Community-based education programmes are not new to many countries. There have been many innovative works undertaken by government and NGOs in the region over the years. Yet, such initiatives are often time- and budget-bound projects without systematic or long-term strategies that actually link with education policy and planning.
UNESCO's Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL) Community Learning Centre (CLC)project was started in 1998 to develop effective community-based non-formal education (NFE) delivery mechanisms. The project has attempted to institutionalize CLCs as a key Education for All programme strategy within the national education plans of various countries. In 2003, the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD 2003 - 2012) highlighted the role of “community participation” as a key area of action and, thus, further encouraged the establishment of CLCs. most recent initiative to promote literacy, the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) programme.
To further promote CLCs, it is important to present concrete evidence that demonstrates their effectiveness and that can be disseminated to EFA stakeholders for strengthening and institutionalizing CLCs under EFA national plans. Towards this aim, comprehensive reviews on current practice and operation from nine Asian countries: Bangladesh, China, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Lebanon, Nepal, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam. Lebanon’s participation in this study is, indeed, a hopeful reflection of growing interest in using CLC modalities within the Arab States region.
This publication consists of two parts. The first part is a synthesis of nine country research studies that discuss the common and unique features of CLCs based on the findings concerning policies, activities, management, achievements, and impact of CLCs in the countries. The second part features the summary reports of each of the countries researched. Each summary report provides an overview, analysis and recommendations further development of CLCs in the country. The full text of each research report is included in the CD together with references, photographs and other materials related to the research.
We wish to express our appreciation to the host country researchers who provided these very informative reports. Special thanks are extended to Dr. Prem Kasaju, who coordinated the development of the research framework and synthesized main findings from the nine studies.
