Year  | 2000 |  | 2001 |  | 2002  |  |  2003  |  |  2004  |  | 2005  |  | 2006 |  |  2007  |

Nepalese Educators on Study Visit

A study visit to the Philippines by selected officials of the Nepalese Ministry of Education and Culture and World Education-Nepal was organized by SEAMEO INNOTECH from January 10 to 18, 2004. The program aimed to upgrade the knowledge and competencies of the participants on concepts, practices and policies related to modular-based learning materials development, non-formal education policy and practice and educational quality improvement. The Philippine experience was used as a benchmark to analyze the strengths and inadequacies of the Nepalese system.

The study visit was divided in two parts: discussions on different issues and contents of formal and non-formal education system, and visits to the Bureau of Non-formal Education and NFE Centers.

During the visits, similarities in the formal education system of both countries were found in school cycle, student testing, teacher licensing and training and the role of the private sector in education. Differences were noted in the structure of basic education, teacher preparation, ways of addressing access issues, teacher salary structure, and textbook provision.

The participants were given an in-depth look at the NFE system in the Philippines. Lectures pointed out the strengths and weaknesses of the system, people’s conception and the government attitude towards it.

The Philippine Bureau of Nonformal Education has been implementing an Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) system whereby out-of-school learners who pass a secondary level examination is allowed admission in the university as other students from the formal schooling system.

The system of managing NFE centers also differs from Nepal. Every center is located within the school and one teacher from the same school facilitates the NFE learning sessions. The centers are open twice or thrice a week and learning sessions add up to 150 hours a cycle. In some centers, the learning hours are determined according to the negotiations of the facilitators and the learners.

The visitors also found a good system of using mobile teachers. These teachers observe classes and help out to address temporary problems like high absenteeism or absence of teachers. They conduct home visits to encourage learners to come to the centers.

The group was also encouraged by the knowledge they gained on module-based learning materials development. They had productive time discussing how to develop modules in different contexts and for different target groups. This, they said, can be applied in the Nepalese context as well.

TOP