Effectiveness and Challenges of Non-Formal Education Programs in Punjab

Abstract

Regarding the present research questions, this study sought to discover the difficulties encountered and the efficiency of the Non-Formal Education (NFE) programs. Proprietary data were then obtained from District Education Officers and Literacy Mobilizers from five districts using survey research. Internal reliability was acceptable, with Cronbach Alpha set at .700. Among those five districts data were collected from 5 different DEOs, 5 District Informatics Aides, and 64 Literacy Mobilizers through simple random sampling. Measures of ethical consideration were also observed during the research analysis to improve its reliability and credibility. The challenges of NFE including poor transport and insecurity and the issues of community participation were among the findings. Additional analysis was conducted and revealed a significant and positive relationship between NFE and the numbers of literates illustrating the key point that NFE has contributed to the betterment of the socio-economic status. Nevertheless, the majority of the respondents opined that the Non-Formal Education Programs are appropriate for the community. They proposed policy and funding interventions to enhance the scaling up of NFE programs and yielding of target education structures and services to all ministries.