Community learning centers in Nepal - unesdoc - Unesco

Community Learning Centers In Nepal: Status and Recommendations This report is a summary of a survey filled by 15 selected CLCs from 7 provinces in Federal Nepal. The CLC responses were filled by respective CLC managers and/or facilitators, and included information about the demographics of their respective CLCs, community, current activities, future plans, facilities, relationship with other stakeholders, and self-assessment. The study is carried out under the UNESCO Capacity Development for Education (CapED) programme, which aims to promote participatory nationally driven efforts to enhance capacities in planning processes, management functions, and organizational structures at different governance levels and across formal and non-formal sectors to improve educational quality and increase educational opportunities for all, including girls and women as well as disadvantaged populations.

Community Learning Centers In Nepal: Status and Recommendations

KAT/2017/PI/H5 Cover Photo: ©UNESCO/Pearly Wong 1


Community Learning Centers In Nepal: Status and Recommendations Summary: 

The report collects information from 15 CLCs from 7 provinces in Nepal.



Participating CLCs have reported a total of 5000 active members: 82% of them comprises women; 22% comprises Dalits and other minorities; 31% comprises youth (15-24 years)



In total, participating CLCs reported more than 20,000 direct beneficiaries and 55,000 indirect beneficiaries.



Most prevalent community problems identified include poverty, unemployment, gender inequalities, and geographic remoteness leading to lack of facilities and access to technologies



All CLCs provided literacy classes and income-generation activities. Almost all CLCs provided trainings related to health and sanitation, gender, agriculture and environment.



All CLCs possess computers and printers, but half of them have regular access to internet. Only 11 of them use ICT in teaching and learning activities.



Almost all CLCs have libraries/books collection; 11 of them have dedicated study corners and 6 of them have librarians/volunteers managing the library and books collection.



Main challenges identified by CLCs include inability to mobilize resources, lack of infrastructure, and lack of community ownership.



CLC facilitators would like to receive more trainings on ICT, resource mobilization, proposal writing, and management and accounting.



CLCs mobilize resources through donation, membership fee, renting out space/shutter, agricultural outputs and cultural programmes. They also receive contributions from government agencies and organizations such as UNESCO.



All CLCs maintain close contacts with District Education Officers (DEOs) and schools. Most also have connections with municipalities and women’s groups. Few of them are connected with community radio and District Irrigation Offices.



CLCs as a whole rate themselves high in “responsive to needs of communities”, “inclusivity”, “local ownership” but rate themselves lowest in “innovation and creativity” and “effective use of ICT”.

1


Figure 1 Selected 15 CLC Locations across the Map of Nepal

2


Background Following the adoption of Sustainable Development Goals, the Government of Nepal has made its commitment towards ensuring the 17 goals, including Goal 4 on Quality Education, which states ”Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. It is evident that formal education system alone could not fulfil the goal of addressing all, both in and out-of-school populations. The newly developed School Sector Development Plan (SSDP) calls for strengthening non-formal education by expanding flexible and open programming for skillsdevelopment and income generation with programmes targeted at underserved populations. It recognizes that Community Learning Centers (CLCs) will continue to be the main mechanism for delivering non-formal education and the importance of strengthening them. The genesis of CLCs in Nepal lies in Seti Zone Education Project that first introduced the concept of Education for Rural Development in mid 70s including the programs basic literacy, alternative schooling, flexible modes of learning, women literacy along with the concept of CLCs. In the past two decades, some CLCs have grown larger in scale and delivered more services than the others. Under the new federal Nepal, CLCs are expected to play increasingly important roles in local level learning and development. That means more resources and capacities are demanded from them. CLCs need to strengthen themselves or otherwise risk elimination. In fact, the SSDP stated that part of CLCs’ funding will be tied to the results they achieve. The Capacity Development for Education (CapED) programme (previously CapEFA Programme), works with the Ministry of Education to promote participatory country-driven efforts to enhance capacities at different governance levels and across formal and non-formal sectors to improve educational quality and increase educational opportunities for all, including girls and women as well as disadvantaged populations. The programme has been undertaking numerous activities to promote literacy and most importantly, lifelong learning. The programme utilizes a bottom-up approach, working in close partnerships CLCs throughout Nepal across different eco-regions and districts and developing them into lifelong learning resource centers at the local level. The programme now focuses on selected functional CLC with proven track records and gives them the required laser focus and will maximize the output. These selected CLCs in return, will inspire and motivate their other counterparts and bring about multiplier results. Under the programme, a survey was conducted to provide information on CLC profiles. The exercise also serves as needs assessment and self-evaluation of participating CLCs. The result produces useful baseline information to enable better evaluation of capacity development in the future. Participating CLCs were selected after consultation with the Non Formal Education Center, and the selection was based on proven past performances and partnership, and include CLCs from all the seven provinces under the new Federal Nepal. The CLC responses were filled by respective CLC managers and/or facilitators, and included information about the demographics of their respective CLCs, community, current activities, future plans, facilities, relationship with other stakeholders, and self-assessment.

CLCs and Communities Profiles The population of CLC catchment area ranges from 2977 (Namje CLC) to 41081 (Aarungkola CLC) people. The number of active members reported however ranges from 11 to 909 people only, indicating a potential/need for expansion. Women constitute 82% of active CLC members and 87% of participating CLC facilitators. However, only one CLC (Aarungkola CLC) reported having woman

3


leadership for its Management Committee. Others have at least one woman serving as Management Committee members. The highest number (10) of women in management committee was reported by Gitanagar CLC from Chitwan. % of men 22.7%

52.9% 46.9%

49.7% 90.1%

98.7% 77.3%

52.0% 49.5% 87.8%94.7%

93.5% 83.0%

69.2% 46.7%

13.5%

17.0%

30.8% 53.3%

86.5%

% of women

47.1% 53.1%

50.3% 9.9%

1.3%

48.0% 50.5% 6.5%

12.2% 5.3%

Figure 2: Gender ratio of CLC members

In total, the highest number of active CLC members comes from the Brahmin-Chhetri group, followed by Janajati and Dalits. Dalits and other minorities constitute around 22% of active members and 31% of active members are youth (15-24 years) while 7.6% are senior citizens (60+ age) A total of 9 out of 15 CLCs reported that local languages other than Nepali such as Tharu, Doteli, Chepang, ethnic Rai, Magar etc. is their primary means of communication. However, only 4 of them reportedly conduct classes in their local languages (Chepang, Bajjika, and Baitadeli). Participating CLC facilitators have the minimum qualification of School Leaving Certificates (SLC) and many have a Bachelor Degree. They have reportedly received trainings on computer training, CLC management, administration, and teacher training amongst others. CLC management committees are different from each other. Generally, there are sub-committees looking after different areas/sectors. For instance, Shreekot CLC has sections on education, skills development, cultural services and health. Examples of Management Committees can be found in Annex 4.

Community Issues and Problems

Most prevalent community problems include poverty due to unemployment leading to emigration of youth to other places, economic poverty, issues related to gender based discrimination. Other issues include geographic remoteness leading to lack of access to advanced ICT techniques and facilities, problems of drinking water, lack of skills based training, lack of awareness amongst others.

• Unemployment • Poverty • Gender-based discrimination • Geographic remoteness • Lack of skills based trainings • Lack of awareness

4


CLC Activities All 15 selected CLCs conduct programmes and activities regularly. The primary focus areas are literacy classes, income generation activities, health and sanitation, gender rights, agriculture, and environment. Some are also working in areas related to ICT and child protection. The survey reports that few CLCs conduct regular activities related to indigenous knowledge and social conflict. The CLCs have reported the following as parts of their activities:  Activities related to early childhood development and children in general  Skill development trainings such as tailor training, agriculture, animal farming, ICT training etc  Savings and credit services  Literacy classes and library services including newspaper reading facilities  Awareness programmes related to gender and caste based discriminations, health and environment Number of CLCs Child protection Social conflict Indigenous knowledge

11 2 4

Income generation

15

ICT

11

Literacy

15

Agriculture

14

Environment

13

Gender rights

14

Health and sanitation

14

Figure 3: Number of CLCs providing activities in the thematic area

Other activities also include production and dissemination of self-developed materials such as posters, street play, audio and/or video of folk/traditional songs, and books on village profile. 8 of the surveyed CLCs reported that they develop their own materials. Most CLCs have reported having up to 11 regular volunteers. In total, CLCs reported more than 20,000 direct beneficiaries and 55,000 indirect beneficiaries.

CLC Facilities All participating CLCs reported having computers and laptops. However, less than half of them have access to the internet and only 11 of them use ICT for learning purposes.

5


ICT Facilities in CLCs 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

Figure 4: Number of CLCs with ICT Facilities

14 of the 15 CLCs responded that they have library facilities in their CLCs and have 200-800 books in their libraries. They mostly have kids’ storybooks, magazines, novels, and religious textbooks; but few CLCs have school textbooks in their libraries, hence limiting the number of regular visitors from the school-going age group. The regular users of the libraries include almost equal participation from both men and women. Farmers and teachers are also reported to have visited their libraries. Of the 14 CLCs which have library facilities in their CLCs, 11 of them have dedicated study corners in the libraries and only 6 of them have a dedicated librarian or a volunteer working in the library. In addition, 13 of the CLCs reported regular users of the CLC library.

Challenges and Future Plans The fourth part of the questionnaire asked the respondents about the problems CLCs are facing. Most of the CLCs responded that the lack of resources and inability to mobilize the minimal available resources as two of their main problems. They also mentioned that the lack of proper infrastructure including CLC building and furniture, unwillingness and lack of ownership from the community, and technological disadvantage due to geographical remoteness as issues. CLCs plan to carry out, in the future, programmes related to income generation and skill-based trainings, extending literacy opportunities to women and disadvantaged people, infrastructure and ICT development, and developing library facilities and information centers. When asked about what trainings they wish to take in the future, the survey data reveals that more CLCs are interested to receive trainings on income generation and skill development. The CLC facilitators are also interested in trainings related to ICT, resource mobilization, proposal writing, and management and accounting.

Resources 14 CLCs reported that community contribution is one of the sources of their CLC contribution. This includes membership fees and donation from community members. It is important to note that 11 out of 15 CLCs have a CLC business as a source of CLC resources. The CLC businesses include renting

6


out spaces and shutter, conducting ‘deusi-bhailo’* and other cultural programmes, agricultural output etc. Further data reveals many CLCs receive donations and contributions from various governmental agencies such as MOE-NFEC, the Department of Education, municipalities, VDCs etc, and national and international non-government agencies such as UNESCO, WFP and other donor organizations.

Resource Mobilization 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

14

13

12

11 9

8

Figure 5: Number of CLCs with resources

Relationship with other Stakeholders The baseline survey asked CLCs about their current relationships with its various stakeholders such as other CLCs, municipality/VDC, health centers, schools etc. This relationship indicates the extent CLC plays the roles as multi-sectoral learning platform and service delivery centers. As lifelong learning emphasizes relevance to needs and situated social practice, CLC areas should expand to cover sectors such as agriculture, environment, health, rights, etc. This will also draw more resources into developing CLCs as lifelong learning centers.

Relationship with Other Stakeholders 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

Figure 6: Number of CLCs with relationship to different stakeholders

7


The responses on the baseline survey reveal that 6 out of 15 CLCs maintain some kind of relationship with other CLCs around them. All CLCs maintain connections with District Education Offices and schools. 12 CLCs maintain a relationship with their respective municipality/VDC and women’s groups. Few CLCs have relationship with the District Irrigation Office and the community radios.

Self-Assessment The last part of the questionnaire asked the CLCs to rate themselves using score 1-5 (5 being the highest score) on 15 different themes including responsiveness to the needs of community, gender inclusivity, Inclusivity on the basis of ethnicities/castes, Inclusivity on the basis of different age groups, effective use of ICT, effective CLC management, local recognition, local ownership, participatory planning, financing strategy and resource mobilization, volunteers’ contribution, networking and coordination, data collection and documentation of good practices, availability of learning materials, and innovation and creativity. The aim of the self-assessment was to help the CLCs review their performance and identify the areas where they need to work further. A consolidated self-assessment table generated from the responses from the participating CLCs: CLC Self-Assessment Chart April 2017

S.No.

Indicator 1 Responsive to the needs of community 2 Gender inclusivity Inclusivity on the basis of 3 ethnicities/castes Inclusivity on the basis of different age 4 groups 5 Effective use of ICT 6 Effective CLC management 7 Local recognition 8 Local ownership 9 Participatory planning Financing strategy and resource 10 mobilization 11 Volunteers’ contribution 12 Networking and coordination Data collection and documentation of 13 good practices 14 Availability of learning materials 15 Innovation and creativity

a LC LC r iy ) r la LC LC ya C LC LC C C C ha C sh ja C rC hi LC pu n LC ho C L L C t k e t a s a a m g C k i L C C o r C o d e g e a u g pa C ut uv ik ek at je ha an sa riy na u U (H a ay ud ik un tr ik LC hre u m LC ribh rij ly ita ar LC tta hi hr hu ah LC ak ab ah LC am A C A B B D G B C K N B C N Pa Sa Sh C S Th C T 5 4 4 3 4 5 4 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 4 3 5 4 4 3 5 5 5 4 5 3 2 5 4 5 3 5 4

4

3

3

4

4

5

4

5

4

4

5

4

5

4

5

4 3 4 4 5 5

4 4 4 4 4 4

3 4 4 4 3 3

2 3 3 3 3 3

4 2 5 5 5 5

5 4 5 5 5 5

5 5 5 5 5 4

4 1 3 3 3 4

5 5 5 5 5 4

3 3 3 4 4

2 4 4 4 4 4

3 2 3 3 5 4

3 5 4 4 4 3

5 5 5 5 5 5

4 3 4 4 4 3

2 1 4 5 3 5

4 3 4

4 3 4

3 4 3

3 3 3

5 5 4

4 5 5

4 4 5

3 3 3

4 5 5

3 4 4

3 4 3

3 5 2

4 4 4

5 5 4

3 2 2

4 5 4

5 3 2

4 4 3

3 4 3

3 2 2

4 5 4

5 5 4

5 4 3

1 1 1

4 5 3

4 3 3

3 4 2

3 2 1

4 5 4

5 5 4

3 3 2

5 5 3

Figure 7: Self-Assessment on different aspects by CLCs

Recommendations and Way Forward Firstly, all the 15 CLCs participating in the survey have ICT facilities available in their CLCs. However, only 11 of them reportedly use it for learning purposes and merely 7 of them have access to the Internet in their CLCs. It is necessary to utilize the available ICT facilities and invest further in this regard to enhance the teaching and learning process. Based on the feedback from and interaction with the CLCs during a national workshop in April 2017, it is evident that CLCs are interested and accepting towards the idea of utilizing ICT for education. However, lack of technical know-how and available resource person are the major factors hindering this progress. To address this gap, it is recommended to, at first, identify the level of ICT competency of these CLCs and then provide them with necessary trainings. Further, the CLCs should be encouraged to increase their investment in basic ICT facilities such as the Internet. This could significantly improve the CLCs’ capacities to utilize the available ICT tools for teaching learning purposes.

8


Secondly, the general demographic information depicts that there is insufficient active participation from Dalit communities and other minorities. It has been observed that the lack of participation from these communities may have risen due to a number of factors including membership fees of CLCs, which the community in concern might be unable to contribute. Further, many CLCs have reported the lack of awareness amongst these communities as one of the major problems CLCs face when promoting inclusivity. This again might be resolved by raising awareness among target communities and fostering an environment that welcomes such groups of people. Thirdly, it has been observed that despite the active participation from women in the CLC activities and management committees, CLCs in general lacks female leadership. More leadership training targeting women and advocacy for women leaders could be devised to close the gap. Fourthly, the data generated from CLC baseline survey reveals that volunteer mobilization is an aspect that CLCs can partly focus on. As seen in Shikharapur CLC, one of the selected 15 CLCs, volunteers can be an excellent way to tackle lack of human resources. The CLCs can partner with community schools and institutions around them and attract young volunteers. It might be helpful for CLCs to develop more youth related programmes and activities in engaging the local youth in the community related activities and developing a sense of ownership amongst them. Further, CLCs can also partner with local youth clubs and even host youth involvement in the CLC management committee. This might potentially bring in young and innovative ideas in the CLC management and might contribute towards addressing youth migration issue. Additionally, the baseline survey reveals that there is little partnership and working relationship between different CLCs. The central idea pertaining to focusing on the selected 15 CLCs is to promote a wider reach through these CLCs. In order to fulfill this purpose, it is important to foster an environment of collaboration and partnership with healthy competition. Thus, a Facebook group was established as a platform for these CLCs to share their success stories and learn from each other. The members should be encouraged to continue sharing information and help each other. Further, the CLCs should not only partner with other selected CLCs, but also cooperate and coordinate efforts with less developed CLCs. Further, it is recommended for CLCs to diversify books based on needs of communities in order to attract more regular users. The services can be offered at minimal cost in order to gain maximum participation from all classes of the society. It has been observed that most CLCs resort to external funding sources for financing their activities. However, in order to ensure the sustainability of the CLC and increase the feeling of ownership amongst the members it is important to invest in some sort of CLC businesses. However, despite the interest of the CLCs to engage in a CLC business, they lack awareness and ideas on potential CLC business solutions. Trainings in job market analyses and detailed business plans can be helpful for the CLCs to identify and implement a sustainable CLC business. Based on the information collected from the baseline survey, most CLCs maintain relationships with the various local and national government and non-government bodies. CLCs should continue maintaining and extending their relationship with these bodies. Typically, they should focus on relationship with the NFEC, VDC, DOE for individual CLC support for their various literacy programmes. They should equally maintain a good partnership with women’s group and youth clubs to ensure participation and access human resources. A multi-sectorial connection and partnership will not only enable CLCs to provide more relevant services, but also contribute to mobilize resources for rural development through CLCs.

9


Annex I : CLC Profile Questionnaire (Nepali)

hLjgko{Gt l;sfO ;|f]t s]Gb|sf ¿kdf ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|sf] ljsf; ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|sf] ljj/0f;DaGwL k|ZgfjnL s[kof tn lbOPsf k|Zgx¿sf] pQ/ lbP/ xfdLnfO{ tkfO{Fsf] ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|sf] ljj/0f agfpg ;xof]u ug'{xf];\ . != ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|sf] gfd M ……………………...………………….. @= 7]ufgf M ………………………………………………..…………….. #= tkfO{Fsf] ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|n] ;d]6]sf] If]qsf] hg;+Vof slt 5 < ………. $= tkfO{Fsf] ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|df slthgf ;lqmo ;b:ox¿ 5g\ < ………. s[kof ;lqmo ;b:ox¿sf af/]df tYof+s lbg'xf];\ M  k'¿ifsf] ;+Vof : ……  dlxnfsf] ;+Vof : ……  a|fXd0fsf] ;+Vof : ……  If]qLsf] ;+Vof : ……  hghfltsf] ;+Vof : ……  blntsf] : ……  cGo ;d'bfox¿sf] : ….  o'jfsf] ;+Vof (!%-@$) : ……  Jfo:ssf] (@%-%() : ……  Ho]i7 gful/ssf] (^)+) : …… %= s= tkfO{Fsf] ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|sf ;xhstf{sf] gfd s] xf] < .……………...... Vf= pxfFsf] z}lIfs of]Uotf slt 5 < ……………… u= pxfF;Fu slt jif{sf] cg'ej 5 < ……… 3= pxfFn] s:tf lsl;dsf tflndx¿ lng'ePsf] 5 < ………………………….. ^= s= tkfO{Fsf] ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb| Joj:yfkg ;ldltsf cWoIfsf] gfd s] xf] < ………................ Vf= Joj:yfkg ;ldltdf slthgf dlxnf ;b:ox¿ x'g'x'G5 < ……….. u= tkfO{Fsf] ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|sf] Joj:yfkg ;+/rgf s:tf] 5 < s[kof lrq agfP/ k|i6 kfg'{xf];\ jf j0f{g ug'{xf];\ .

&= tkfO{Fsf] ;d'bfosf] klxnf] efiff s'g xf] < ☐ g]kfnL ☐ :yfgLo efiff . s[kof pNn]v ug'{xf];\ : ………… ☐ b'j} . (g]kfnL / ………………………..) olb g]kfnL tkfO{Fsf] klxnf] efiff xf]Og eg], 10


s= s] tkfO{Fn] cfkm\gf] :yfgLo efiffdf sIffx¿ ;+rfng ug'{ePsf] 5 < ☐5 ☐ 5}g Vf= s] tkfO{Fn] :yfgLo efiffdf s'g} ;fdu|L tof/ ug'{ePsf] 5 jf To:tf] ;fdu|Ldf tkfO{Fsf] kx'Fr 5 < (uLtx¿, gf6s, lnlvt ;fdu|Lx¿ cflb) < ☐5 ☐ 5}g olb 5 eg] pNn]v ug'{xf];\ : …………………………… *= tkfO{Fsf] ;d'bfon] ;fdgf u/]sf d'Vo ;d:ofx¿ s] s] x'g\ < s= …………………………………………………………………….. v= …………………………………………………………………….. u= …………………………………………………………………….. (= tkfO{Fsf] ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|df lgoldt sfd ug]{ :jo+;]jsx¿ slthgf x'g'x'G5 < …….. !)= tkfO{Fsf] ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|n] lgoldt ¿kdf ;+rfng u/]sf lqmofsnfkx¿ s] s] x'g\ < s= …………………………………………………………………….. v= …………………………………………………………………….. u= …………………………………………………………………….. !!= tkfO{Fsf] ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|sf lqmofsnfkx¿n] s'gs'g ljifout If]qx¿ ;d]6]sf 5g\ < (Pp6feGbf a9L 5gf]6 ug{ ;lsg]) ☐ :jf:Yo / ;/;kmfO ☐ n}+lus clwsf/x¿ (n}+lus lje]b, n}+lus lx+;f cflb) ☐ jftfj/0f ☐ s[lif ☐ ;fIf/tf ☐ ;"rgf tyf ;+rf/ k|ljlw -ICT_ ☐ cfo cfh{g ☐ df}lns 1fg ☐ ;fdflhs åGå ☐ afnaflnsfsf] ;'/Iff ☐ cGo . s[kof pNn]v ug'{xf];\ : ……............................................... !@= tkfO{Fsf] ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|sf lqmofsnfkx¿af6 slt JolQm k|ToIf ¿kdf nfeflGjt ePsf 5g\ < ……............................................... !#= tkfOFsf] ;fd'bflos cWoog s]Gb|sf lqmofsnfkx¿af6 slt JolQm ck|ToIf ¿kdf nfeflGjt ePsf 5g\