Non-Formal Education in Fiji: The Potential for Primary School-Based Programmes

Abstract

Non-formal education is an accepted form of education in Fiji. Many programmes have been instituted by different providers either institutionally or community-based. Primary-school-based NFE is a recent innovation initiated mainly by headteachers in some rural schools, with the support of some government and non-government officers. The programmes that have attempted to respond to various perceived needs and problems in the community, showed a stop-start, ad hoc and uncoordinated nature. It will be established in this study whether there is lack of empirical knowledge and understanding of the concept of NFE and the potential of NFE primary-school-based programmes in Fiji. Thus, the central purpose of this study was to explore the potential of NFE primary-school-based programmes in Fiji. The examination of Fiji's socio-economic, cultural and political background provided a context for the study. An examination of western adult education literature was then used to reveal essential features and strategies that were the basis on which an ideal model of NFE was constructed. These key features were of two types. The first feature is related to the conceptualisation of NFE while the remaining seven were concerned with programme planning at various level of organisation. These key features were operationally defined and provided the assumptions that were the basis on which the actual NFE programmes were assessed.