The CALDP has been applauded for advancing the inter-twined goals of literacy skills training and community development. The following lists its key impacts and achievements: Primarily, the programme provides adults and youth in remote and poor rural communities – the majority of whom have limited or no experience of education – with alternative learning opportunities to enhance their literacy skills. Most of the programme participants are now able to read and write, as well as to plan and organise their livelihood activities. Most importantly, since 2004, a total of 189 CALDP gradu- ates learners have passed the national A&E test and have now completed their high school education. Others
have managed to secure formal employment.
The programme has had a significant impact on communities, particularly in terms of poverty alleviation, economic empowerment and the improvement of quality of life. For example, members of a women’s organization who participated in the programme were subsequently able to install a community water system in Bayoyo village, while a mothers’ organization in Taba-ao established a hog project. These livelihood and income generation activities have raised community standards of life. Both projects are a by-product of an ongoing learning programme on literacy and capacity building. The organizations’ members and officers received training in leadership, organizational and project devel- opment skills during twice-monthly sessions. The development of the two community projects involved the participants in the entire process of project development.
The agricultural training programme that was initiated in 2003 has enabled some farmers to adopt and utilise sustainable farming practices, such as the use of organic fertilisers and appropriate strategies for managing pests and diseases. For example, two farmers from Buguias have converted to organic farming. Both are now marketing their organic
vegetable produce, an outcome that has improved their standards of life.
LESSONS LEARNED
Coordination and cooperation with government departments and NGOs involved in community development activities facilitates the implementa- tion and success of community-based literacy and development projects. The integration of literacy with developmental skills training increases the capacity of learners to engage in self-help and collective socio-eco- nomic activities, such as managing income-generating projects and initi- ating community actions that address common challenges. Hence, literacy training paves the way for greater individual participation in processes of community development. In order to be effective, communi- ty-based literacy and development programmes must be developed and implemented in such a way as to avoid alienating learners from their contexts: i.e. context-specific realities and needs must be taken into account. It is therefore imperative to consult and implicate the commu- nity at all levels of the programme’s evolution. Furthermore, literacy training should train learners to find functional solutions to the challenges they face in their everyday lives.
Graduates’ ability to do so encour- ages other learners to join literacy programmes.
SUSTAINABILITY
The sustainability of the programme is being ensured through intensive lob- bying and advocacy campaigns within the communities that raises commu- nity awareness of the importance of education and encourages people to enrol in the programme. Similar efforts are being made to encourage national and local government units to institutionalise literacy and adult education programmes within their development plans. In addition, PILCD is establishing partnerships with governmental and non-governmental institutions in order to secure reliable sources of additional project funding. Partnerships like this have enabled PILCD to expand CALDP to other communities.
CONTACT
Ramon G. Mapa Executive Director
247 Lower Ferguson, Central Guisad, 2600 Baguio City, Philippines Phone/Fax: (63974) 3005038 E-mail: [email protected]; pilcd.org@ gmail.com; [email protected]
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UZBEKISTAN
Community Learning Centres
Implementing Organization National Commission for UNESCO in Tashkent Language of Instruction Local languages
Programme Partners Ministry of Public Education, local authorities and NGOs Date of Inception 1999
BACKGROUND
AND CONTEXT
With a population of approximately 27,191,000 people, Uzbekistan is the most populated country of the Central Asia sub-region. 60 per cent of this population reside in rural areas and are typically occupied in rural pri- mary industries, although this number has declined significantly in the past two decades in response to a shift in Uzbekistan’s industry focus. The independence of Uzbekistan in 1991, allowed the country greater flexibility in developing new branches of indus- try. Since then, the traditional focus on cotton-dominated primary indus- try is being gradually shadowed by the emergence of industires in oil, gas and production, such as the produc- tion of automobiles. Consequently, the significant economic misfortunes of the country that were prevalent during its pre-independence years have been largely transformed, and in 2000 Uzbekistan’s GDP was up 4.2 per cent, largely due to an 8.5 per cent increase in manufacturing. Uzbekistan’s economic turnaround coincided with large improvements in social and economic indicators, as well as an education reform. In 1997, Uzbekistan enacted a Law on Education that would reform the country’s educational framework, and set a realistic framework for lifelong learning that would ensure contin-
uous education for the population. National education is now run through two ministries, the Ministry of Public Education, and the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialised Education, which deals exclusively with professional and higher educa- tion. The Ministry of Public Education is responsible for delivering education through three mechanisms:
Formal education: This sector provides formal schooling, from pre-school to advanced further education. In Uzbekistan there are currently more than ten thousand general secondary schools, 63 higher education and 539 technical vocational institutions. The formal education sector also includes the assessment and awarding of all state-accredited qualifications. Through the formal education sector, Uzbekistan has already reached its Millennium Development Goal for universal access to primary education, and reports literacy rates of nearly 100 per cent.
Non-formal learning and educa- tion: Through educational establish- ments that are not connected with formal adult education, non-formal education provides retraining or up- grading of vocational skills. This may include a wide range of levels from training in basic literacy, to advanced application of ICT in enterprising. The role of non-formal learning may be simply conceptualised as learning to apply literacy and contents of formal education to the development of vocational skills that may assist in personal development.
Informal learning: Uzbekistan has identified informal learning as the mechanism in which people continu- ously learn under their own initiative. This includes personal study assisted by national publications as well as indirectly educational programmes broadcast and distributed by the mass-media.
Amidst the development of a knowledge and information society, non-formal and informal learning op- portunities are in increasing demand in Uzbekistan, as many people from traditional disadvantaged socio-eco- nomic backgrounds are beginning to understand the benefits of continu- ous education for the development of themselves, their families and their communities. In 1999, the establish- ment of Community Learning Centres began, with an aim to satisfy these demands.