Writing Sample-Research Report on Education-Tashfeen

A strategy for educating the working children of
District: Sahiwal, Punjab, Pakistan
Final Draft
November 30, 2011
TASHFEEN SIDDIQUE
MDM-2011
Asian Institute of Management,
Philippines

ii
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of
MASTER IN DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
This Management Research Report
Has been prepared and submitted by:
and has been accepted
by a duly Constituted Tribunal
whose signatures appear below
_________________________ __________________
Prof. Juan Miguel M. Luz Date
First Panelist
_________________________ __________________
Prof. Buenaventura F. Canto Date
Second Panelist
_________________________ __________________
Ms. Indah Seyawati Date
External Panelist
ASIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
Eugenio Lopez Foundation

iii
CERTIFICATION OF STUDENT
Unless expressly acknowledged in the MRR, the tests, analysis,
recommendations and in general, the substance of my MRR is my
personal and individual work.
The data therein are real and not fabricated. Where the gathering of
data was done by others with or without the help of others, supervision
of data gathering, including the formulation of questionnaires, and the
interpretation of data, including responses to questionnaires, is my own
personal and individual work.
Title of MRR:
___________________________
(TASHFEEN SIDDIQUE)
November 30, 2011

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Management Research Report is a mandatory requirement for the completion of
Master in Development Management Program. The biggest challenge towards me from
the beginning of this program was to compile this report in accordance with the
aspiration of learned teaching faculty of AIM that taught us latest research and
development management oriented courses. The selection of a field area for the
Management Research Report was quite a difficult task but with the dedicated support
and guidance of my advisor Prof. Juan Miguel M. Luz, Associate Dean, Centre for
Development Management, I could comfortably achieve my first milestone by selecting
one of the most burning topic for my research report which presently grace the title page
of my report with the name: “Education For Child Labour”.
In the second phase of my research report, I arranged the material of my research
report in Chapters and my respectable advisors and Professors of AIM assisted me for
maintaining the continuity, coherence and relevancy amongst the contents of different
chapters. It is worth to mention here that my advisors on numerous occasions made the
review of my Research Report to suggest me changes and additional requirements. The
knowledge and research techniques learned from the respected Professors of AIM are
actually implemented in this research report for which they deserve for true tribute and
appreciation.
This note would be incomplete if I do not pay my utmost homage and gratitude to Prof.
Juan Miguel M. Luz, Associate Dean, Centre for Development Management and Prof.
Buenaventura F. Canto, Director-Teaching and Learning Centre, Asian Institute of
Management on account of extending utmost sincerity, help and encouragement.
Besides that, my heart filled compliment to my respected Professors from whom I
learned latest knowledge.
By taking the advantage of this account, I would like to say thanks from the core of my
heart to highly respectable Mr. Khaleel Ahmed Tetlay, Chief Operating Officer, Rural

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Support Programmes Network, Pakistan for allowing me to carry out research work for
their organization.
I owe my profound regards and reverence to Mr. Waqar Haider Awan, Chief Executive
Officer and Mr. Khawar Binyamin Siddique, Training Manager, Complete Human
Resource Solutions, Pakistan for providing me the essential data and figures without
which this report would have been a dream. I would like to place on record my special
thanks to Mr. Niaz Hussain, Regional General Manager, Punjab Rural Support
Programme and his team for providing me valuable inputs to get complete this report.
It would not be fair on my part if I forget to pay my special regards to Mr. Khurram
Shaheen, Computer Instructor, Trade Training Centre, Staff Welfare Organization,
Islamabad, Pakistan on account of providing me guidance, encouragement and
unfailing support throughout this program.
Lastly, the most precious personality for me is my mother whose prayers made me a
successful person and report in hand is also a reward of her prayer for which she truly
deserves for gratitude. I want to say thanks to my brothers, sisters, friends and those
who helped me to complete this report.

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Contents
Acronyms & Abbreviations.......................................................................................................... 6
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................. 7
CHAPTER # 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 10
1.1: Background & Rationale................................................................................................ 10
1.2: Objectives of the Study: ................................................................................................ 12
1.3: Hypothesis of the MRR.................................................................................................. 13
1.4: Purposed Organization for Implementation................................................................ 15
1.5: Review of Relevant Studies and Experiences........................................................... 15
1.6: The Research Methodology.......................................................................................... 17
1.7: Scope and Limitations ................................................................................................... 17
CHAPTER # 2 STUDY OF CHILD LABOR IN DISTRICT SAHIWAL................................ 19
2.1: District Sahiwal ............................................................................................................... 19
2.2: Child Labor in District Sahiwal...................................................................................... 20
2.3: Areas of Trade and Working Conditions..................................................................... 22
On-farm Activities:.............................................................................................................. 23
Off-farm Activities: .............................................................................................................. 24
2.4: Education Institutions & Situation ................................................................................ 25
2.4.1: Enrollment and Dropping out ................................................................................ 26
2.4.2: Student-Teacher Relationship .............................................................................. 27
2.5: Cultural Limitations and hindering forces: .................................................................. 28
2.6: Female Education Restrictions: ................................................................................... 29
2.6.1: Misconception about Islam.................................................................................... 30
2.6.2: Large Family Size in poor households ................................................................ 30
2.6.3: Responsibility of managing home ........................................................................ 30
2.6.4: Lack of decision Power .......................................................................................... 30
2.6.5: Male dominating Society........................................................................................ 31
2.6.6: Inadequate Education facilities ............................................................................. 31
2.6.7: Government Ignorance .......................................................................................... 31
2.7: Conclusion....................................................................................................................... 32
CHAPTER # 3 INTERNAL ANALYSIS OF RSPN.................................................. 33
3.1 Brief History and Introduction ........................................................................................ 33
3.2 Purpose & Objectives ..................................................................................................... 34

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3.3: Mission and Vision ......................................................................................................... 35
3.4: Member Organizations .................................................................................................. 35
3.5: Projects and Programs.................................................................................................. 36
3.6: Outreach and status of Community Organizations, Village Organizations and
Local Support Organizations................................................................................................ 36
3.7 Donors/ Sources of funds:.............................................................................................. 37
CHAPTER # 4 ALTERNATIVES EDUCATION SYSTEMS ......................................... 40
4.1: Education......................................................................................................................... 40
4.2: Three Types of Education32
.......................................................................................... 40
4.2.1: Formal education .................................................................................................... 41
4.2.2: Non-Formal Education ........................................................................................... 41
4.2.3: Informal Education.................................................................................................. 41
4.3: Educator Styles33
............................................................................................................ 42
4.4: Education System in Pakistan...................................................................................... 42
4.5: Structure of the System................................................................................................. 42
4.5.1: Primary Education................................................................................................... 43
4.5.2: Secondary Education ............................................................................................. 43
4.5.3: Higher Secondary Education ................................................................................ 43
4.5.4: University Education............................................................................................... 44
4.6: Alternative Education System of Pakistan.................................................................. 44
4.6.1: Non-Formal Basic Education................................................................................. 44
4.6.2: Distance & e-learning Programmes ..................................................................... 46
4.6.3: Technical and Vocational Centers/ Institutes ..................................................... 46
4.6.4: Deeni Madaris.......................................................................................................... 47
4.6.5: Adult Literacy Centers/ Programs ........................................................................ 47
4.7: Strengths and Weaknesses of Education System of Pakistan ............................... 49
4.8: Study of Alternative Education Systems of different countries ............................... 50
4.8.1: People‟s Republic of Bangladesh......................................................................... 51
4.9: Common Features of NFE programs in these countries.......................................... 54
4.9.1: Income Generation activities and Continuing Education.................................. 54
4.9.2: Institutional Support................................................................................................ 54
4.9.3: Human development and Entrepreneurship training......................................... 55
4.9.4: NFE programs for all ages..................................................................................... 55
4.9.5: Focus on Practical Knowledge.............................................................................. 55

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4.9.6: Basic Literacy and enhancing earning capabilities............................................ 56
4.9.7: Skill Building along with access to Credit............................................................ 56
4.10: Interventions to prevent dropping out and increase retention............................... 56
4.10.1: School-Related Factors ....................................................................................... 57
4.10.2: Financial Support.................................................................................................. 57
4.10.3: Quality Interventions............................................................................................. 58
4.10.4: Other Education Interventions ............................................................................ 59
4.11: Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 59
CHAPTER # 5 STRATEGY FORMULATION .................................................... 61
5.1: Problem Analysis............................................................................................................ 62
5.2: Objective or Solution Analysis...................................................................................... 66
5.3: Analysis of Alternatives ................................................................................................. 66
5.4: Strategy Mapping ........................................................................................................... 67
5.5: Strategy Formulation...................................................................................................... 68
5.5.1: Trade and Targeting ............................................................................................... 68
5.5.2: Education Options................................................................................................... 69
5.5.3: Syllabus/Curriculum................................................................................................ 70
5.5.4: Pre-test for determining desire.............................................................................. 70
5.5.5: Credit hours based system.................................................................................... 70
5.5.6: Piloting options ........................................................................................................ 71
5.5.7: Timings and Uniform .............................................................................................. 72
5.5.8: Tuition Fees, Stationary and other expenses..................................................... 72
5.5.9: Friendly Atmosphere and Class Size................................................................... 72
5.5.10: Continuous Research for Improvement ............................................................ 73
5.6: Conclusion:...................................................................................................................... 73
CHAPTER # 6 OUT-REACH PLAN....................................................... 74
6.1: Out Reach Plan .............................................................................................................. 74
6.1.1: Mobilization and Awareness Raising ................................................................... 74
6.1.2: Plan for Reaching On-Farm Children .................................................................. 76
6.1.3: Plan for reaching domestic child labors............................................................... 76
6.1.4: Plan for Reaching Off-Farm Children .................................................................. 77
6.2: Adequate Education Facilities...................................................................................... 77
6.3: Ownership and Sustainability ....................................................................................... 78
6.4: Conclusion....................................................................................................................... 78

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CHAPTER # 7 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN .................................................... 80
7.1: Logical Framework Analysis (LFA).............................................................................. 80
7.2: Result Chain Analysis.................................................................................................... 82
7.3: Implementation Plan ...................................................................................................... 83
7.4: Human Resources/ Staff Required.............................................................................. 84
7.5: Implementation arrangements by RSPN.................................................................... 84
7.6: Budgeting / Financing.................................................................................................... 86
7.6.1: Net Present Value (NPV) of Future Worth.......................................................... 86
7.6.2: Benefits..................................................................................................................... 87
7.7: Potential Implementation Problems and Mitigation measures................................ 88
7.8: Monitoring and Evaluation ............................................................................................ 90
7.9: Conclusion....................................................................................................................... 90
CHAPTER # 8 RECOMMENDATIONS & CONCLUSION........................... 92
8.1: Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 92
8.2: Conclusion....................................................................................................................... 94
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 95
APPENDIXES ......................................................................................................................... 97
A-1: Laws and Legislations in Pakistan restricting employment of Children.......................... 97
A-2: RSP’s outreach detail in Pakistan ...................................................................................... 98
A-3: Country wide RSPs outreach in Pakistan ......................................................................... 99
A-4: Public Sector Institutions by Province, Level, Gender & Location: .............................. 100
A-5: Budget for Piloting the Strategy..................................................................................... 101
A-6: Simulation of Rural Area Schools.................................................................................. 103
A-7: Simulation of Urban Area Schools................................................................................. 104
List of Tables
TABLE 1: CHILD LABOR SITUATION IN DISTRICT: SAHIWAL IN COMPARISON WITH PUNJAB AND PAKISTAN..............21
TABLE 2: CHILD LABOR SITUATION IN DISTRICT: SAHIWAL........................................................................................22
TABLE 3: INSTITUTIONS IN DISTRICT; SAHIWAL ..........................................................................................................25
TABLE 4: SITUATION OF INSTITUTIONS.......................................................................................................................26
TABLE 5: ENROLLMENT IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS .............................................................................................................26
TABLE 6: STUDENT-TEACHER, TEACHER-SCHOOL & STUDENT-SCHOOL RATIOS ...................................................27
TABLE 7: RSPN OUT-REACH IN DISTRICT: SAHIWAL .................................................................................................39
TABLE 8: STUDENT‟S ENROLMENT AT BASIC EDUCATION COMMUNITY SCHOOLS-2009 .........................................45
TABLE 9: PROPOSED SCHOOLS FOR PILOTING ..........................................................................................................71
TABLE 10: LOGICAL FRAME WORK ANALYSIS............................................................................................................81
TABLE 11: IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE FOR PILOTING ............................................................................................83
TABLE 12: COST ESTIMATES ......................................................................................................................................86
TABLE 13: NET PRESENT VALUE OF PILOTING BUDGET............................................................................................87

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TABLE 14: BENEFITS OF PROPOSED STRATEGY........................................................................................................87
List of Figures
FIGURE 1: MAP OF PAKISTAN .....................................................................................................................................19
FIGURE 2: MAP OF RSPN OUT-REACH .....................................................................................................................33
FIGURE 3: TIERS OF SOCIAL MOBILIZATION APPROACH.............................................................................................36
FIGURE 4: PROBLEM TREE .........................................................................................................................................63
FIGURE 5: OBJECTIVE / SOLUTION TREE....................................................................................................................64
FIGURE 6: ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES.....................................................................................................................65
FIGURE 7: STRATEGY MAPPING..................................................................................................................................67
FIGURE 8: RESULT CHAIN ANALYSIS...........................................................................................................................82
FIGURE 9: PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT (PMU).......................................................................................................84

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Acronyms & Abbreviations
AJKRSP Azad Jammu Kashmir Rural Support
Programme
ICT Islamabad Capital Territory
AEPAM Academy of Educational Planning
and Management
KBU Business Learning Group Program
AJK Azad Jammu Kashmir KPK Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
AKA Aga Khan Academies LSOs Local Support Organizations
AKAM Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance MOE Ministry of Education
AKDN Aga Khan Development Network NAVTEC National Vocational & Technical
Education Commission
AKES Aga Khan Education Services NCHD National Commission for Human
Development
AKF Aga Khan Foundation NEF National Education Foundation
AKFED Aga Khan Fund for Economic
Development
NEMIS National Education Management
Information System
AKHS Aga Khan Health Services NFBE Non-Formal Basic Education
AKPBS Aga Khan Planning and Building
Services
NFE Non-Formal Education
AKRSP Aga Khan Rural Support Programme N-IRM NRSP-Institute of Rural Management
AKTC Aga Khan Trust for Culture NRSP National Rural Support Programme
AKU Aga Khan University PCO Population Census Organization
APF America Pakistan Foundation PDBP Pakistan Domestic Biogas Programme
BECS Basic Education Community Schools PPAF Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund
BISP Benazir Income Support Programme PRSP Punjab Rural Support Programme
BRAC Bangladesh Rural Advancement
Committee
RSPN Rural Support Programmes Network
BRSP Baluchistan Rural Support
Programme
SGA Sindh Graduates Association
COs Community Organizations SRSO Sindh Rural Support Organization
DFID Department for International
Development
SRSP Sarhad Rural Support Programme
FANA Federally Administered Northern
Areas
TEVTA Technical Education & Vocational
Training Authorities
FATA Federally Administered Tribal Areas TRDP Thardeep Rural Development
Programme
FE Formal Education UCA University of Central Asia
FOCUS Focus Humanitarian Assistance UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific &
Cultural Organization
FWBL First Women Bank Limited UNICEF United Nations International Children
Emergency Fund
GBTI Ghazi Barotha Taraqiati Idara VOs Village Organizations

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Management Research Report is based on the core issue that 15 million
labor children in Pakistan are deprived of their basic right of education and they are
involved in various hazardous working activities to financially support their families. Due
to time, budget and security constraints, it was quite difficult to conduct fresh survey for
the compilation of this report. Therefore, this report relies upon previous statistical data
of various reputable local and international organizations. The data of these
organizations has been reshaped and molded for this research report by applying
estimation techniques. The statistics provided in this report almost reflect the actual
picture of the labor field. For more in-depth analysis of the problem, this report has
focused only Sahiwal district.
District Sahiwal is located in central Punjab; it consists of two tehsils (the second
tier of local government) and 531 Villages. In district Sahiwal there are approximately
37,593 children having age between 5 to 17 years, involved in child labor activities. Out
of this number, 45% children (mostly boys) are involved in off-farm activities like working
in shops, Welding plants, automobile workshops, stone crushing, bakeries, brick kilns
and furniture factories. They work for long hours in extremely hazardous conditions and
are exposed to variety of risks. The rest of 55% children (mostly girls) are involved in
on-farm activities like Potato picking, harvesting of wheat, maize and rice, cotton
picking, cattle rearing etc. These girls mostly work as unpaid family helpers.
This study contains different objectives but the main broad objective of this
research is to design an alternative education strategy that would allow these children to
“Learn and Earn” at the same time. The market study of the district reveals that the child

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labor figure is inclining day by day. Although there are 1307 public and more than 750
private institutions in the district, still the current literacy rate of Sahiwal is 30%. Main
causes for the increase in child labor are low income and poverty, parents‟ ignorance
about the importance of education and inadequate education facilities which result in
low literacy rate, poor health and exploitation of the children.
Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) is the proposed implementation
agency for the execution of under described strategy. RSPN is a largest civil society
organization in the country, consisting ten member organizations and working in 109
districts, out of total 144 districts of the country. RSPN has organized more than 4
million households in all over the country and working with poor communities for
improving livelihoods and providing access to basic necessities of life. In the selected
district, PRSP and NRSP (Member organizations of RSPN) are already implementing
different projects and have a strong relationship with communities, which will be helpful
in implementation.
For developing the best alternative education strategy, a study of education
models of different countries like Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, Philippines and India
has also been included as a part of this report. The focus of these models is to provide
a continuous education along with income generation activities. Further, they have used
a bottom up approach with continuous research with strong follow-up.
After analyzing the current education model of Pakistan along with the education
models implemented in above mentioned countries, the best practices and common
characteristics are made part of the proposed strategy. Under the proposed strategy, 12

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schools in different geographical locations of the district have been purposed for
piloting. The proposed piloting period will be three years. The education will be given,
according to age, gender, level of education and geographical area. Under the
proposed strategy, the timings of the schools will be made flexible, according to the
trade (working times) of the children. Further, education committees will be formed for
capturing and retaining of these children. Strong awareness raising campaigns are
proposed with the help of all the stakeholders. The proposed education system will be
credit hours based, with no requirement of uniform, homework and fees. The focus of
the proposed strategy is to provide learning and earning facilities; at the same time
because these children are the source of income for their families. For the sustainability
of the project, the parents of these children are planned to be linked with micro-credit
and enterprise development programs. On the successful implementation of the
strategy, the model will be replicated in all over the district, then in the province and
finally the whole country can be covered.
This report also includes a detailed implementation plan along with activities
schedule, time frame, budgeting and staffing. As these children are involved in two
broad categories of trade, a separate outreach plan was made to educate these
children. Further, for the successful implementation of the project, partnerships with the
key stakeholders are proposed. The designed strategy is only a road map for educating
these children and it needs improvement along with implementation. Education is the
only solution to save the future of these children and their parents. Further, it will help in
preventing child labor in the long run by providing better source of income to the parents
of these children.

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CHAPTER # 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1: Background & Rationale
In Pakistan there are countless kachi bastis, labor colonies, beggar colonies and
brick making factories in which millions of children are deprived of their fundamental
right of basic education. Instead of school going, they are involved in child labor
activities and are destroying their future.
Although Government of Pakistan has banned the child labor, the continuous
increase in the inflation has forced number of families to engage their children in
different labor works to meet the necessities of life in these days of dearness. The
estimated number of such unfortunate children is about 15 million who are unable to get
basic education due to lack of facilities and infrastructure for child labor. The Illiteracy is
one of the major problems of Pakistan and is the biggest hurdle in the way of
development of country. The rate of illiteracy has been increasing day by day and
Government does not possess enough financial resources to increase the literacy rate.
The fate of the deprived child labor against education can be improved if the
state possesses the capability to deliver. The state i.e. Government of Pakistan in the
last couple of years has been encountering with many serious problems that include
settlement of effects of devastating earthquake of 8th
October 2005 and restoration of
internally displaced people due to flood in 2010. Above all that, the Government has
been putting all its financial resources upon war on terror to sustain peace in unrest
areas of Khyber Pakhtunkha. The aforesaid circumstances restrict the Government to
allocate limited budget for the growth of education.

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Despite of all the financial constraints, the Government has introduced number of
policies to increase the literacy rate. In this regard, the Government of Pakistan has
been offering free education including course book to all children till 10th
standard. In
order to get the support of private sector, the Government has been paying @ Rs.350/-
per student to such private institutes that enroll 100 children at the strength of its school.
The Government announced that till 2015 the literacy rate of Pakistan would be at 80%
but till now the desired results are unsatisfactory.
The parents/guardians of the working children are mostly against the education
and they prefer to send their children on work to earn money for running domestic
expenses. Large number of children are primary providers for their families and they
have never learned to read, write or calculate due to their parents‟ financial constraints.
Government schools are providing education at a very minimum fee and even in some
provinces primary education is free but these children have to work hard to make both
ends meet. As long as children are put to work, poverty will spread and standards of
living will continue to decline.
What is Child Labor?
International Labor Organization(ILO) defines1
child Labor as:
1- When a child is working during early age
2- Overworks or gives over time to Labor
3- Works due to the psychologically, socially,& materialistic pressure
4- Becomes ready to Labor on a very low pay
1
(International Labor Orgainzation)

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Child labor involves at least one of the following characteristics2
:
Violates a nation‟s minimum age laws
Threatens children‟s physical, mental, or emotional well-being
Involves intolerable abuse, such as child slavery, child trafficking, debt bondage,
forced labor, or illicit activities
Prevents children from going to school
Uses children to undermine labor standards
1.2: Objectives of the Study:
Main objective of MRR:
To design a strategy for alternative education that would allow child laborers to
“learn and earn” at the same time.
Specific Objectives
The focus of the study is to provide separate solution for both the labor gender
i.e. male and female.
The employers belonging to following classes of industries will be surveyed to
collect the gender-based data of working children and such industries include
Construction, Transportation, Wholesaler and Retailer Trade, Social Community
& Personal services, Agriculture.
To conduct an internal analysis of Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN)
to assess its capability for the execution of proposed project.
To develop a strategy based on the market study, the various sectors of the
Market will be approached by using different ways & means. For instance to
2
(http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor/about/what_is_child_labor.html, 2011)

13
target the domestic labor female the assistance of Community Organizations of
RSPN will be requested.
To study the different alternative education systems and design an alternative
learning system which is acceptable to local community and culture. In this
regard, the detail review of existing education model will be carried out to figure
out their positive and negative points.
To design multiple strategies and recommend different alternative learning
models for boys and girls, involved in child labor.
To highlight cultural barriers that include family restriction, communal resistance,
religious issues etc. which restrict the female labor to get education. The solution
to address these cultural issues/barriers will be provided.
The bounded labor children population accessibility may be made possible by
taking assistance from Community Organizations of the district.
1.3: Hypothesis of the MRR
This MRR builds on the premise that a large number of neglected and deprived
children of Sahiwal District involved in various types of labor work may be unearthed to
make them effective part of society by providing them their fundamental right of
education. The proposed MRR highlights the hardships faced by the labor class children
on their work places and their sufferings will be mitigated by introducing effective
education system for them. The restrictions faced by female children in accessing
education are also covered in this report so that this class of children may also be
brought into the main stream by putting them into a proper education system.

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The parents/guardians of the working children agree and support such type of
educational model in which their children can learn and earn at the same time. By
considering this public reaction, the proposed MRR has made detail deliberations on the
education models introduced in the different parts of world. The strengths and
weaknesses of the Pakistan educational system are also elucidated by comparing it
with modern educational model. This MRR has made role model to such educational
systems of different countries which are achieving desired result in respective countries.
This MRR after making a detail review of different existing education models has
proposed an educational setup which totally matches to the social, religious
environment of working class children besides its acceptance by their parents.
The minds of the target population should be prepared before launching the
education system for child labor. In this context it is highly valuable if the print and
electronic media campaign may be mobilized so that desired objective could be
achieved. The proposed MRR encourages the role of media for creating awareness
amongst common people on the theme of importance of education for every child
irrespective of his social status and class.
The ideology of this MRR will be materialized with the support and assistance of
a reputable NGO of the Country. The report discussed in detail that how this
organization can use its capability, infrastructure, network and experience to implement
this project. The strengths and weaknesses of the Organization have also been
discussed in this report from which successful deployment of the proposed MRR could
be evaluated.

15
The pilot testing approach will be used to launch this project. Under this strategy
the whole idea of the MRR will first be launched at Sahiwal District and upon
successful completion, this entire system may be replicated to all provinces of the
country.
1.4: Purposed Organization for Implementation
The proposed selected organization for implementation is through “Rural Support
Programmes Network (RSPN)” with the partnership/ support of Government. The
reason why RSPN was selected for implementation is that they have a largest network
in the country, consists of 11 NGOs.
Further, RSPN works at the gross root level with the community organizations
and they have the highest number of Community organizations, Village organizations
and local support organizations in the country.
1.5: Review of Relevant Studies and Experiences
A cursory review of the document bearing name Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey
(MICS) Punjab 2007-2008 (Vol-26) for Sahiwal3
District published by the Government of
the Punjab Planning & Development Department, Bureau of Statistics shows that the
statistics given in this report for Child labor defines such working class children that are
working with registered employers. The survey conducted by private organizations such
as Insan Dost Association discloses that the un-registered child labors are quite high as
compared to registered child labor. The data gathered by the government organization
3
(Punjab Government, 2011)

16
is not satisfactory and ultimately the policies being made on the basis of these statistics
could not generate desired results for poverty reduction, literacy and inflation.
In 2009, the Federal Bureau of Statistics released the results of its survey4
funded by ILO‟s IPEC (International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor) which
stated that 3.8 million children age group of 5-14 years are working in Pakistan out of
total 40 million children in this age group; fifty percent of these economically active
children are in age group of 5 to 9 years. Even out of these 3.8 million economically
active children, 2.7 million were claimed to be working in the agriculture
sector. According to an analysis conducted by the government of Pakistan and
published at www.hec.gov.pk (the higher education commission of Pakistan) shows that
the poverty has increased roughly from 30% to 40% during the past decade.
The brief review of different research reports reveals that the public and private
sectors have made efforts at their part to stop the child labor but fruitful results were not
received. The child labor can only be stopped if the living standards of common people
are uplifted by introducing welfare programs.
In order to reduce the poverty factor, the present government has introduced the
Benazir Income Support Program under which the Widow and the deserving people are
receiving a monthly compensation of Rs.6000/- From this program many deserving
families are getting financial assistance to sustain respectable livelihood. A similar type
of program is required to be introduced for the education of working class children.
4
(http://www.idapk.org/child-labour.html, 2011)

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The study of research reports over the education of children discloses that the
public/private sector has given less attention for providing free education to child labor
and they are only struggling to end child labor. The issue of education for working class
children requires the immediate attention of public/private sector.
The proposed MRR focuses on the importance of education for child labor and
statistics will be provided to the funder for the execution of welfare program for working
class children.
1.6: The Research Methodology
The data for this study is gathered from primary and secondary sources. The
primary data is qualitative which is based on interviews and focus group discussions
with the key relevant actors involved in education as well as child labor. This exercise is
completed by employing a well-structured questionnaire through a field survey of target
population. The respondents of the aforesaid questionnaire belong to the villages and
cities of district Sahiwal.
The secondary data are mostly quantitative gathered and are from Statistics
department, Child labor department, NGOs, publications and books. Different
techniques are used for analysis and interpretation of primary and secondary data.
1.7: Scope and Limitations
The study explores the need and rationale behind the education of child labor.
The scope of the study is only one district i.e. Sahiwal (located in central Punjab), where
approximately more than 37000 children are involved in child labor. In addition to this,
the study describes the role and policies of Government regarding the education of

18
children. On the basis of initial research, alternative education methods are being
introduced for both boys and girls involved in child labor. Earning and learning method
are devised for testing in this selected district with the help of RSPN and Government.
On the success of piloting phase, this model will be replicated in whole country.
The following are the limitations of the study:
This study recommends a strategy for the education of working children.
However, this report does not prevent child labor by realizing this core fact that
the working children are the source of earning for their families.
This study does not describe the education status of other districts of Punjab and
other provinces of Pakistan.
The report discusses the overall condition of the villages of Sahiwal district and
assessing/evaluating the entire 531 villages of this District are beyond the scope
of this report due to financial and time constraints.
The report focuses on Parents and key stakeholders as the literacy program for
working children can be successfully launched with the support and cooperation
of these community members.
The quantitative data presented in this report have been collected from the labor
department and the NGOs working in that district so no new survey has been
conducted for completing this report due to time and cost constraints.

19
CHAPTER # 2 STUDY OF CHILD LABOR IN DISTRICT SAHIWAL
2.1: District Sahiwal
Sahiwal was originally called Gugera after the name of a small village on the left
bank of the Ravi River. It became a regularly administrated area in 1849. In 1865
railway headquarter was
shifted to the present location
of Sahiwal, and was named
Montgomery after the name of
Sir Robert Montgomery who
was then Lieutenant Governor
of the Punjab. Honoring the
wishes of the people of the
district on 14th
November, 1966
the Government renamed it as
'Sahiwal'. It consists of 531 villages in two tehsils, Sahiwal and Chichawatni.
According to Census 1998, Sahiwal District has population of 18, 43,194 people,
16.27% of which were located in urban areas. The total area of district is 3,201 square
kilometers6
which gives population density of 649 persons per square kilometer.
Majority of the population i.e. 96.7 percent are Muslims. Among the minorities Christians
are in majority sharing the 3.2 percent population of the district, while other minorities
like Hindus and Scheduled Castes are very small in numbers5
.
5
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahiwal, 2011)
www.gooogle.com
Figure 1: Map of Pakistan

20
2.2: Child Labor in District Sahiwal
Sahiwal is one of the districts having a large number of child labor and they exits
invariably in almost every economic activity i.e. both land-based and off-farm livelihood
sources. The latest estimates of the Labor Department of Sahiwal disclosed that almost
73% children work in activities related to Natural Resource Management; of which two
third of them are seasonally engaged in crop production,
and one third children work in cattle rearing. Remaining
27% are engaged in off-farm activities mainly Tea Stalls
and shops, motor-workshops, building construction,
confectionaries, furniture factories, brick kilns and as
domestic laborers (mostly girls)6
. One of the major
reasons of children involved in working activities is that
their parents either cannot afford the education or are
afraid of unemployment of their children once they are educated. Mostly the poor
parents consider their children as “Investments” and prefer to engage their children in
some kind of economic activity to meet their needs. These children are the source of
income for their families and due to this reason the family size is large. Parents usually
feel happy on a birth of a boy and they celebrate but they think the girl as a burden due
to dowry problem. In the Urban areas of the Sahiwal district e.g. Chichawatni,
Yousafwala, Qadirabad, Kameer, Noorshah and Sahiwal city suburbs, most of the
children involved in commercial activities like auto mechanic shops, motor workshops,
welding plants, furniture factories, hotels, brick kilns and in the rural areas children
usually involved in on-farm activities.
6
Data Provided by: Mr. Niaz Hussain, Regional General Manager, PRSP, Multan Region

21
Table 1: Child Labor Situation in district: Sahiwal in Comparison with Punjab and Pakistan7
35.4% of the population of the country has 0-14 years of age and they are above
66 Million. Out of this number 60% are boys and 40% are girls. Further, 45% of these
children are lived in Punjab. The above table shows the extent of the problem of child
labor with the estimated figures collected from different articles, reports, publications
from government and Non- government departments. According to the table 23% of
Children involved in Child labor activities in Pakistan, 30% in Punjab and 6% in the
proposed district Sahiwal. In addition to the children involved in child labor there are
thousands of students who are neither enrolled, nor involved in any kind of activity.
Which should also be considered for education and literacy purposes.
Participation rate in district Sahiwal
The participation rate in district Sahiwal is
only 45%, which means 55% of children are
not enrolled in schooling and destroying their future by either sitting idle or involving in
working activities.
Gender Parity:
The Gender Parity rate in Sahiwal is 67% as
shown in the box.
7
The above Estimation is based upon the data available on the following sources:
(Pak) (Literacy and Non-Formal Basic Education Department, Government of Punjab, Pakistan,
2011)(http://www.literacy.gop.pk/plrc_unesco.html) (National Coaliation Against Bonded labor)
7*
Private Schools enrollment is included in Idle children, as separate data is not available
Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total
Total Child Population (0-14years) 34,093,853 32,278,462 66,372,315 17,920,525 11,947,017 29,867,542 398,130 265,420 663,550
Estimated #of Child Laborers 10,500,000 4,500,000 15,000,000 6,300,000 2,700,000 9,000,000 17,895 19,698 37,593
Enrolled Children (Public Schools) 21,549,381 16,543,210 38,092,591 9,938,352 8,624,703 18,563,055 164,773 134,385 299,158
Idle Children or not recorded 7*
2,044,472 11,235,252 13,279,724 1,682,173 622,314 2,304,487 215,462 111,337 326,799
% of Children who are child Laborers 31% 14% 23% 35% 23% 30% 4% 7% 6%
Estimated Breakdown
Pakistan Punjab Sahiwal
Participation rate in District: Sahiwal
= Total Enrollment / Total School Age group
=299,158/663,550 =45%
Source: Academy of Education Planning & Management,
2009-10, Pakistan
Gender Parity
= School Age Girls / School Age Boys
=265,420/398,130 = 67%
Source: Academy of Education Planning & Management,
2009-10, Pakistan

22
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
Off-farm
activities
On-farm
activities
Total
80%
21%
48%
20%
79%
52%
17,038
20,555
37,593
Areas of Trade: Child Labor
Boys Girls Total
2.3: Areas of Trade and Working Conditions
In the absence of a nation-wide, comprehensive and updated child labor survey,
it is hard to present the authenticated statistics to the extent of child labor situation in
District Sahiwal. Therefore, most stakeholders rely on the data (mostly estimates)
available with the District Labor Department. Estimates of the Labor Department
Sahiwal suggest that around 37,593 children in district Sahiwal are working in
hazardous working conditions in five major sectors8
:
Table 2: Child Labor Situation in District: Sahiwal
The above table showed that 45 %
(17,038)children out of total 37,593
children involved in off-farm working
activities and the rest 55 % (20,555)
working in the farms.
8
Data Provided by: Mr. Niaz Hussain, Regional General Manager,
PRSP, Multan Region
Gender &
Age
Cohorts
Off-Farm Activities On-farm Activities Total %
Workshops,
Mills, Kilns,
Machines,
Factories,
Hotels, etc.
Building
Construction
and Stone
Crushing, etc.
Cotton
Picking &
Potato
Digging
(seasonal)
Wheat, Maize
&
Paddy
harvesting
(seasonal)
Cattle
Rearing
Percen
tage
B
o
y
s
5-14
years
2,740 2,343 Nil 240 1,760 7,083 19%
15-17
years
4,192 4,360 Nil 770 1,490 10,812 29%
Sub-total
Boys
6,932 6,703 Nil 1,010 3,250 17,895 48%
G
i
r
l
s
5-14
years
660 840 3,920 1,014 1,210 7,644 20%
15-17
years
748 1,155 5,476 2,980 1,695 12,054 32%
Sub-total
Girls
1,408 1,995 9,396 3,994 2,905 19,698 52%
Total 8,340 8,698 9,396 5,004 6,155 37,593 100%

23
The ratio between boys and girls involved in working activities are 48:52 respectively.
The graphical Representation clearly explains that 80% of the boys are involved in off-
farm activities in urban areas and 79% young girls involved in on-farm activities. Child
labor in district Sahiwal can be subdivided into two
categories i.e. on-farm and off-farm. Both these forms are
hazardous for the working children.
On-farm Activities9
:
On-farm activities are seasonal and include:
i. Potato picking, grading, packing and transportation
ii. Harvesting of different crops like wheat, maize and
rice,
iii. Cotton picking,
iv. Rearing animals where children are engaged in
grazing animals and cutting/chopping fodder and
watering etc.
The children either help their families or are paid workers
against nominal wages or sometimes paid in-kind. In any
case, the working children are exposed to following hazards:
Long working hours in extreme weather and resulting dehydration & fatigue;
Exposure to chemicals (pesticides, weedicides, fumigants & fertilizer);
Working at dangerous heights in awkward body postures resulting into physical
injuries;
9

24
Punishment & other abusive exploitation to the extent of sexual harassment.
Off-farm Activities10
:
Mostly boys engaged in off-farm activities and the
common ones are
i. Working in welding plants/shops,
ii. Denting, painting and motor vehicle repairing at
painting workshops and auto mechanic garages,
iii. Working at furniture factories,
iv. Stone crushing,
v. Working at bakeries/confectionaries,
vi. Domestic child laborers (mostly girls), and
vii. Working at brick kilns (bonded labor)
It has been estimated that almost 27% of the children
engaged in hazardous work belongs to off-farm economic
activities. They work in extremely hazardous conditions
and are exposed to varieties of risks. Following are some
of the hazardous to which these children are endangered:
Welding work without any safety measures
(wearing no safety equipment) which result into
cuts, burns, damages to eyes & skin disorders;
Long working hours and awkward body postures resulting into joint deformation,
body pain and muscle ache, etc.;
10

25
Exposure to injurious chemicals, paints and resins which not only result into skin
diseases but also usually cause severe respiratory problems;
Working with heavy machinery and lifting heavy loads that sometimes risk even
the lives of working children;
Verbal and sexual abuse and physical punishments.
2.4: Education Institutions & Situation
Sahiwal has several quality educational institutes, but the literacy rate is still low:
about 30% overall and 51% in the city of Sahiwal. According to the Pakistan Education
Statistics 2009-10, there are 1307 Public and 751 Private institutions in the district.
Public institutions have been served by 8,918 teachers while the number of private
teachers is 5,649; other details are shown in the table below:
Table 3: Institutions in District; Sahiwal
Institutions
Public (2009-2010) Private (2005)11
Institutions Public Teachers Institutions Pvt. Teachers
Boys Girls Male Female Boys Girls Mixed Male Female
Mosque School 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3
Primary 476 391 1334 1121 2 2 262 185 1165
Middle 96 168 999 1551 2 3 398 429 2581
High 97 51 1985 1140 8 3 55 257 774
Higher Secondary 12 16 436 352 3 9 3 99 156
Sub-Total 681 626 4,754 4,164 15 17 719 970 4,679
Total 1,307 8,918 751 5,649
Source: (Academy for Education Planning and Management, 2009-10)
The quality of education also effects due to the absence of basic facilities in public and
private schools. Following data shows the situation of facilities both in the public and
privates schools.
11
After 2005, Private Institutions record is not updated by the Academy for Education Planning and Management,
Ministry of Education, Pakistan

26
Table 4: Situation of Institutions
Facilities in School
Situation of Public Schools, 2009-10 Private Schools Situation in 2005
12
Available Not Available Not Reported Available Not Available Not Reported
Building 1,296 2 9 751 0 0
Boundary Wall 1,104 190 13 707 37 7
Electricity 1,056 234 17 736 15 0
Latrine 1,036 240 31 730 19 2
Water 1,249 39 19 739 12 0
Source: (Academy for Education Planning and Management, 2009-10)
2.4.1: Enrollment and Dropping out Table 5: Enrollment in Public Schools
The enrollment situation table shows that
there are only less than half of the students in the
district enrolled in Pre-Primary stage. Further,
primary is the only stage which shows the highest
number of both the boys and girls enrollment.
After primary the number of students drops out at
a very high rate. The high drop-out of children is due to following reasons:
Financial Matters of Family
Unemployment of Educated Persons
Unattractive Schooling/ Teachings
Extra Burden of Home work
School Cost and burden of other costs like: Uniform, Books, Stationary, Several
kind of funds etc.
Less attention of parents and teachers
Inadequate facilities in Schools
Punishment and Abuses
12
After 2005, Private Institutions record is not updated by the Academy for Education Planning and Management,
Ministry of Education, Pakistan
Enrollment in Public Schools
2009-2010
Enrolment by stage Boys Girls
Pre-Primary 25,929 21,577
Primary 87,846 75,415
Middle 35,135 24,307
High 15,330 11,891
Higher Secondary 533 1,195
Total 164,773 134,385
Source: NEMIS Database, AEPAM, Pakistan

27
Absenteeism of both teachers and students
High repetition rates
The drop-out rate is higher in rural areas as compared with urban areas due to above
and following reasons:
Children involve in working activities as unpaid family helpers.
After Primary, students have to travel long distance for continuing education
(travelling Cost & time).
For Grade-6, burden of English creates pressure on students.
Unfair Behavior of Teachers (Social discrimination on the basis of caste)
Less Monitoring on teachers.
Teacher-student relationship.
2.4.2: Student-Teacher Relationship
Table 6: Student-Teacher, Teacher-School & Student-School Ratios
District: Sahiwal 2008-09
Boys
Primary 476 87,846 1,334 66 3 185
Middle 96 35,135 999 35 10 366
High 97 15,330 1,985 8 20 158
Higher-Sec 12 533 436 1 36 44
Total 681 138,844 4,754 29 7 204
Girls
Primary 391 75,415 1,121 67 3 193
Middle 168 24,307 1,551 16 9 145
High 51 11,891 1,140 10 22 233
Higher-Sec 16 1,195 352 3 22 75
Total 626 112,808 4,164 27 7 180
Source: Pakistan Education Statistics 2008-09, AEPAM, MOE, Islamabad, Pakistan
Levels
Numbers Ratios
Schools Enrolment by
Level
Teachers Student Per
Teacher
Teacher per
School
Students per
School

28
A young boy flips the bricks in the outskirts of the capital
on Saturday. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD JAVAID
PESHAWAR:
Twenty years after ratifying the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
(UNCRC), the fate of children in Pakistan has
not improved. Despite the existence of child
labor laws, the practice is continuously
increasing in the country and the number of
child laborers has crossed 10 million.
This was stated by Society for the Protection
of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) Executive
Director Arshad Mahmood during the launch
ceremony of its 15th annual report titled “The
State of Pakistan’s Children 2010” here at the
Peshawar Press Club on Saturday.
He said that according to the International
Labor Organization (ILO) child labor numbers
fell worldwide, but unfortunately, Pakistan
saw a marked increase. According to the 2008
Economic Survey of Pakistan, he said, the
number of working children aged between 10
to 14 years increased from 10.9 to 13.6 per
cent in the country.
Poverty, floods, terrorism, the dismal situation
in internally displaced people camps and other
factors compelled families to push children
towards work, he added. “A number of
schools and houses were destroyed by floods
and the militancy, which left no option for kids
but to go and work,” he added.
SPARC Program Manager Imran Takkar said
that they were trying their best to reduce child
labor in the country. He added they were
lobbying the government to eliminate child
labor through education, adding that
uniformity in the education system and free of
charge schooling should be given to each child.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 12th, 2011.
Child Labor Day: Number of child
laborers in the country tops 10m
By Mahwish Qayyum / Manzoor Ali
Published: June 12, 2011
The above table showed current student
teacher ratios at different stages of education.
At primary stage there are 66 students against a
teacher which shows the weak relationship
between student and teacher but as the
education level increases, enrollment decreases
and results in improved relationship.
2.5: Cultural Limitations and hindering
forces:
According to the national Child labor survey
conducted in 1996 by Federal Bureau of
Statistics, 3.3 million children of the 40 million
children having age group between 5-14 years
are working on full time basis. Out of the 3.3
million working children, 73 percent (2.4 million)
were boys and 27% (0.9 million) were girls.
Children‟s contribution to work in rural areas is
about eight times higher than in urban areas.
Rural children are mostly engaged in agriculture
sector (74%) while the urban ones are busy in
manufacturing areas. The survey of 1996

29
identified the following major causes of child labor in Pakistan:
Large family size in Poor Households
Unemployment mostly in rural areas
Poverty and low agricultural production
Unpaid family helpers
Inadequate education facilities
The constitution of Islamic republic of Pakistan states “No Child below the age of
fourteen shall be engaged in any factory or mine or in any other hazardous
employment.”13
Also, “All forms of forced labor are prohibited.” A number of laws (See details in Annex
A-1) contain provisions prohibiting child labor in Pakistan are14
:
The factories Act 1934
The West Pakistan shops and Establishment ordinance 1969
The Employment of Children Act 1991
The Bonded Labor system Abolition Act 1992
The Punjab Compulsory Education Act 1994
2.6: Female Education Restrictions:
More than 50% of the total Population of Pakistan consists of women and they
are allowed to participate in all spheres of life but still their literacy rate is just 36% which
is very low as compared to men i.e. 64%.15
13
(http://www.einfopedia.com/child-labour-in-pakistan.php, 2011)
14
(http://www.einfopedia.com/child-labour-in-pakistan.php, 2011)
15
(http://www.einfopedia.com/female-education-in-pakistan.php, 2011)

30
2.6.1: Misconception about Islam
It is only due to the misconception about Islam that some people do not allow
women to get education and further they are not allowed to go outside of house. In-fact,
Islam provides equal opportunities of education to both (Men & Women) without any
discrimination and it is quoted in Quran and Hadith several times. Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) strongly emphasized on education by saying that, “It is the prime duty of men
and women to acquire education”.
2.6.2: Large Family Size in poor households
Usually, poor households have large family size which is also considered as a
cause of female education. Poor families with very little budget are not able to afford to
send their girls to schools. They give preference to boy‟s education. In most of the poor
families they send their boys to work for learning skills and girls normally learn
embroidery and sewing skills from their mothers or other female family members.
2.6.3: Responsibility of managing home
Thirdly, it is considered that male are responsible for earnings and education is
important for them whereas females are only responsible for managing homes
especially after marriage they have to stay at home and take care of their children as a
housewife.
2.6.4: Lack of decision Power
Traditionally, and till now especially in rural areas decision power is with man and
they are responsible for taking decisions for their females even the marriage decision. In
rural areas some families allow their daughter or sisters to study till primary but after
primary due to far flung school distance they are not allowed to continue education.

31
Mostly people are against the co-education system and restrict their females for higher
education.
2.6.5: Male dominating Society
As mentioned above, decision power is with male. Girls are not allowed to move
freely due to the social setup and thus male family members are responsible for taking
care of them. There is also a clear division between the responsibilities and work of men
and women.
2.6.6: Inadequate Education facilities
The primary schools ratio between girls and boys is 4 to 10 respectively. More
over the girls have to travel long distance to reach the school, for this reason some
parents gives preference to religious education.
2.6.7: Government Ignorance
Lastly, all the above mentioned causes are also due to government Ignorance.
Government has not given attention towards female education, every government talks
about the importance of female education but none of them did anything for solving the
problem and increasing the literacy rate.
All the above mentioned causes need collective efforts of all the stakeholders for
increasing the literacy rate of both men and women. The role of mothers in building a
nation has been well expressed by Nepolean;16
“Give me the best mothers; I will give
you the best nation.”
16
(http://www.einfopedia.com, 2011)

32
2.7: Conclusion
The above market study and the data provided by different organizations shows
that more than 37000 children both boys and girls, having age between 5-17years, are
involved in working activities in district Sahiwal. 45% of these children (mostly boys) are
involved in commercial activities and the rest 55% (mostly girls) worked in the farms.
The aforesaid discussed class of children is working in unsafe and hazardous
conditions. There are several reasons behind child labor activities; one of the most
important is low income and big family size in poor households. These children are the
sources of living for their families, although they are earning very little amount.
In district Sahiwal, there are more than 1300 public and 751 private educational
institutions. The education statistics report of Ministry of Education shows the
decreasing trends at every stage i.e. from primary to higher- secondary. In addition to
this the dropout rate is very high due to lack of awareness about education.

33
CHAPTER # 3 INTERNAL ANALYSIS OF RSPN
3.1 Brief History and Introduction
The Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN); a largest civil society
organization was registered in 2001 under Pakistan‟s Companies Ordinance (1984) as
a non-profit company by the Rural Support Programmes (RSPs) of Pakistan. RSPN is a
network of ten RSPs17
: Azad Jammu Kashmir Rural Support Programme (AJKRSP),
Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), Balochistan Rural Support Programme
(BRSP), Ghazi Barotha Taraqiati
Idara (GBTI), National Rural
Support Programme (NRSP),
Punjab Rural Support Programme
(PRSP), Sindh Rural Support
Organization (SRSO), Sindh
Graduates Association (SGA),
Sarhad Rural Support Programme
(SRSP), Thardeep Rural
Development Programme (TRDP),
and NRSP-Institute of Rural Management (N-IRM). The RSPs are mainly working with
poor communities for improving the livelihoods and providing access to basic
necessities of life. Their focus is not only the rural areas; they also work with the poor of
urban areas. RSPs use the tool of social mobilization for organizing the communities,
and they ensure the participation of both men and women in development activities.
17
(Rural Support Programmes Network, 2011)
Figure 2: Map of RSPN Out-Reach

34
RSPN is a strategic platform for the RSPs: it provides capacity building support to them
and assists them in policy advocacy and donor linkages. Currently, the RSPs have a
presence in 109 districts (districts include those in the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan
and AJK) and 2 FATA areas. The RSPs collectively work with a rural membership of
community organizations of 3.92 million rural households.
3.2 Purpose & ObjectivesO
Ob
O
Purpose
To enable RSPs to harness people‟s potential across Pakistan through policy
advocacy, strategic support, networking, knowledge management, gender
mainstreaming, and resource mobilisation.
Objectives18
Building capacity of the RSPs and other members;
Undertaking policy advocacy with government and other key stakeholders, in
order to make key policies more oriented towards the needs of poor people.
Advocacy is commonly undertaken by advocating practical experiences of the
RSPs, across the country. It entails documenting and providing exposure to
policy makers across Pakistan, demonstrating improved service delivery and
public-private partnership models;
Supporting programmatic innovations to improve programmes for poor people,
as a value-addition to the work done by the RSPs;
Supporting the RSPs in setting standards for quality programmes;
Promoting networking, coordination and experience sharing within its member
18

35
community and with external stakeholders.
3.3: Mission and Vision
Mission Statement of RSPN
“A Prosperous Pakistan where people - especially the poor and
Women- are provided with equal livelihood opportunities and are
not socially and economically excluded”.
RSPN‟s Vision:
“A peaceful, tolerant and prosperous Pakistan where all people
are able to realise their potential and live fulfilled lives”.
3.4: Member Organizations
RSPN is the largest civil society development network in Pakistan. It consists
of ten member Rural Support Programmes (RSPs) and the NRSP-Institute of Rural
Management (NIRM), all of which advocate a common development vision for poverty
reduction and rural development through a well-defined process of “social mobilization”
and empowerment.
Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (Since-1982)
Azad Jammu Kashmir Rural Support Programme (Since-2007)
Balochistan Rural Support Programme (Since-2001)
Ghazi Barotha Taraqiati Idara (Since-1995)
National Rural Support Programme (Since-1991)
Punjab Rural Support Programme (Since-1997)
Sindh Rural Support Organization (Since-2003)
Sindh Graduates Association (Since-1972)
Sarhad Rural Support Programme (Since-1989)
Thardeep Rural Development Programme (Since-1997)
NRSP-Institute of Rural Management (Since-1993)

36
3.5: Projects and Programs
Currently RSPN is implementing the following projects and programmes19
with the help
of member RSP‟s in all over Pakistan.
USAID‟S Assessment and Strengthening Program (ASP)
Early Recovery in Three Remote Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Project
USAID-RSPN Sindh Agriculture Recovery Project (SARP)
BAHAAL - Emergency Relief and Early Recovery Project for flood affectees
across Pakistan
Nationwide Rollout of Poverty Targeting Survey in Pakistan
Komak Project Flood Relief and Rehabilitation
Emergency Relief Assistance Project
Pakistan Domestic Biogas Programme (PDBP)
Mother & Child Health Care Initiative
Family Advancement for Life and Health (FALAH)
Crop Maximization Project – II
3.6: Outreach and status of Community Organizations, Village
Organizations and Local Support Organizations
As of December 2010,
RSP‟s are presented in 109
districts out of Country‟s 144
districts. They are working in
3,739 Union Councils (the
lowest tier of local
Government) out of total
5,043 Union Council of
Pakistan. One of the core
Competencies of RSP‟s is that they organize community or households by using three
tiers Social Mobilization approach.
19
RSPN-outreach-issue08
Figure 3: Tiers of Social Mobilization approach

37
Till December 2010, RSP‟s had organized more than 4 million Households in the form
of Community Organizations, Village Organizations and Local Support Organizations.
RSPs have formed 254,870 COs (with 4,399,756 members), out of which 107,848 are
Women COs (with 1,985,063 members), this makes RSPN a largest civil Society
development Network in Pakistan. See details in Appendix A-2 & A-3;
3.7 Donors/ Sources of funds20
:
Some of the donors and Projects are already mentioned under the heading of “Projects
and Programmes”. The rest are the following:
Donors Projects
Department for International
Development (DFID)
Winter Shelter and Livelihoods Support Programme
International Development Research
Centre (IDRC)
Gender , Power-relation and Decentralization in
Pakistan
World Bank- Japan Social
Development Fund (JSDF)
Building Community Capacity Reconstruction Project
International Development and Relief
Foundation (IDRF)
Emergency Response for Pakistan for Earthquake
Affectees
International Development and Relief
Foundation (IDRF)
Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Response in
NWFP Transitional Shelter Project
Foundation Open Society Institute
(FOSI).
Establishing Community Schools & Cash for Work
Programme.
United State Agency for International
Development (USAID)
Rewarding Innovation at District Level in Pakistan.
United State Agency for International
Development (USAID)
Reviving Education in Earthquake Areas through
establishing tent schools & cash for work program.
International Youth Foundation Education & Employment alliance.
DTCE- Devolution Trust for
Community Empowerment.
Community Empowerment for Democracy &
Development in Pakistan.
BRAC-Afghanistan. BRAC Logistics/Support Office
Embassy of Kingdom of Netherlands Pakistan Domestic Biogas Progarmme (PDBP)
Netherlands Development
Organizations (SNV)
Technical Advise to Pakistan Domestic Biogas
Programme
Winrock International Technical Advise to Pakistan Domestic Biogas
Programme
20

38
3.8 SWOT Analysis:
Strengths
Largest Civil Society Development
Network in the Country.
RSPN consists of ten member
organizations presence in 109 districts,
out of 144 districts of Pakistan.
Having a strong base at the grass root
level in the shape of COs, VOs, and
LSOs, has Organized more than 4
million households all over the country
and 42% members in the COs are
women.
Working in almost all the sectors of
development i.e. Education, Health,
agriculture Water & Sanitation, Relief,
Reconstruction and Emergency,
Community Development, Alternative
Energy, Good Governance, Poverty
alleviation and Strengthen the Civil
society organizations.
Working with the support of
Government, national and International
Donors, Financial Institutions.
Core Competencies of RSPN are
Policy Advocacy, Social Mobilization,
Social Sector Services, Gender &
development, Monitoring, Evaluation &
Research, and Special Projects wing.
Experienced Professional Staff
Weaknesses
Rely on Funders/ Donors.
Operational and management cost is high
due to large setup.
Working with the member organizations
Opportunities
Already have presence in 76% area of
the country. Can easily expand
operations in all over the country.
Easily implement new projects and
programmes due to highly professional
staff.
Opportunity to organize more
households in the shape of COs, VOs
and LSOs for improving the livelihoods
of the people.
Threats
Peace & order and Terrorism are the
hurdles or threats in expansion.
Increase in International Fuel prices results
in more cost for implementing projects.
Political conditions

39
3.9 Infrastructure and Resources for execution of Proposed MRR
RSPN has an excellent infrastructure for the execution of said research report
in the shape of COs, VOs and LSOs. Further, they are working with the community for
the last more than 20 years and have a good reputation in all levels. Regarding
Resources they have Head offices, Regional offices, District offices, and a countless
number of field offices equipped with latest technology and experienced staff.
According to the outreach issue-08 (Quarter January to March, 2011) both
PRSP and NRSP are implementing various projects in the district Sahiwal. Following
table shows the outreach of these two member organizations in the said district:
Table 7: RSPN Out-reach in district: Sahiwal
DistrictSahiwal
Total Rural
UCs in the
district
RSPs presence
in the UC’s
(as of Dec,
2010)
Total rural
Households in
the district
(1998 census)
Households
organized
(as of Dec, 2010)
RSP
# % # %
83 39 47 227,413 32,458 14.3 PRSP
52 63 12,243 5.4 NRSP
Conclusion:
RSPN, a non-profit and Non-Government organization consists of ten member
organizations and N-IRM is the largest civil Society development network in the country
having presence in more than 75% of the country. RSPs are working with the common
development vision for poverty reduction and rural development through a well-defined
process of social mobilization and citizen empowerment. They played a remarkable role
in the development of the country in almost all the sectors with the support of national
and international donors/funding agencies.

40
CHAPTER # 4 ALTERNATIVES EDUCATION SYSTEMS
4.1: Education
Education means learning knowledge, skills, and attitudes21
. The most
important question arises from this definition that how to learn. According to the
viewpoints of writers and authors, learning means deciding about your own life style. It
is compulsory upon the Learners to incorporate any knowledge, skill or attitude into their
own set of values and behaviors otherwise learning is not meaningful. There is no
specific place for learning. It happens within the classroom as well as outside. Similarly
some learning results originate from teachers and some does not. On the basis of said
assumptions it is rightly established that some learning is intended and some is
accidental.
4.2: Three Types of Education32
In general opinion, it is assumed that education and schooling are inter-
changeable terms. Many educators believe that any education that happens outside the
school is somehow inferior, purposeless and certainly uncontrolled. Other educators
and philosophers totally differ with said concept and they strongly contended this point
that the learning could take place inside and outside the classrooms. The leaning could
occur in formal, non-formal and informal educational settings. Whatsoever are the
education settings it is the crystal clear reality that the learning experience would be
beneficial and equally powerful in each of those settings.
21
(Arlen Etllng. Assistant Professor)

41
4.2.1: Formal education
The term Formal Education32
is generally associated with schools. The education
system observed by school, colleges and universities falls under formal education as
they pursue defined sets of syllabus and areas to teach the students. The full-time
technical and professional trainings also satisfy the term “formal education”.
4.2.2: Non-Formal Education
Non-formal education22
is intentional and systematic educational enterprise
usually outside the traditional schooling in which content is adapted by considering the
unique needs of the students or unique situation to maximize learning and minimize
other elements which often rely upon school teachers for enforcing discipline etc. NFE
is more learner-centered as compared to formal education. NFE tends to emphasize on
cafeteria curriculum (option, choices) rather than the prescribed, sequential curriculum
found in schools. NFE focuses on practical skills and knowledge while schools often
focus on information which may have delayed application. Overall NFE has a lower
level of structure and therefore more flexibility than schools.
4.2.3: Informal Education
Informal Education33
is less structured form of education which deals with
everyday experiences that are not planned or organized. It can be referred as incidental
learning. The informal education is constituted when the elders or peers interpret or
explain their experiences.
22
Source: Journal of Agricultural Education by Arlen Etllng. Assistant Professor, The Pennsylvania State University(page #72-75)

42
4.3: Educator Styles33
An Educator must be flexible to be effective in all three types of education. The
Educator should have to observe different leadership styles matching to situation and
environment. Directive leadership may be suitable for formal education but democratic
and non-directive styles are required to enhance learning in non-formal and informal set
of education systems.
Some educators seem to be able to adapt to the situations. Too many, however,
are effective classroom teachers but less effective as non-formal educators because
they try to use classroom techniques and directive leadership in both settings. Likewise,
certain educators who are effective in non-formal settings lose their effectiveness when
teaching in the classroom because they do not adapt to the requirements of more
structure and more responsibility for learning.
4.4: Education System in Pakistan
There are four distinct tiers within the education system in Pakistan23
. The four
levels of education are: primary (grades 1-5); secondary (grades 6-10); higher
secondary or intermediate (grades 11-12); and graduate and postgraduate or higher
(grades 13-16).
4.5: Structure of the System
Education is organized into five levels34
: primary (grades one through five);
middle (grades six through eight); high (grades nine and ten, culminating in
matriculation); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to an FA. (Faculty of
23
(Mittal, 2007)

43
arts) diploma in arts or FSc. (Faculty of science); and university programs leading to
undergraduate and advanced degrees. Preparatory classes (kachi, or nursery) were
formally incorporated into the system in 1988 with the Seventh Five year Plan.
4.5.1: Primary Education
Primary education34
in Pakistan ranges from grades 1-5. Under the current
education policy 1998-2010, there is a big effort to universalize education at this level. It
is envisioned that all children throughout the country aged 5-10 will receive at least a
basic primary education. Promotion from one grade to the other depends on in-house
annual examinations.
4.5.2: Secondary Education
Secondary schooling24
consists of two well-defined stages: middle school
(grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-10). The age group covered by this stage is 11-
18-year-olds. There is a matriculation or Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam at
the end of the 10th grade. The medium of instruction is Urdu except in "English"
schools. The curriculum at this stage begins to be specialized. Four compulsory
subjects are taught at this level: Urdu, English, Pakistan Studies and Islamic Studies
with an additional four subjects as chosen by the student. Two distinguishing features of
the secondary school curriculum are: (1) Strong re-orientation towards the sciences; (2)
Diversification of the program so as to offer a large number of technical and vocational
subjects.
4.5.3: Higher Secondary Education
Higher Secondary education35
comprises grades 11-12 and is also known as
24
(Mittal, 2007)

44
Intermediate college level. This level leads to the intermediate exam or higher
secondary certificate (H.S.S.C. formerly FA/FSC), which is the prerequisite for entrance
to university or an institution of higher education. English is the medium of instruction at
this level, which has been problematic since most education to this point has either
been conducted in Urdu or a regional language. This causes a great disparity between
students coming from private English high schools and those coming from government
schools. The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education at the end of grades 10
and 12 conducts public exams for the secondary school and higher secondary school
certificates respectively.
4.5.4: University Education25
Universities in Pakistan offer higher-level degrees in general and professional
education. Undergraduate studies for Bachelors degrees in arts and sciences require
two years of study for completion. An honors bachelor degree takes four years. This
distinction makes the difference in the length of time it takes to complete a Master‟s
program.
4.6: Alternative Education System of Pakistan
4.6.1: Non-Formal Basic Education
Non-Formal Basic Education (NFBE)26
community Schools were established to
cover gaps and to achieve the goal of universal primary education with the support of
community in Pakistan. In 1996, initially 3000 Non-formal basic education community
schools were opened with targets to reduce the expenditure through community-school
partnership. In was planned that the community will arrange one or two rooms as school
25
(Mittal, 2007)
26
(International Journal for Academic Research, 2011)

45
buildings, matriculate teacher and basic necessities to support the teaching and
learning process. Another stakeholder, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) will
provide services for training of teachers, monitoring of schools and motivation of
community as volunteer partner on nominal cost. The government will provide the
learning material and a nominal honorarium to the teachers. It was planned that
community-school partnership will be established through the formation of Education
committees with members from all stakeholders of communities to achieve the targets.
In the duration of ten years NFBE schools increased to 9,267 and all the targets
remained unachieved. The project was reviewed and target was revised realistically
with new name “Basic Education Community Schools” in the year 2007. The project
was handed over to National Education Foundation as the executing agency for the
establishment and operation of 20,000 Basic Education Community (BEC) Schools in
the country with the sponsorship of Federal Ministry of Education, Govt. of Pakistan.
Table 8: Student’s Enrolment at Basic Education Community Schools-2009
Students’ Enrolment at Basic Education Community Schools-2009
Province/Area Number of Schools/
Teachers
Total Number of
Students
No. of Students
Male Female
Punjab 6,465 262,744 107,825 154,919
Sindh 2,075 78,522 34,389 44,133
KPK(NWFP) 1,764 72,441 24,183 48,258
Balochistan 1,284 41,941 22,092 19,017
FATA 1,166 48,572 32,441 16,131
FANA 303 11,746 4,505 4,241
AJK 223 10,214 4,938 5,276
ICT 323 12,129 6,073 6,056
Total 13,603 537,477 236,446 301,031
Source: (NEF, 2009)

46
4,000 Madaris students get
Technical Education
Source: The Nation, Published: May 20,
2009
LAHORE - The Technical Education &
Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA)
has successfully imparted technical
skills to about 4,000 students of 28
selected ‘deeni madaris’ across the
Punjab. About 50 per cent of these
trained students have now become
financially independent while doing
their own business and self-
employment.
This effort by TEVTA to train youth of
madaris has started bringing tangible
results as a number of madaris has
demanded to establish such training
centers at their premises. Chairman
TEVTA Mohsin Syed informed this while
addressing in a meeting of the madaris
heads and TEVTA officers here at its
Secretariat.
http://www.nation.com.pk
4.6.2: Distance & e-learning Programmes
In Pakistan, there are number of universities and institutes having campuses all
over the country providing open, distance and e-learning facilities to a large number of
students. These institutes offer a wide range of courses from under-graduate to doctoral
level. The most renowned university in this regard is the Allama-Iqbal Open University.
Other Universities Include Virtual University, University of the Punjab, Bahauddin
Zakariya Univerity, Pakistan Institute of Modern studies and Aga Khan University-
Institute of Educational development. These institutes provide both formal and non-
formal education and play an important role in the
education sector of the country.
4.6.3: Technical and Vocational Centers/
Institutes
The Government of Pakistan has
established the National Vocational & Technical
Education Commission (NAVTEC) in December
2005 as an apex body. Technical Educational &
Vocational Training Authorities (TEVTA) at
provincial levels are working with the
coordination of NAVTEC.
There are total 3,125 technical and vocational
institutions of which 936 (30%) are in public sector, whereas 2,189 (70%) are in private
sector. The total enrolment in the technical and vocational institutions is 255,636 of
which 111,119 (43%) is in public sector, whereas 144,517 (57%) is in private sector.

47
The total male enrolment in the technical and vocational institutions is 159,623 (62%),
whereas, the female enrolment is 96,013 (38%). The total number of teachers in the
technical and vocational institutions are 14,914, out of which 7,501 (50%) is in public
and 7,413 (50%) is in private sector. There are10,144 (68%) male teacher and 4,770
(32%) female teachers27
. These Institutes offer a wide range of short and long term
diploma courses along with graduation and post-graduation courses in commerce and
industry.
4.6.4: Deeni Madaris
There are total 12,448 Deeni Madaris of which 363 (3%) are in public sector,
whereas 12,085 (97%) are in private sector. The total enrolment in the Deeni Madaris is
1.603 million of which 0.454 million (3%) is in public sector, whereas, 1.558 million
(97%) is in private sector. The total male enrolment in Deeni Madaris is 0.999 million
(62%), whereas, the female enrolment is 0.604 (38%). The total teachers in Deeni
Madaris are 55,680, out of which 1,694 (3%) is in public sector and 53,986 (97%) are in
private sector. There are 42,997 (77%) male teachers and 12,683 (23%) female
teachers28
. Deeni Madaris play a vital role in promoting education and they provide
both the religious and general education according to the syllabus approved by Pakistan
Madrasa Board.
4.6.5: Adult Literacy Centers/ Programs
The Government established a National Commission for Human Development
(NCHD) in 2002 for running literacy program by setting up literacy Centers at large
27
(Academy for Education Planning & Management, 2007-08)
28
(Academy for Education Planning & Management, 2007-08)

48
scale. The official figures revealed that the NCHD has established 120,263 adult literacy
centers in 134 districts and has provided free of cost education to 2.5 million adults 90
percent amongst them are females. According to NCHD estimations almost 50 million
people in Pakistan are illiterate, the UNESCO‟s Institute for Statistics more or less
claims the same factual position as their record reflects 54.9 percent literacy rate in the
year, 2007. The Economic Survey of Pakistan for the year 2009-10 claims a 57 percent
literacy rate. Whatsoever is the figure it is a bitter reality that Pakistan is far way behind
in terms of education.
The Punjab Government has been running the Literacy and Non-Formal Basic
Education Department since 2002 with the objective “To Make Punjab Literate”. New
policies have been introduced in 2008-09 which include strengthening capacity,
establishment of 300 adult literacy centers in jails, mobile literacy program, vocational
training centers and above all an awareness campaign. The said department is actively
playing its role in parallel with other national organizations like NCHD and international
organizations like the Asian Development Bank.
The latest 2009-10 Survey proclaims a 59 percent literacy rate for Punjab
province. Pakistan Millennium Development target for literacy rate is 88 percent by 2015
for which continuous dedicated efforts are required to be made by all the key
stakeholders.

49
4.7: Strengths and Weaknesses of Education System of Pakistan
Strengths Weaknesses
From the above discussion, it seems
that both Public and Private sector are
trying to achieve the literacy rate by
providing formal and informal ways of
education.
The National Educational
Management Information system of
Academy of Educational Planning and
Management is well updated with
each and every record like number of
schools, teachers, students, facilities
etc., shows the clear picture of
educational activities.
Pakistan spends only 2.9% of its GDP
on Education. But now recently, the
government has approved a new
national education policy in which the
allocated budget for education is 7%
of GDP. Public Expenditure on
Education as percentage to GDP is
lowest in Pakistan as compared to
other countries of the South Asian
region. According to official data,
Pakistan allocated 2.5% of GDP
during 2006-07, 2.47% in 2007-08,
2.1% in 2008-09 and 2.0 % in 2009-10
which shows a persistent declining
trend.
According to UNESCO‟s Education for
All, Global Monitoring Report 2009,
the Public Sector expenditure on
Education as percentage of GDP, in
other countries of the region was 2.6%
in Bangladesh, 3.2% in Nepal, 3.3% in
India, 5.2% in Iran and 8.3% of GDP
in Maldives.
Private Sector involvement in
Education Sector also helps in
promoting education as it creates
The literacy rate in Pakistan is still 57%,
(69% male and 45% Female). On the
other hand the number of working
children is increasing at a tremendous
rate.
Having all the updated record, the
education department is not able to
provide missing facilities to the
educational institutions due to limited
fund.
The dropout rate in the schools is very
high due to number of reasons like
teachers behavior, boring syllabus,
ignorance of the importance of
education and poverty.
The focus is on quantity to achieve the
targets, not on quality of education.
Lack of Standardization in terms of
Syllabus and courses.
Less benefits and low salaries of
teachers also affect the quality of
education.
Poor recruitment practices.
Inadequate Teachers Trainings
/Refresher courses.
Lack of Coordination between
departments and also between public
and private sector institutions.
Most of the educational projects are
excellently running in the urban or town
areas but rural they usually ignored the
rural areas.

50
competition between public and
private sector.
Lack of Ownership due to poor
involvement of community or parents.
Inadequate funding.
Free education is not free.
University Education is very expensive
and Government has no control on fee
structure. The Fees are becomes higher
and higher which makes higher
education unaffordable.
Promoting Westernization in the name
of Modernization especially in the
private sector.
Insufficient Monitoring.
4.8: Study of Alternative Education Systems of different countries
In the early 1970s, non-formal education was incorporated within the broader
framework of lifelong education and the notion of „the learning society.‟ Nearly 20 years
later, the UNESCO Commission for Education in the 21st Century in their Report
“Learning: The Treasure Within” revived the concept of lifelong education as the main
framework for future educational development. The concept of lifelong education
provides only the theoretical basis for defining NFE but in practice the activities
designed under NFE banner are remained loosely inter- linked. These include literacy
and basic education for adults, programs for school dropouts, political and trade union
education and various kinds of educational work linked with development initiatives
including agricultural extension and training programs and health education. Thus, in

51
terms of its potential, NFE spans a large range of age groups, target population and
areas of content and skills29
.
4.8.1: People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Bangladesh has one of the largest NFE program in the world with a very large
component of NGO operations. The Government policy has been one of explicit support
for expansion of NFE in the country and involvement of other agencies – private,
philanthropic, and NGOs. The National Education Policy (2000) declared:
“Education will be offered in accordance with the age and need of the
learners. NFE will be complementary to formal education. Learners in NFE
system will have livelihood skills to find employment in the world of work.
NFE graduates can be enrolled in appropriate class of the formal schools.
NFE will include opportunities of continuing education to up-grade and
improve the skills of the learners. NFE will create opportunity for mass
education with the involvement of Ministry and Departments other than the
Ministry of Education.”30
NFE still forms major part of the education development program of the Bangladesh
Government focusing largely on reaching basic education to young children. The
Government has been encouraging NGOs to organize programs of adult literacy and
non-formal education including those which involve income generation activities. In this
Regard, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) has played a major role in
promoting Non-Formal Education in the Bangladesh. The NFE model of BRAC is highly
successful due to the number of reasons31
:
Firstly, BRAC works with the communities and they know about the children and
families with whom they interact every day. Secondly, research into teaching and
learning is unparalleled, and they are able to apply their research locally. They began
with literacy circles, empowering women to take on leadership roles and democratic
decision making.
BRAC is an example, not only for promoting NFE but also they work to develop
cooperative relationships. The most effective NFE model focuses on enhancing the
formal schooling, provide opportunities for lifelong learning, cultural celebration, and a
belief in a community to solve its own problems.
29
(R. Govinda, 3-4 July,2008)
30
31
(The Rise of Non-Formal Education)

52
4.8.2: People’s Republic of China
China does not focus on any particular local specific income generation program. The
Prairie Fire Project started in 1998 by the State Education Commission in cooperation
with Science and Technology Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture, with a view to
speeding up the development of agriculture and economy in rural areas. This project is
carried out as part of a comprehensive reform of rural education. The main objective of
this project is to raise the quality of labor forces in the rural areas and empower farmers
with modern science and technology through non-formal education. During the project
implementation, rural schools worked cooperatively with local agencies of agriculture,
science and technology to disseminate the successful experience in using modern
technology to increase farmers‟ income. With the joint efforts made by education
department, agriculture department and science and technology association, a non-
formal education network was set up across the Hebei Province.
As the specific objective was to increase productivity of rural labor through induction of
modern science and technology, the Project focused on reaching education inputs to
clearly identified marginalized groups such as male youth and adult among rural labor
force. Higher levels of literacy combined with practical skills such as new ways of
planting, strategies of management, awareness of professional competition and
vocational skills required for employment.
The second group targeted by the project consisted of women and girls. This was done
keeping in view the critical role they play in agricultural activities and to overcome
historically prevalent gender disparities. Ethnic groups and minorities constituted the
third priority target group for focused action under NFE as they are considered as the
weakest of all disadvantaged groups among the rural population and are expected to
benefit the most from non-formal education. The fourth group of NFE participants in the
Project consisted of functional illiterates – those who have basic literacy skills but are
unable to enhance their income or quality of life due to lack of functional skills and dare
willing to invest resources for enhancing their prosperity32
.
4.8.3: Republic of India
Official program of Non-Formal Education addressed to the basic education needs of
adults have been divided into three phases as basic literacy, post literacy and
continuing education programs.
Programs focusing on skill building among adults leading to improvement in their
economic conditions are generally considered under the banner of continuing education
involving both government and non-government agencies in promoting NFE programs
for adults in the country. A variety of institutional structures have been created to serve
this purpose both in the government and non-government sectors. India focuses on
three programs for enhancing the economic capabilities of youth and adults. These
programs are:
(a) Science & Technology for the Adolescent Youth
32

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