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Planning and Financing Continuing and Non-Formal Education in Nigeria

Introduction In the world today, education and development are inseparable. It is a known fact that quality education enhances socio-economic development, while less emphasis and interest in education brings set-backs to the development of any nation. To this end, technological advancement and knowledge continue to be on the increase and become valued concepts, especially in Nigeria. Indigenous education in Nigerian co-exists with Western orientated education. As a result, this creates a need to bridge the gap between the literate and the illiterate in the Western sense of literacy. There are several factors that operate as barriers to achieving greater levels of literacy in Nigeria. To change this will a general modification of educational system. According to Reginald Nnazor (2005), Nigeria's inadequate commitment over the years to pursue the development of adult education as a strategic objective, as well as an instrument of national development has been one of the major drawbacks of the country's efforts to pull itself out of poverty. In recent times, government and NGO's have been trying to create a national identity that will eradicate regional inequities, and eliminate parochial and inefficient indigenous educational practices. Several plans are being put in place to regulate indigenous private educational institutions and craft apprenticeship in order to achieve an optimum level of employment consistent with the number of persons searching for a good and quality education in Nigerian (Akinpelu, 2001) The United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has organized various campaigns so as to reach rural dwellers in a bid to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged groups and promote continuous and non-formal education. Continuing education is defined as any type of post-secondary education used to either obtain additional certificates to strengthen one's professionalism. This must be distinguished from continuous education which is a structured educational activity designed or intended to support the continuing development of individual or a group of individuals to maintain and enhance their competence. It promotes problem-solving and critical thinking. On the other hand, according to Reginald Nnazor (2005) and for the purposes of this paper, nonformal education "encompasses all education and training activities undertaken by adults for professional or personal reasons. It includes general, vocational and enterprise based training within a lifelong perspective" (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2003, p4) It is important to point out that continuing education is essentially a part time rather than a fulltime learning activity (Akinpelu, 1988, p24). The vast majority of continuing education services are organized for clients/learners who have some pre-occupation or jobs other than studying, either in the evening, weekend or summer-vacation classes or even study on their own in their various homesteads. In contrast, non-formal education could be referred to as education that is carried out without structured formal setting. Thus, this type of education is spelt out in the National Policy on Education (NPE) as that form of education that encompasses all forms of functional education given to youth and adults outside the formal school system, such as functional literacy, continuing and vocational education. Akinpelu, (2001, p11; and Fabunmi 2004, p95) points out that continuing education is an educational programme designed to educate an individual or group of individuals and give them further skill and knowledge to be applied in their activities or area of expertise. Despite the fact that continuing and non-formal education training programmes are designed for adults, they also enable young men and women in rural and semi-urban areas use their skills in contributing towards the development of the nation's economy. …