NON FORMAL EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The study explored interactions between Non Formal Education (NFE) and women groups in Uganda, narrowing the scope to Iganga Town Council, Bulamagi and Namungalwe sub-counties based on the following objectives: to identify the women''s needs for NFE; to establish different NFE activities in Iganga District; to identify factors that affect women participation in NFE in Iganga District; and to discover measures for achieving effective and successful participation in NFE programmes and activities in Iganga District. The findings indicated that the major motivating need in NFE participation was the desire to acquire basic education (literacy and innumeracy). Other needs included improvement in level of agricultural production, skills in income generation, awareness on rights and gender issues, home management, improvement on health and nutrition and access to credit. Major constraints were women''s domestic roles and responsibilities. To achieve effective participation, involvement of NFE beneficiaries and implementers in the planning process, sensitization before implementation, identification of problem-centred programmes and monitoring and evaluation need to be emphasized.