1.3 Organizational Structure of the Center The following is the organizational structure of NFEC: 
1.4 Management board According to Education Act and Regulations, in order to formulate the policies, coordinate non-formal education programs, and more specifically to manage non-education affairs, there has been provision of National Non-Formal Education Council. This council is chaired by honorable minister or state minister for education and sports. The tenure of these members is of 3 years, and its secretariat is at Non-Formal Education Center (NFEC). Similarly, a committee for non-formal education is formed at the district level. The major responsibilities of this committee are to manage, coordinate and supervise non-formal education programs at the district level. This committee is chaired by chairperson of the District Development Committee. The tenure of the members is of 3 years. One more mandate to this committee is that it can form village or ward level non-formal education committees as and when necessary. The roles and responsibilities of district non-formal education committee are fixed by National Level Non-Formal Education Council. 2. Major programs of the Center 2.1 Target groups of the NFE programs NFE programs have been targeted for varied groups in the community. The following are the target groups, as literacy education for all needs to be ensured: - Illiterate people of the remote and interior area such as underserved and hard to serve, people of the poverty stricken area, factory workers and labors. For these people, the awareness raising, literacy, post literacy, and continuing education programs are implemented.
- As an opportunity for second chance education, NFE target groups are out of school children and youths with its open school/university and vocational/technical education programs.
- As a career education program, NFE target groups are busy persons with its counseling services, career training, and academic support. As a knowledge generation system, NFE is a program to produce indigenous and traditional knowledge as well as skill system with its exploratory programs.
- As a means of social inclusion, NFE is a program for gender, caste, ethnic, topographical, and linguistic justice with its varieties of programs.
2.2 Major programs There are basically two types of non-formal education programs are implemented for adult and children of 8-14 years. However, looking at the specificity of the learners or participants, the following types of non-formal education programs have been developed and executed accordingly: 2.2.1 Adult literacy The adult literacy program is conducted for illiterate adult men and women of 14 to 45 years age group who due to several reasons were not able to attend the formal education. At least 20 adults attend the classes that are run at accessible place and convenient time. This program is conducted for six months with minimum of two hours a day for six days a week. Its main focus is to make the people literate and aware of the issues of their daily life. Naya Goreto I and II are the textbooks of this level of literacy program. As discussed with NFE experts, the curriculum and textbooks are based on the theory of adult learning. This program has been launched in the country from the very beginning of the establishment of democracy in 2007 BS to make the people able to read and write in Nepali language to make the people aware and conscious of the values and norms of democracy and development. Along with the literacy, different awareness messages are also integrated in the messages of the literacy to encourage the people for their socio-economic developments and aware of the various issues of their life to change their behaviors in a positive way. 2.2.2 Women Literacy I and II The literacy rate of women is quite low in as compared to men. Keeping it in view, non-formal education has designed and implemented women literacy programs throughout the country in order to empower women. The women of 15-45 age groups are not able to attend formal schooling due to several reasons. These women are eligible to attend this program. However, NFE experts argue that there is no rigidity of the age to attend the classes. The women of the advanced age groups also can attend the classes if they are interested. This program is conducted for six months, and is followed by other six month’s course as the advance one. In the first level, more emphasis has been given to make women literate. However, in the second level, it has mainly focused on the awareness and life skill part along with the advanced course of literacy. This program at the moment has been running throughout the country based on the demand of the community people, and program is being managed by District Education Offices. Naya phadko I and II are the textbooks of this program. 2.2.3 Post Literacy Programs This is a three-month program conducted after the completion of the adult literacy classes as the advanced course. Only the men and women who completed the adult literacy course successfully are eligible for this program. In the program more focus has been given on the awareness part to make the people aware of the issues of life and development rather than study of words and letter. Main objective of the program is to provide the opportunities with continuous learning to the participants after the basic literacy so that they can change their knowledge and skills of literacy in practices, which would be helpful to sustain their knowledge and practices for ever. 2.2.4 Alternative Schooling programs According to Education for All (EFA), it is to ensure that all children in Nepal have quality basic and primary education in caring and joyful environment and to receive primary education especially in their mother tongue without having any feeling of prejudices in terms of cultural, ethnic and caste discrimination. But in fact still 17% children are out of school in the country. About 12% children are being dropped out from the class without being completed the primary education. The children from the ethnic minority, poor and marginalized groups are especially deprived of getting the education. To address these issues and meet the objectives of Education for All, non-formal education has executed a number of non-formal education programs in connection with primary education of formal school targeting to the children of 6 to 14 years of geographically far, economically poor and marginalized, socially disadvantaged groups. 2.2.4.1 School Outreach Programs The non-formal education center has designed and launched school out reach program targeting to the children of one to three grades of 6-8 years who are failed to attend the school due to physical and socio-economic reasons. These children are taught according to non-formal education techniques based on the curriculum and text books of primary education. This program has been launched in the remote areas of the country where children do not have access to school education due to geographical reasons such as children can not go to school because of long distances and problems in crossing the river and forest. This program is also conducted for socially and economically backward communities and communities of ethnic minorities to uplift their education status by providing the educational opportunities at their own communities. The children that are dropped out from grade 1 or 2 are also encouraged to enroll in this program. The classes are provided as per the demand generated from the community people. The community itself decides time and venue for classes to be run considering the needs and interests of the local people. The class runs at least four hours a day and six days per week. There are not more than 20 students in each class. NFEC provides all textbooks to each participant in the class every year through District Education Office at free of cost. The facilitator performs evaluation of the studies of the students periodically, and conducts the final examination at the end of each session with the help of mother school and District Education Office. District Education Office also provides the certificate of grade 3 to successful students in final examination through the mother school. After completing 3 year’s course, they are arranged for admission in grade four in nearby local school. 2.2.4.2 Alternative schooling program (ASP) The non-formal education center has designed and launched the alternative schooling program in the urban and semi-urban areas targeting the children of 8 to 14 years age groups who are failed to attend the classes at the right age due to their various reasons. This is three years course. The children who have to work for their food, support to their parents, and look after their siblings are attended in this program for their education. The program also has been launched in socially and economically backward communities and communities of ethnic minority to provide educational opportunities to these groups at their own community. The children who are dropped out from primary school are also encouraged to enroll in it for their continuation in further study. This is also 3 year’s course designed in line with the curriculum of primary education making it condensed to 3 years. After successful completion of the course the students are eligible to enroll in grade six of formal schooling. The non-formal education center provides textbooks to each students through the district education office at free of cost. 2.2.5 Program for School Drop out Children: Main objective of the program is to readmit dropped out children to the mother school for continuation of their study, and increase the retention of children in the school. This program is also conducted for six months in a year. SLC passed local person is recruited to the post of Education Motivator who has the wider knowledge about socio-economic situation of the community and languages. The program is launched taking the catchments areas of a school as the unit of the program, where the motivator is responsible for identification of the problems and reasons of drop out, and tracking them to the mother school with the help of school head teacher, school teacher and members of school management committee. Despite dropped out children identified and tracked to the mother school, the guardians are also made aware of the importance of education through counseling, home visit, awareness campaign and interactions organized at the community by the education motivator. For retaining children in school, the education promoter works with the teachers and members of school management committee closely to create child friendly environment in school. 2.2.6 Income generating program Main objective of this program is to provide learning opportunities for reading, writing and comprehend in their own language as well as to help the low income group of males and females who have became neo-literate by participating in government supported literacy programs. If a neo-literate person left the practices of reading and writing for a long time, they would definitely forget knowledge and practices of reading and writing. In this program, people of different groups of neo-literates are organized in a group and mobilized for income generating programs by the facilitators. The income generating programs are conducted as per the knowledge and experiences of the neo-literates and geographical, cultural and social specialty as well. NFEC provides skill training on income generating and social mobilizing programs for mobilizing these groups. Income status of the people who are involved in the program is being improved. In addition, the people have an opportunity to practices of literacy by doing the activities related to the program. 3. Salient features of literacy training materials Theoretically, literacy is conceived of as the ability to read, write and comprehend. It is defined as a process of making people literate who can read, write, and comprehend in one's own language. In line with this concept, curricula, learning materials, training packages, and operational modalities for literacy have been developed. The discussion with the experts at Non-Formal Education Center expressed that the current curriculum is based on ATLP frame with a focus on content gradation, and more importantly the contents are derived from the lived reality. With this curricular design, the textbooks are prepared to promote dialogue and discourse around the contemporary issues. These issues are depicted in picture, which help create discussion. Moreover, they allow the learners to share their lived experience and learn alphabets as well. The alphabets are taught through structural approach. This approach first engages learners in picture discussion, creates further dialogue, gradually introduces alphabets, expects drilling, and uses imitation and intuition for learning. The studies in general show that NFE learners learn many more things through this method. Therefore, training packages are prepared to facilitate the process of structural learning, and in the field, NFE programs are run as oral discussion session for awareness raising, two hours a day session for literacy education, contact sessions for post literacy options, self-reading for continuing education. In addition, the experts working at Non-Formal Education Center reveal that NGOs have been organizing NFE/literacy programs by using various pedagogical measures. These include key word, language experiences, whole language, and reflective approaches approaches. In using these approaches, the concepts such as creativity, conscientization, empowerment, and participation are applied.
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