Non-formal education - Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

With respect to the concept of non-formal education of adults and of the sense that it is embedded
in a generally recognized international context, Belarus has for more than twenty years of post-Soviet
transformation of the state become very cautious steps. At present there is no coherent concept of adult
education to meet those global changes that are taking place not only in the world, but also neighbors
in this area. Although the government declares that the main capital of the countryis educated and
intellectually developed people, it continues to move largely in line with the old Soviet tradition, trying to
adapt traditional forms and structures of the education system to newchallenges, but not always, or not
enough it takes into account the global trends and the real needs of citizens.
The term “non-formal adult education”, despite its presence in many major international instruments 5 ,
has not been fixedin the Code of Educationof 2011. Article 240 of the Code refers only to the system
of additional education of adults, in which it is defined as “... a kind of further education, professional
development aimed at the listener’s and trainee’s satisfaction of their cognitive needs” 6 .
In general, it should be noted that the focus of the current “legal field” of adult educationis, above
all, on the state educational institutions and structures of additional education, which are mainly focused
on the development of professional knowledge, skills upgrading and retraining. Other providers of
educational services, particularly in the area of non-formal adult education, only await the fate of “the
other” and still have relative freedom to realize their educational services.
At the same time, the draft of the “Concept of the State Program of Additional Adult Education for
2012-2016” states, “There is not normative and legal regulation of the educational activities of other
organizations and individual entrepreneurs who, in accordance with the laws of the right to carry out
educational activities in the system of additional education of adults, as well as there is neither system
of providing statistical reports, no the procedure for passing the certification of students.” 7 One can only
assume what prospects in case of filling this legal “vacuum” is expectedin the near future of the “other”
provider sofnon-formaladult education (primarily from the non-commercial and non-profit sector). Both
optimistic and pessimistic scenarios are possible.
This fact indicates different emphasis in the attitudes and beliefs that characterize the modern nonformal
education in Belarus. On the one hand, there is a pronounced trend of the State to determine the
“rules of the game” in the field of additional education of adults, particularly in the traditional segment
(the training and retraining of employees), and on the other hand, we can talk about the development of
non-formal adult education as services, designed to meet the needs of the population, including marketbasedrelations.
Here, non-formal education is the most flexible and “responsive” manner to changing
situations. In this case, non-formal education can carry and promote new values, life style, and thus be
engaged in social change.
The emphasis on performance of a function of non-formal education in modern Belarus is associated
with the current challenges in the field of quality of life. In turn, the quality of life is also reflected in a
variety of indicators: it is the availability of different kinds of goods, the rights of citizens, the presence of
different perspectives in the social and public life, including citizens in the decision making process 8 .
The European Union Memorandum on Lifelong Learning in 2000 emphasizes that nonformaleducation
is anequal partof the educational life long process 9 . Since the second half of the
5
For example, the final declaration of the “Using the opportunities of education and adult education for a viable future.
Belém Framework for Action”UNESCO-Sixth International Conference on Adult Education CONFINTEA VI, Belem / Brazil:
“Adult learning and education are a critical measure, which is necessary in response to the challenges we face. Adult learning
and education are a key component of a holistic and comprehensive system of education and training throughout life, which
includes formal, non-formal and informal learning and which directly or indirectly is for both young and adult learners. Adult
learning and education in the long run are related to ensuring the conditions and processes of learning that are attractive and
the needs of adults as active citizens. They are associated with the development of an independent, autonomous individuals,
creation and restructuring of their lives in complex and rapidly changing cultural, social and economic conditions – at work, in
the family, community and society.”
6
Access mode: http://www.pravo.by/main.aspx?guid=3871&p0=hk1100243&p2={NRPA}
7
The “Concept of the State Program of Continuing Adult Education for 2012-2016.”Access mode: http://edu.gov.by/ru/
main.aspx?guid=17771
8
Materials of a roundtable “Improving of non-formal education can promote development of the quality of life of Belarusians”
// Адукатар. №2 (16), 2009. – С. 6.
35