practice, a professional activity undertaken by people separate from formal education professionals
• A set of educational activities distinguished from formal education by having different goals or purposes or even separated from formal schooling by being socially purposeful, usually seen as a part of the radical social transformation movement

This education is called non formal because:

• It is not compulsory
• It does not lead to a formal certification, and
• It may or may not be state-supported.

Characteristics of Non-Formal Education

Non formal education include literacy and basic education for adults and young people, political and trade union education, ‘catching-up’ programmes for school drop outs, pre-school education for young children, political and trade union education and various kinds of educational work linked with development initiatives including agricultural extension and training programmes and health education. The following are some of the charecteristics.

• Non-formal Education is not only for children but for adult men and women.
• It is for rich as well as for poor as it adopts a democratic approach, wherein each and every   citizen has a right to participate.
• It has no fixed curriculum, working days or working hours.Example: In formal education there is a fixed curriculum, duration and evaluation system. Whereas, in NFE, there is no fixed format for admission, evaluation or even a fixed curriculum to follow
• It is flexible and adopts itself to suit the needs and skills of learner’s abilities. Example: If the learner has interest agriculture, then the learner is provided Non-formal Education related to agriculture.
• It is employment-oriented and work based. Example: NFE gives education which prepare it’s learners for skill based jobs. A maid servant gets training of a home governess through NFE then it will give her good job and salary
• Movement from work to learning and learning to work is possible. Example: A farmer wants to learn new skills and techniques of farming. By joining NFE classes both learning and work can take place simultaneously
• It is not expensive and therefore everyone can afford it.

Objectives of Non-Formal Education

In India, non-formal education has two special objectives- (a) Achievement of functional literacy, and (b) Effective implementation of rural development programmes. Two reach these two, NFE has the following specific objectives.

• To motivate the dropouts or such children who have not gone to primary school and enter them into the fold of Non-formal Education,
• To develop in children various linguistic (study of language) skills and enable them to listen, speak, read and write properly,
• To promote expertise in children with regard to work experience and the occupations in which they are engaged in their community, so that their productivity can be enhanced to make self sufficient,
• To make children understand and appreciate the scientific phenomena (a fact or situation observed to exit or happen) in everyday life,
• To develop in children skills, habits, attitudes necessary for healthy living,
• To make children understand and appreciate culture heritage, and tradition of the country,
• To develop in children functional numeracy.
• To develop in children a sense of citizenship, national integration, secularism (religious thoughts), socialism, etc.
•  To bring about awareness among NFE Learners with regard to current issues and problems of the country and develop competency in solving the same.

Differences between formal and non-formal education

	FORMAL	NON-FORMAL
Purposes	Long-term & general Credential-based	Short-term & specific Non-credential-based
Timing	long cycle / preparatory / full-time	short cycle / recurrent / part-time
Content	standardized / input centered academic entry requirements determine clientele	individualized / output centered practical clientele determine entry requirements
Delivery system	Institution-based, isolated from environment. rigidly structured, teacher-centered and resource intensive	Environment-based, community related. flexible, learner-centered and resource saving
Control	external / hierarchical	self-governing / democratic

Need for Non-Formal Education in India

The NFE, which is flexible and relevant to the lives of illiterates and the poor, needs to be encouraged in our country on account of the following:

To universalize elementary education by providing facility of elementary schooling in all habitations.
To cope with limited resources by means of non-formal mode of education with parttime teacher and reduced duration of schooling can solve the problem to some extent.
To serve the scattered and scarcely populated areas with comparatively less amount of expenditure.
To meet the inadequacies of formal education by including vocational training in life activities.
To enable the pupils to learn while they earn by engaging them in some job or occupation they like to learn while they earn.
To meet the needs of late-bloomers through non-formal modes.
To provide education to economically deprived classes of the society to improve their vocational competence and quality of life.

Advantages of non formal education

• There is ample space for creative processes to be implemented, since there is no official curriculum to follow.
• It is possible to reach out to people of all ages and walks of life.
• Certain disadvantaged groups are often targeted through NFE, for example:
• Ex-prisoners, disabled people and women.
• The subject matter taught is usually geared to meet the specific needs of local communities and are typically oriented to practical skills and life-skills that are immediately useful to the participants to improve their quality of life.
• Helps in developing of a positive attitude towards life as well as a scientific temper.
• The pupils are sensitized to ethical, social and cultural values and endowed with knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for the development of a nation.
• It provides a second chance to dropouts and enables the under-privileged sections of society to acquire relevant knowledge and skills.

Limitations of non formal education

• No socially recognized certification
• Sustainability concerns
• Ad hoc solutions
• Insufficient funding, inappropriate organizational structures and inadequate involvement if the local community may lead to its failure.

References
Assignments

1. Prepare review report on non-formal education system of your state.
2. Visit Non-formal education centres and prepare success stories.