Non-Formal Education:

Non-Formal Education:
NFE is conceptualised as an organized educational activity, occurring in the traditional framework of formal education system. Formal education is highly structured and rigid. It is characterized by uniformity to a large extent. The major characteristic feature of NFE in India is its flexibility in terms of organization, timing and duration of teaching and learning, clientele groups, age group of learners, contents, methodology of instruction and evaluation procedure. It is this characteristic feature of NFE, which has made it a critical mode for reaching out to the hardest-to-reach group of children and youth, both in rural and urban India, in order to achieve the much desired goal of education for all [UNESCO E 9 initiative,

 www.unesco.org/education/e-9/initiative and K. Biswal, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi, India; in ANTRIEP (bi-annual newsletter) Vol 6, No 2; July-December2001].
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The National Literacy Mission (NLM), the most important state mechanism for imparting NFE, defines literacy as acquiring the skills of reading, writing and arithmetic and the ability to apply them to one's day-to-day life. Thus the goal of the NLM goes beyond the simple achievement of self-reliance in literacy and numeracy of functional literacy. The achievement of functional literacy implies

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Self-reliance in the 3 Rs. 

 Becoming aware of the causes of deprivation and moving towards amelioration of their condition by participating in the process of development 

Acquiring skills to improve their economics status and general well-being 

 Imbibing values of national integration, conservation of environment, women's equality, and observance of small family norms. 

 The acquisition of functional literacy results in empowerment and a definite improvement in the quality of life. It helps to ensure the participation of the masses in sharing the benefits of the information era

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Reading
Reading aloud, with normal accent, and at a speed of 30 words a minute, a simple passage on a topic of interest to the learner.
  Silent reading at 35 words a minute, of small paragraphs in simple language.
  Reading with understanding the road signs, posters, simple instructions and newspapers/broadsheets designed for neo-literates.
Ability to follow simple written passages relating to one's working and living environment

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Writing
Copying, with understanding, 7 words a minute.
 Taking dictation at 5 words a minute.
 Writing with proper spacing and alignment.
 Writing independently, short letters and applications, and filling in forms of day-today use to the learner 

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Numeracy
 Reading and writing numerals 1-100.
  Doing simple calculations (without fraction) involving addition and subtraction up to 3 digits, and multiplication and division by 2 digits.
 Working knowledge of metric units weights, measures currency, distance, area and unit of time
. Broad idea of proportion and interests (not involving fractions) and their use in practical situations.

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The Legal Foundations of NFE Policies The Indian Constitution in its 86th Amendment Act, 2002 stipulates: Right to Education, “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine." However, the most important official confirmation of the need for expanding adult education services in India came in the form of the National Policy Resolution of 1968. The first important initiative in adult education--the National Adult Education Program (NAEP) – was not established until 1978. It defined education as literacy, functionality, and conscientisation, and although its structures were eventually established, they did not always function effectively. In 1980, the program was renamed (it was now simply called the AEP – Adult Education Programme) and expanded from a 10-month to a 3-year program with emphasis on health, family planning, and functional programmes. Unfortunately, the AEP was not extremely successful either. The main thrust of the new National Program of Adult Education (established in 1986) is like its predecessors in that its main thrust is efficiency rather than equity and its general mode is technocratic. www.eric.ed.gov/ The 1986 education policy envisages a national system which will take determined action to bring about universal primary education and promote the spread of adult literacy, thereby helping to reduce inequalities. The education system will be based on a national curricular framework which contains a common core as well as components specific to each region. The core will cut across subject areas and will be designed to promote such values as India's common cultural heritage, egalitarianism, democracy and secularism, equality of the sexes, protection of the environment, observance of the small family norm, and the scientific approach. Pace-setting schools called Navodaya Vidyalayas will provide quality education to particularly gifted children, irrespective of their families' means, and will promote excellence as well as equity and social justice. The 1986 policy also emphasizes the need to raise the level of investment in education from about 4 per cent of national income in 1986 to 6 per cent by 1990 and even higher thereafter (A new policy for education – India; UNESCO Courier, February 1989, by Anil Bordia). It has to be noted that education in India is on the concurrent list, that is, it is the joint responsibility of both the Centre and the States. This leads to a considerable amount of confusion and indeed passing the buck in the actualisation of responsibilities in imparting education. While India is a signatory to the EFA processes, in terms of legislations, the education processes are governed by Government Orders (GOs) passed from time to time. The framework does not seem to be justifiable in the sense that the state cannot be taken to court for non-implementation of the education policies