Recommendations for Improvement of the Procedure for the Allocation and Use of Non-Formal Child Education Resources

2017-12-18

Based on the audit proposals of the National Audit Office in 2017 the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania prepared recommendations for the quality assessment of non-formal child education programs (NCE), which would help municipalities and education service providers to improve the quality of the ongoing programs. Some of the provisions of the Procedure for the Allocation and Use of Non-Formal Education Resources are also currently being amended to facilitate the administration of NCE programs by municipalities and service providers. However, the key issues related to the more targeted implementation of the NCE programs and the use of funds have not been solved so far, as well as unequal conditions for the participation of non-state education providers, in particular non-governmental organizations, in NCEs.

As shown in 2016 study “The impact of non-formal education impact on the well-being of a person”, the results of the implementation of the Non-formal Child Education Program do not match the goal set out in the Concept of non-formal Children’s Education “to develop competences that enable a person to become an active member of society, to succeed in society, to meet the needs of cognition and self-expression. According to the data of the above-mentioned study, even half of the 18-35 year-old respondents said they had no benefit from the NCE. As study shows, the main reason  is that NCE is not directed to the development of the competences needed in further life, but simply a form of time spending.

This is also confirmed by the Civic Power Index, whose indicators are not improving, despite the growing number of children participating in the NCE programs.

Recommendations offered by National Educational NGOs Network (in Lithuanian) here.