Unit 3: Agencies of Education

3.1.      Different agencies of education: Formal, Informal and Non-formal;

3.2.      Modes of Education: Regular, Open, Distance & Online, Blended learning;

3.3.      Regular School, Inclusive School and Special School, Home Education, Home-based Program, Family Community and Mass Media;

3.4.      Roles of Governmental Organizations—NCERT, SCERT, NCTE, UGC, Ministry of Education;

3.5.      Roles of various national and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in promoting of educational opportunities for children with disabilities;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.1.      Different agencies of education: Formal, Informal and Non-formal;

 

Education goes beyond what takes places within the four walls of the classroom. A child gets the education from his experiences outside the school as well as from those within on the basis of these factors. There are three main types of education, namely, Formal, Informal and Non-formal. Each of these types is discussed below.

Formal Education

Formal education or formal learning usually takes place in the premises of the school, where a person may learn basic, academic, or trade skills. Small children often attend a nursery or kindergarten but often formal education begins in elementary school and continues with secondary school.

Post-secondary education (or higher education) is usually at a college or university which may grant an academic degree. It is associated with a specific or stage and is provided under a certain set of rules and regulations. 

The formal education is given by specially qualified teachers they are supposed to be efficient in the art of instruction. It also observes strict discipline. The student and the teacher both are aware of the facts and engage themselves in the process of education.

Examples of Formal Education

Characteristics of formal education

Advantages of Formal education:

Disadvantages of Formal education:            

Informal Education

Informal education may be a parent teaching a child how to prepare a meal or ride a bicycle.

People can also get an informal education by reading many books from a library or educational websites.

Informal education is when you are not studying in a school and do not use any particular learning method. In this type of education, conscious efforts are not involved. It is neither pre-planned nor deliberate. It may be learned at some marketplace, hotel or at home.

Unlike formal education, informal education is not imparted by an institution such as school or college. Informal education is not given according to any fixed timetable. There is no set curriculum required. Informal education consists of experiences and actually living in the family or community.

Examples of Informal Education

Characteristics of Informal Education

Advantages of Informal Education

Disadvantages of Informal Education     

Non-formal Education

Non-formal education includes adult basic education, adult literacy education or school equivalency preparation.

In nonformal education, someone (who is not in school) can learn literacy, other basic skills or job skills.

Home education, individualized instruction (such as programmed learning), distance learning and computer-assisted instruction are other possibilities. 

Non-formal education is imparted consciously and deliberately and systematically implemented. It should be organized for a homogeneous group. Non-formal, education should be programmed to serve the needs of the identified group. This will necessitate flexibility in the design of the curriculum and the scheme of evaluation.

Examples of Non-formal Education

Characteristics of Non-formal Education

Advantages of Non-formal Education

Disadvantages of Non-formal Education

 

 

3.2.      Modes of Education: Regular, Open, Distance & Online, Blended learning;

 

The Distance Education System

Although distance learning is not a completely new thing for us, recently it has taken the world by storm. The recent pandemic situation has brought it into the spotlight because of how useful and convenient it has been for us.

Distance learning is a form of education that doesn't require students to be physically present in school. This form of education conducts classes in the form of videos and modules, even exams are conducted online. As a result, you are able to participate from anywhere in the world.

Regular Education System

The traditional education system has remained quite the same. Universities are still operating face-to-face classes. Although the use of multimedia and technology has changed the experience around the last few decades, students who are pursuing degrees are still attending lectures and examinations to finish courses.

Distance Education Vs. Regular Education

Education gives us knowledge of the world around us. It builds our capacity to change it into something better. So, if there were anything that you would like to get conveniently, it would be education. The flexibility in learning is comparatively a newer concept.

In the past, people would often select a profession for themselves and carry it out for the rest of their lives to make their livelihood, but people are having to adapt to new situations—even working two jobs at the same time. The changing times will require people to develop more and more new skills to adapt to socio-economic changes. People are going to have to keep adding to their set of skills. It’s not going to just be about their bachelor’s degree.

People are having to adapt to new things and learn new skills. This is a part of the whole new upgrade we are going through in all walks of life. The world is not the same as how the traditional academics shaped it. People are having to adapt to new skills and learn new things to keep up with the modern world. It has particularly changed a lot in the way we interact with people and how we learn new things. People's comfort zones are changing. Failing to upgrade will cause you to fall back into the wave of time.

DISTANCE EDUCATION (OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING)

Today two terms that are being used almost inter-changeably are ‘Open Learning’ and ‘Distance Education’ and they are often combined to be known as Open and Distance Learning (ODL). Open learning is a philosophy and Distance Education is the mode used for translating it into reality as the two are complementary to each other.

DISTANCE EDUCATION (DE)

is an umbrella term which describes all the teaching-learning arrangements in which the learner and the teacher are separated by space and time. In fact, it is a mode of delivering education and instruction to learners who are not physically present in a traditional setting of classroom. Transaction of the curriculum is effected by means of specially prepared materials (learning materials) which are delivered to the learners at their doorstep through various media such as print, audio/videotapes, Internet and World Wide Web, etc. Also, a technological medium replaces the inter-personal communication of conventional classroom-based education that takes place between the teacher and the learners. Communication between the institution, teacher, and learners is mainly through electronic media (telephone, chat sessions, email, website, etc) and also through postal correspondence and limited face to face contact sessions held at Study Centres that are set up by the DE institutions as close to the learners’ homes as possible

OPEN LEARNING

Open learning, which covers a wide range of innovations and reforms in the educational sector that advocates flexibility to the learner with regard to entry and exit; pace and place of study; method of study and also the choice and combination of courses; assessment and course completion. The lesser the restrictions, the higher the degree of openness. The Open learning system aims to redress social or educational inequality and to offer opportunities not provided by conventional colleges or universities. Educational opportunities are planned deliberately so that access to education is available to larger sections of society. Thus, ODL is a term that accepts the philosophy of “openness” and uses the “distance mode” of learning

WHY?

ODL occupies a special place in the Indian higher education system because of its major contribution in enhancing the gross enrollment ratio and democratization of higher education to large segments of the Indian population particularly to reach out to the unreached and to meet the demands of lifelong learning which has become more of a necessity in the knowledge society. The major objectives of the DE system are:

What is the difference between online and blended learning?

The online learning environment relies on computers connected to the internet. Responsibility for learning shifts primarily to the learners. To this end, the teacher’s role is to guide learners, using a variety of online strategies, while providing them with clear instructions to assignments or tasks that compliment and ultimately accomplish the established course learning objectives.

In an online course, there is 100% online course delivery with little or no face-to-face sessions. By contrast, blended learning is a mix of face-to-face teaching and the online approach. Students in such a course not only have the convenience of learning and revising at their individual pace but each student has the benefit of interacting in face-to-face sessions. Blended learning, therefore, provides the best of both worlds for students and lecturers alike as participants are granted the hands-on experience of the face-to-face class as well as the convenience and flexibility of the online environment.

 

 

3.3.      Regular School, Inclusive School and Special School, Home Education, Home-based Program, Family Community and Mass Media;

 

After family the educational institutions take over the charge of socialisation. In some societies (simple non-literate societies), sociali­sation takes place almost entirely within the family but in highly complex societies children are also socialised by the educational system. Schools not only teach reading, writing and other basic skills, they also teach students to develop themselves, to discipline themselves, to cooperate with others, to obey rules and to test their achievements through competition.

Schools teach sets of expecta­tions about the work, profession or occupations they will follow when they mature. Schools have the formal responsibility of imparting knowledge in those disciplines which are most central to adult functioning in our society. It has been said that learning at home is on a personal, emotional level, whereas learning at school is basically intellectual.

"Regular education" is the term often used to describe the educational experience of typically developing children. The content of this curriculum is defined in most states by state standards, many of which have adopted the Common Core State Standards. These standards define the academic skills that students should acquire at each grade level. This is the Free and Appropriate Public Education against which the program of a student who receives special education is evaluated.

In contrast, "general education" is used interchangeably with "regular education but is preferred, as it is politically correct to speak of "general education students" as opposed to "regular education students". "Regular" implies that special education students are irregular, or somehow flawed. While it's the curriculum designed for all children which are meant to meet state standards (or if adopted, the Common Core State Standards), the General Education program is also the program which the state's annual test — required by NCLB (No Child Left Behind) — is designed to evaluate. 

Regular Education and Special Education

To provide FAPE for special education students, IEP goals should be "aligned" with the Common Core State Standards. In other words, they should show that a student is being taught to standard. In some cases, with children whose disabilities are severe, IEP's will reflect a more "functional" program, which will be very loosely aligned with the Common Core State Standards, rather than directly linked to specific grade-level standards. These students are most often in self-contained programs, and they are also the most likely to be part of the three percent of students allowed to take an alternate test.

Unless students are in the most restrictive environments, they will spend some time in the regular education environment. Often, children in self-contained programs will participate in "specials" such as physical education, art, and music with students in the regular/general education programs. When assessing the amount of time spent in regular education (part of the IEP report) time spent with typical students in the lunchroom and on the playground for recess is also credited as time in the "general education" environment. 

The main difference between special education integrated education and inclusive education is that special education is a separate system of education that caters to the needs of children with disabilities outside the mainstream education, while integrated education and inclusive education occur within a setting where students with disabilities learn alongside peers without disabilities.

In special education, the service and the support necessary for one student can vary from the requirement of another student. Special education has an individual-based approach and focuses on giving students the resources they need to make progress in education. The situation within the integrated classroom is quite different, as extra support required will be given to facilitate the student to adapt to the regular curriculum. When it comes to inclusive education, this situation changes further. The inclusive classroom generally accepts the different learning patterns of the students and adapts itself to cater to the unique and individual need of each student.

Difference Between Special Education Integrated Education and Inclusive Education - Comparison Summary

 

The family:

The child’s first world is that of his family. It is a world in itself, in which the child learns to live, to move and to have his being. Within it, not only the biological tasks of birth, protection and feeding take place, but also develop those first and intimate associations with persons of different ages and sexes which form the basis of the child’s personality development.

The family is the primary agency of socialisation. It is here that the child develops an initial sense of self and habit-training—eating, sleeping etc. To a very large extent, the indoctrination of the child, whether in primitive or modem complex society, occurs within the circle of the primary family group. The child’s first human relation­ships are with the immediate members of his family—mother or nurse, siblings, father and other close relatives.

Home Schooling

Homeschooling (also referred to as home based learning), is an educational process where parents or tutors teach children at home, instead of having them formally educated in a public or provided school setting. Homeschooling was very common years ago before the implementation of mandatory school attendance legislation. Today, homeschooling is not as common as it was in the past – but it is growing in popularity.

Homeschooling is permitted in most states and jurisdictions if parents are uncomfortable enrolling their children in public schools. Many parents favor homeschooling their children since they have control of the rigor of the curriculum, can be assured their children are in a safe environment during the day, and can provide moral and religious instruction not permitted within the public school system. Many parents living in remote or rural regions, or in foreign countries, opt to homeschool their children.

The primary reasons parents give for homeschooling their children are (1) dissatisfaction with the quality of education provided in local schools and (2) a desire to be more involved in their childrens' education and development. Homeschooling parents are not only dissatisfied with the quality of education provided by local schools, they are concerned about bullying, school environment and schools' inability to cater to the special needs and individual aptitudes of their children.

Homeschooling is particularly popular among families that live in rural areas isolated from others, those living abroad, and for families whose job or lifestyle requires frequent travel. Student actors, athletes and musicians are also frequently homeschooled by either parents or professional tutors in order to accommodate their regular practice and training routines. 

If a student’s disability and medical condition means they're not able to attend school for a long period of time, the school can help the student continue to take part in their learning at home.

Until the student is ready to return to the classroom, the school can support them by:

In most cases, the school can provide support without needing to apply for further funding. If a student has highly specialised needs, the school can apply for extra funding through the home-based educational support program. The school may be reimbursed for:

The program does not offer an alternative to school attendance, or replicate the full range of supports that schools can provide.

The Community:

Another crucial agency of education is the community. It offers definite environments that supply the learner’s personal experiences which the school taps. The socio psychology experience involving the community go a long way in determining the learner’s educational attainments. Yet. These educational values of the community can be said to be intrinsic.

The extrinsic role of the community in educational development is not less significant unless a ;community ,offers the needed land a proprietor may find it very difficult to establish school. Even after marking the land available the community ,works with the school to endure the lather’s progress, development and growth, many communities, like progress, development, and missionaries, really established their own schools before government grant-aided the schools. Despite the grantaiding communities continue to provide funds and facilities to the schools and monitor the teaching learning process in their own ways.

Role of community in education

Community is an informal and active agency of education. It is defined as a group of families settled together in a particular area with more or less common practices, ideals, ideas, values and culture. It is a dynamic form of organization for the betterment and progress of its individuals. It provides general and liberal from of education by socializing its members. There is also a better coordination between school and community and home and community.

The chief educational functions of community are given in the following headings:

Educational Functions of Community:

(1) Increasing attendance in school:

Community helps in increasing attendance and enrollment of the students in school by motivating its members.

(2) Providing physical facilities:

It helps in providing physical facilities like buildings, teaching aids, teachers and other elements for better education for the community school.

(3) Financing education:

It provides financial assistance or donations for educational purpose. It seeks helps from different generous individuals for extending their support for educational development of the community.

(4) Maintaining good atmosphere in school:

Community takes the responsibility of school and helps in maintaining discipline, and decorum in institution. It also helps in farming timetable of the schools taking the needs of the community.

(5) Providing media of informal education:

Community extends support for all-round development of its members in the school through its informal agencies like museums, art galleries, libraries, music drama centers, recreation centers, religious and secular institution, etc.

Therefore, community helps the school in different ways for the educational development of its members. The learned and qualified students render their service for the development of the community. So both community and school are closely related and interconnected for a greater mission of the society i.e., creation of a learning society.

Mass media:

From early forms of print technology to electronic communication (radio, TV, etc.), the media is playing a central role in shaping the personality of the individuals. Since the last century, technological innovations such as radio, motion pictures, recorded music and television have become important agents of socialisation.

Television, in particular, is a critical force in the socialisation of children almost all over the new world. According to a study conducted in America, the average young person (between the ages of 6 and 18) spends more time watching the ‘tube’ (15,000 to 16,000 hours) than studying in school. Apart from sleeping, watching television is the most time-consuming activity of young people.

Role of Mass Media in Education

The technological innovation in mass media of educational communication means that education can now be transmitted to far off places. That too without geographical hindrances. A person sitting in India, for instance, can benefit from a lecture being delivered in the United States. This saves a lot of time, effort, and money. With ever-growing innovations in technology, education can now be transmitted in real time over the computer screen from far off places. The major roles mass media plays in the education field are:

·       Universal reach

Mass media has made the world smaller; it has connected people like never before. Education is something which must be universal. Mass media has helped tremendously bridge that gap. In other words, it is now within everyone’s reach and making the world a better place.

·       Storage of information

Mass media allows storing information which can be accessed from anywhere at any time. It is available at our fingertips literally, which saves a lot of time and energy. Therefore, it serves as a rather useful resource in the field of education.

·       No Physical Constraints

One of the major drawbacks before mass media was a physical constraint but not anymore. Mass media has reduced the distance and made the world smaller for good. For instance, it is not necessary to be present at the place physically to gain knowledge now.

·       Organized Influence

Previously, the medium of information was rather unorganized. Now, the mass media of information offers much more organization and sophistication in delivering information. In addition, the authenticity of the information being imparted can be readily checked and reviewed. It is possible with the availability of mass media. This results in the reduction and elimination of false information or rumors.

·       Fruitful Results

Another huge advantage of current technological innovation in mass media is the increased memorization capability of students. Many scientific pieces of research have proven that transmitting lectures via an audio-visual format is quite effective. It has a far more positive impact on memorization capacity of the brain than merely an audio lecture.  Above all, this is only possible because of the mass media.

 

 

3.4.      Roles of Governmental Organizations—NCERT, SCERT, NCTE, UGC, Ministry of Education;

 

ROLE OF NCERT

The National Council of Educational Research and Training was established in New Delhi on 1stSeptember, 1961 for providing academic support in improving the quality of school education in India. It is the academic adviser to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) of the Government of India. It is concerned with all problems of school education in the country, and endeavors to improve such education through developing various programmes of research, publication, extension training. NCERT also provides technical advice to states as to how to improve the standard of state science exhibitions and their exhibits for national science exhibitions.

·       To monitor the administration of NIE / Regional colleges of Education.

·       To undertake aid, promote and co-ordinate research in all branches of education for improving school – education

·       To organize pre-service and in-service education programmes for teachers.

·       To prepare and publish study material for students and related teacher’s handbooks. /

·       To search talented students for the award of scholarship in science, Technology and social sciences.

·       To undertake functions assigned by the Ministry of education (Now HRD) for improving school –education.

·       To promote, organize and foster research in all fields of education.

·       To disseminate knowledge of improved educational techniques and practices; and

·       To conduct special studies, surveys and investigations.

ROLE OF SCERT

State Council for Educational and Training (SCERT) is an apex body, responsible for quality education in the state. The State Institute of Education (SIE), which functioned as a part of the department of general education, was converted to form the SCERT, to give a new thrust and direction to school education. SCERT, Kerala, was established in 1994.

 It is an autonomous body entrusted with planning, implementation and evaluation of all academic programs from pre-school to higher secondary levels. SCERT is concerned with academic aspects of school education including formulation of curriculum, preparation of textbooks, teacher’s handbooks and teacher training. It advises the Government on policy matters relating to school education.

KEY FUNCTIONS OF SCERT 

WORKSHOPS: In workshops, the approach is more practical than a seminar. All the participants participate actively and make a significant contribution. A workshop is organized to consider intensively practical problems of class room teaching like lesson planning, curriculum construction etc.

WORKSHOP FOR VOCATIONAL TEACHERS: The workshop was intended to orient teachers with the preparation of pools of questions based on activity-based approach.19 vocational subject representatives participated in the workshop. One set of question paper in each subject was prepared at the end of the workshop.

WORKSHOP FOR PREPARATION OF SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER AND GUIDELINE: A workshop for the development of sample question paper and guideline for question paper setters of Std. X (for special schools) for all the subjects was prepared. The same was handed over to Secretary, Pareeksha Bhavan.

TRAINING COORDINATION: DTE (Department of Teacher Education)’s areas of action are organizing teacher training programmes (both in-service and pre-service) for the TTI’s and DIET’s.

TRAINING ON ADOLESCENT HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMME (AHEP): The workshop for the development of module for conducted from 25-27 August 2011. As a continuation the training for empowering the DRU faculty of DIET on AHEP was teacher educators of TTI’s covering all the districts of Kerala is to be conducted in Kozhikode, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kollam and Ernakulum on 20 December 2011 and would be completed by 13 January 2012.

ADVOCASY PROGRAMME FOR PRINCIPALS OF B.Ed. COLLEGES.: A one-day meeting was convened for the principals of B.Ed. colleges to make them aware of the importance of the relevance and need for population education. The main discussion was the adolescence issues and concerns.

 HIGHER SECONDARY SRG TRAINING: SRG Training for Higher Secondary teachers for the year 2011-2012 was conducted at various centers. Training was conducted for 17 major subjects. The batches were of 50, 60 and 100 members for different subjects and it was a 3-day programme. The topic generally discussed in all subjects was guidance and counseling, career development, and how to conduct cluster effectively and ICT-based model classroom.

NTEC/PRE-PRIMARY TEACHER: It is a comprehensive course envisaged for equipping aspirants to become new millennium Pre-school/ Nursery teacher. This is a systematic course dealing with major areas of child developments such as Elementary education-Sociological and philosophical foundations, Child development and psychology, health, Practical and training.

ICT TRAINING FOR HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL HINDI TEACHERS: ICT- based training is an area much desirable for Hindi teachers. ICT training for Higher Secondary Hindi teachers of the state was held from 21.02.2012 to 08.03. 9 Core SRG members and total of 400 SRG provided members attended from 14 districts. The programme classes on File creation, Hindi Devanagari typing, mail creating, e-mail sending, slide making and Blog creating. These teachers will impart training at cluster level.

 

ROLE OF NCTE

The National Council for Teacher Education, in its previous status since 1973, was an advisory body for the Central and State Governments on all matters pertaining to teacher education, with its Secretariat in the Department of Teacher Education of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). Despite its commendable work in the academic fields, it could not perform essential regulatory functions, to ensure maintenance of standards in teacher education and preventing proliferation of substandard teacher education institutions. The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 and the Programme of Action thereunder, envisaged a National Council for Teacher Education with statutory status and necessary resources as a first step for overhauling the system of teacher education.

The National Council for Teacher Education as a statutory body came into existence in pursuance of the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 (No. 73 of 1993) on the 17th August,1995.

Objective

The main objective of the NCTE is to achieve planned and coordinated development of the teacher education system throughout the country, the regulation and proper maintenance of Norms and Standards in the teacher education system and for matters connected therewith. The mandate given to the NCTE is very broad and covers the whole gamut of teacher education programmes including research and training of persons for equipping them to teach at pre-primary, primary, secondary and senior secondary stages in schools, and non-formal education, part-time education, adult education and distance (correspondence) education courses.

ROLE OF UGC

UGC or the University Grants Commission or Committee, India, is an Indian Union Government initiative compliant with the UGC act 1956 Under the Ministry of Human Resources Development and affiliated to the Ministry of Higher Education. The responsibilities of the commission boil down to coordination, determination and vetting of standards of higher education all across the country. The commission managed to form its headquarters in Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in New Delhi and regional centers in major states like Hyderabad, Bhopal, Bangalore, Pune, Guwahati and Kolkata to decentralize various operations.

The commission has the power to allocate funds to Universities and Institutions of Higher Learning as well as ensuring that these institutions abide by the standards imposed by the commission. Institutions that fail to fall under the category are deemed fake universities or colleges, and the University Grants Commission generates a list of the same regularly. Besides, some other roles of UGC are:

Besides, to stimulate progression in the education and research sector, the commission imparts fellowship programs, awards, research grants and scholarships. These scholarships provide financial assistance to meritorious students who can contribute to the development of the country.

ROLE OF Ministry of Education

The Ministry of Education of India is a part of the government of India, responsible for the development of human resources and the educational system in the country.

The Ministry of Education of India is divided into two separate departments: the Department of School Education and Literacy, which is responsible for organizing and funding various aspects of primary education and literacy, and the Department of Higher Education, which deals with secondary and post-secondary educational efforts. 

The Ministry of Education, or the Ministry of Human Resources Development, is headed by a minister of cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers. The current head of the Ministry of Education of India is Kapil Sibal; Mr. Sibal is assisted by a single Minister of State, Daggubati Purandeswari, who is officially labeled as the Minister of State for Human Resource Development. 

The central government works through the central ministry of educa­tion whose functions are:

1. The central ministry of education prepares educational plans for the whole country. It formulates broad based policy regarding education.

2. It provides finances to the difference central educational organiza­tions, the universities, the stale governments, private agencies. It gives grant of different types to the states (recurring as well as non-recurring), so that they may work well, to achieve the desired ends. Scholarships and stipends are also awarded by it to the brilliant students studying abroad.

3. Another duty of central ministry of education, is to appoint special commissions, advisory bodies.

4. It makes a provision of special fields of education, social educa­tion, education for the physically handicapped persons.

5. To give direction to the state governments is another important function of the central ministry of education. Standards of education are fixed up by it which are to be followed by the different states.

6. Material concerning nation-wide interests books, reports are published by it.

7. It works as a major coordinating agency for different activities of all educational agencies.

8. It maintains a record concerning education in the whole of the country.

9. It encourages research, Financial assistance in this regard is also provided by it. National Council of Educational Research & Training has been set up for this purpose.

10. It makes efforts for the revival of old culture of the country. Indian council for cultural relations has been set up for this purpose. Cultural programmes are organised and cultural teams are sent to the other countries. It helps in the revival of old culture and at the same time transmit culture to the other nations of the world.

11. It develops relations with UNESCO. Information about new experiments in the field of education is passed on to the higher authorities in the country. Exchange of students with the foreign countries also comes under its purview.

12. It helps in starting the various pilot projects in the field of education. A few examples under this scheme are:-

(a) Intensive educational development in some selected areas.

(b) Merit Scholarships in the public schools.

(c) Promoting research projects in the secondary schools.

(d) Training some experts in the field of A.V. Education.

(e) Production of suitable literature for children and adults.

(f) Promoting inter-stale understanding.

(g) Promoting Hindi in non-Hindi speaking areas

 

 

3.5.      Roles of various national and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in promoting of educational opportunities for children with disabilities;

 

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world and the most effective way to break out of the cycle of poverty. Yet, after 70 years of Independence, over two crore children (NSS-2014) still remain out-of-school in India. These children are not only deprived of their right to receive an education but they lose their childhood to earn bread for a living.

Government through its Right to Education Act, 2009 have been making its way in enrolling and retaining children in school especially from the marginalized sector. 

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a citizen-based association that operates independently of government, usually to deliver resources or serve some social or political purpose.

India is a vast country so in order to provide quality education they need support of other agencies for it. They are important element of contemporary Indian society. They are considered third sector, non profit, voluntary sector etc. They are supported by government but do not fall under any government policy. They have got important status among their clientele that is the deprived section due to their active contribution in that area. They work in those areas where the government initiatives are limited or lacking.

The role of NonGovernment Organizations (NGOs) in imparting education to Children with Special Needs (CWSN) all over the world cannot be undermined. “In the last few decades of the nineteen century, the NGOs have played an active role in India to impart education to children with special need (CWSN). One factor which influences the capacity of disability related NGOs to make the necessary changes, appears to relate their different forms, which range from small community based to national or international organizations.

NGOs have a tendency to work in small locations, achieving impact on the ground, as compared to the Government services that usually address the needs of a majority with little attention given to members of the civil society, who have no voice. Guardian and families play a primary role in the process of rehabilitating CWSN. They are involved at every stage of the rehabilitation procedure and their views and those of the children.

Throughout the last decade NGOs have been increasingly tapped to implement development programmes. In recent years, growing amounts of development resources have been channeled to and through NGOs in all sectors; NGOs working to improve social welfare, reduce poverty, and develop civil society have become more dependent on international donors, leading to an explosive development in local NGOs in many countries. This pattern can also be found in the education sector, where most donor agencies have expanded the resources allocated through NGOs to implement their educational programmes. More and more, donors use international and local NGOs for education service-delivery in both formal and non-formal contexts.

NGO approach to advancement is based on the principle of people’s participations. NGOs are looked upon as alternative agencies which are receiving attention now a day and are useful in promoting awareness, change and improvement in society. They are extensively involved in reducing the poverty and promoting sustainable development. They are in a position to provide social services to different parts of the society where as the government fails to provide such services.

Education for All

Global Campaign for EducationThe Education for All (EFA) movement is a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children, youth, and adults. The movement was launched at the World Conference on Education for All in  1990, when agreed to universalize primary education and massively reduce illiteracy by the end of the decade. Ten years later, with many countries far from having reached this goal, the international community met again in Dakar, Senegal, and affirmed their commitment to achieving Education for All by the year 2015.

The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) is a civil society movement that aims to end the global education crisis. The GCE's mission is to make sure that governments act now to deliver the right of every girl, boy, woman and man to a free quality public education. GCE campaigns throughout the year mobilizing pressure from all sectors and holding governments and international institutions to account.  Some of the activities that GCE sponsors are: Global Action Week, year round campaigning and global advocacy.