Nonformal Education Policy: Developing Countries

Abstract

This chapter discusses about nonformal education programs which are sponsored by the governments of less developed nations, often with financing from external sources. Education has had enormous appeal as a potentially powerful institutional remedy for underdevelopment by both the governments and the citizenry of the less developed countries. The characteristics of nonformal education described raised new hopes that this alternative to schooling might contribute to the accomplishment of a variety of goals related to national development. The emphasis on economic development with its concern for gross domestic product (GDP), gross national product (GNP), and balance of trade did not have the “trickle down” effect that was predicted. Government-sponsored nonformal education programs have served as effective vehicles for transmitting the state's nation-building messages and for helping to incorporate previously marginal groups into allegiance to the nation.