Difference between revisions of "Educational NGOs"
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Educational NGOs have played key roles in economic and social development worldwide, from contributing to primary education in Angola to providing secondary school students in Eastern Europe with the necessary computer skills to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive labor landscape. The strengths of NGOs lie in a number of areas. NGOs | Educational NGOs have played key roles in economic and social development worldwide, from contributing to primary education in Angola to providing secondary school students in Eastern Europe with the necessary computer skills to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive labor landscape. The strengths of NGOs lie in a number of areas. NGOs | ||
| − | *have proven access to poor and remote areas where government programs and macroeconomic policies have otherwise been unable to reach | + | *have proven access to poor and remote areas where government programs and macroeconomic policies have otherwise been unable to reach |
| − | *are able to mobilize the community through their local leadership | + | *are able to mobilize the community through their local leadership |
| − | |||
*serve as low-cost intermediaries between government and rural communities, and give assistance to poor/deprived portions of a population (Chaturvedi 1994). | *serve as low-cost intermediaries between government and rural communities, and give assistance to poor/deprived portions of a population (Chaturvedi 1994). | ||
| − | *equip the population to help themselves | + | *equip the population to help themselves |
| − | *consider education within the framework of social development, and not as a simple mechanism of instruction | + | *consider education within the framework of social development, and not as a simple mechanism of instruction |
| − | *consider promotional activities of the educational sector as a natural prolongation of educational practices (CONGAD 2000). | + | *consider promotional activities of the educational sector as a natural prolongation of educational practices (CONGAD 2000) |
| − | + | *focus on employing effective trainers and capable organizers of community education programs (Chaturvedi 1994). By having training material, the community has a long term resource that can be used by future educational organizations. For example, CPAR and OXFAM developed a document entitled, “Training for Transformation, Problem Solving Participatory Approaches” in Malawi. This has been used by other NGOs as a resource in subsequent initiatives in this region (Chaturvedi 1994). | |
This article will outline some of the activities carried out by NGOs in education, including involvement in civic education, gender issues in education, and peace and human rights education. It will then outline the diversity in educational NGO collaborations, specifically partnerships with governments, the private sector, and multiple stakeholders will be examined. | This article will outline some of the activities carried out by NGOs in education, including involvement in civic education, gender issues in education, and peace and human rights education. It will then outline the diversity in educational NGO collaborations, specifically partnerships with governments, the private sector, and multiple stakeholders will be examined. | ||
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==Collaboration== | ==Collaboration== | ||
| − | Government | + | ====Government==== |
| − | The Private Sector/Foundations | + | Many NGOs opt to collaborate with the government of the country they are operating within. In India, NGOs complementing existing government educational programs has been an effective form of program delivery (Wazir 2000). Similarly, in Malawi, collaborations have been mainly on a one-to-one basis between an NGO and the government. In both instances, the problem that NGOs have run into is that there is no coordinating mechanism and framework for NGOs in general. Therefore, though NGOs have been welcomed in the implementation of educational programs, often times they have not been consulted on the policies, creation, design and evaluation of these programs (Chaturvedi 1994). NGOs often face insular governmental structures that may not want the input of outside agencies and interests. |
| + | ====The Private Sector/Foundations==== | ||
| + | The private sector has also found areas to collaborate with educational NGOs, and is increasingly supplementing resources that NGOs are unable to find in the public arena. For example, in 2005, the Skoll Foundation granted the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) $505,000 over 3 years to support and expand this program that educates girls in poor, rural communities in Africa. CAMFED works with groups of girls who encourage one another to stay in school, get jobs, start businesses and become leaders in their communities. The organization has implemented its program in more than 30 districts in Zimbabwe, Ghana, Zambia and Tanzania and is looking to expand to other countries. This organization supported over 68,290 children in school since 1993. It reached more than 480,000 community members through various initiatives in 2004 alone. Skoll funding will helped CAMFED open 21 new district centers, develop training programs to support replication, promote national-level initiatives to support girls’ education and hire additional staff (Skoll 2005). | ||
| − | Similarly, in 2000, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated US$5 million to The Gandhi Institute in India. This NGO runs a program called the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Free Job-Oriented Computer Training Programme, which targets educated, unemployed youth (Gandhi Institute of Computer Education and Information 2000). Other companies have worked closely with NGOs to support on-going programs in education through technical assistance in the forms of financial or managerial and information systems support. There are many areas for growth in terms of private sector participation. They include supporting | + | Similarly, in 2000, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated US $5 million to The Gandhi Institute in India. This NGO runs a program called the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Free Job-Oriented Computer Training Programme, which targets educated, unemployed youth (Gandhi Institute of Computer Education and Information 2000). Other companies have worked closely with NGOs to support on-going programs in education through technical assistance in the forms of financial or managerial and information systems support. There are many areas for growth in terms of private sector participation. They include supporting |
| − | *policy implementation at the management level | + | *policy implementation at the management level |
| − | *the training of teachers and curriculum development | + | *the training of teachers and curriculum development |
| − | *initiatives that directly reach children (e.g. equipment and materials) | + | *initiatives that directly reach children (e.g. equipment and materials) |
*the general educational infrastructure (Wazir 2000). | *the general educational infrastructure (Wazir 2000). | ||
| − | Multiple Stakeholders: Powerful Players to Move Global Education Forward | + | ====Multiple Stakeholders: Powerful Players to Move Global Education Forward==== |
| + | This type of collaboration has been identified as the most difficult to implement, since it requires the consideration of all parties involved, their motivations, needs, and goals. However, if successful, it is an effective way to infiltrate the education system to improve the existing structures. Collaboration between media, people’s movements, government officials, the corporate sector, foundations and philanthropic institutions, and trade unions are all possible avenues (Wazir 2000), and can have an immense impact on education, as each stakeholder covers various needs and can approach problems through their own specific expertise. | ||
| − | A good example of a multiple stakeholders approach is found through the work of the international organization of the educational labor NGOs, the International Federation of Workers’ Education Associations (IFWEA), which was founded in 1947 and has 75 organizations in 51 countries and six affiliated international organizations. Its national affiliates include specialized education NGOs linked to the labor movement, trade unions (often through their education departments), educational institutions of social-democratic parties, think tanks and research institutes. The IFWEA developed the International Study Circle (ISC) project, which aims to facilitate an international education program on globalization issues. The ISC involves using the Internet to bring together groups of participants based in several countries. They then work simultaneously according to a common curriculum, set of materials and educational method. Each local study circle has a facilitator. Between meetings, each group has access to materials on the Internet, including the results of discussions and work completed by other countries in previous sessions (Gallin 2000). | + | A good example of a multiple stakeholders approach is found through the work of the international organization of the educational labor NGOs, the International Federation of Workers’ Education Associations (IFWEA), which was founded in 1947 and has 75 organizations in 51 countries and six affiliated international organizations. Its national affiliates include specialized education NGOs linked to the labor movement, trade unions (often through their education departments), educational institutions of social-democratic parties, think tanks and research institutes. The IFWEA developed the International Study Circle (ISC) project, which aims to facilitate an international education program on globalization issues. The ISC involves using the Internet to bring together groups of participants based in several countries. They then work simultaneously according to a common curriculum, set of materials and educational method. Each local study circle has a facilitator. Between meetings, each group has access to materials on the Internet, including the results of discussions and work completed by other countries in previous sessions (Gallin 2000). |
| − | + | ==Conclusion== | |
| − | + | Education is not simply the acquisition of reading skills and simple mathematics. Instead, education encompasses learning about the environment, health and population issues, moral and affective domains, and spiritual and cultural values (CONGAD 2000). Furthermore, high quality education is vital for sustained social and economic development of nations. For many people living in developing nations, international NGOs provide hope for educational opportunities for their children. International NGOs have access to global networks of transportation, communication, and information technology. These associations promote universally recognized norms, including increases in educational enrollments, increased access to quality, standards of teacher training, and equal enrollments of boys and girls (Schafer 1999). Therefore, it becomes clear that educational NGOs are a veritable force that impacts and improves lives in ways that the governmental sector cannot. | |
| + | |||
| + | == References == | ||
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Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Announcements. 2000. Gandhi Institute Receives US$5 Million Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation http://www.gatesfoundation.org/GlobalDevelopment/SpecialInitiatives/Announcements/Announce-287.htm | Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Announcements. 2000. Gandhi Institute Receives US$5 Million Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation http://www.gatesfoundation.org/GlobalDevelopment/SpecialInitiatives/Announcements/Announce-287.htm | ||
Latest revision as of 10:51, 4 August 2008
Contents
Overview of Educational NGOs
NGOs are civil society actors. They have a specific agenda for the improvement of society, and act on the desire to advance and improve the human condition (Gallin 2000). In 1990, the decade of “Education for All” (EFA) was launched in Jomtien, Thailand. There were six goals set in Jomtien and in 2000 in Dakar, Senegal, these goals were reaffirmed for another 15 years until 2015 (Torres). They are:
- Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.
- Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to, and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality.
- Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programs.
- Achieving a 50 percent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.
- Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.
- Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills (UNESCO 2000).
Since the Dakar conference, the coordination group has been set up to ensure, in collaboration with UNESCO, that there are follow-up of activities as well as programs and mechanisms for NGOs under the area of “Education For All”. The Coordination Group is composed of eight representatives of civil society organizations, comprised of five regional organizations, two international organizations, and one representative of the UNESCO/NGO Liaison Committee (CCNGO 2001).
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