What is Non-Formal Training?

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What is Non-Formal Training?

Most school drop-out children are not able to undergo the rigidities of a formal school education. Children of this category are generally made to sit with children of a much lower age group. Their level of achievement is so low that they themselves begin to be considered social outcasts, and slowly begin to turn to the way of life which flourishes in every urban slum. They easily pick up odd jobs which bring quick returns, and are used by many interested persons for their own advantages. Slowly they are even introduced into the life of crime and become a social menace.

Non formal education is essentially a motivational education, where the children are made aware of their potentialities and shown means and ways of reaching it. When these children, particularly of the age group between 15-20 are shown that their life is not to be wasted but utilized at their own level, they respond to the educator's plan of action. The non-formal education avoids the rigidities of the class room and is conducted in an open environment where each student is made to realize that he creates the environment suitable for study and learning experiences. In non-formal education language and media of instruction are according to level of the children and most of the time bilingual and even trilingual. It calls for dedicated educators for whom non formal education becomes a life's vocation. In non formal education the life of the individual is the centre of all planning, curriculum and instruction, not the standard to be reached. They are trained to reach a life style that is within their capacity. When truly motivated, they often reach a level far beyond what was thought possible, even in a formal system. Non formal education is life oriented and therefore with a vocational bias. It is learning to earn and learning to grow. Great emphasis is laid on learning a skill in which he can become sufficiently proficient as to make him take up a job. Skills taught are carefully chosen with regard to their employment potentiality.

In this period of unemployment and under-employment these drop-outs are the quickest to realize the futility of their own education and passing a regular school course. They argue that in no way the formal schooling is going to enable them to win their daily bread. At the same time they argue that there is no relevance between the long period of schooling and the life after school as they cannot enter the stiff competition for skilled jobs. It is a fact that today youth with even a higher education is seeking a non formal Training programme, to enable them to secure an easy job or self employment.

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Method of Operation at the Initial Stages

How a Project Holder was Identified and Selected ?
a) 15 to 20 youngsters are given non-formal training courses, of duration ranging from 3 months to one year. At the end of it, we pick out about 15 to 18 youngsters, who show bright prospects as entrepreneurs, and those falling under our selection criteria i.e. absolutely poor orphans, physically handicapped, scheduled tribe or caste, school drop-outs and those below poverty line.
b) All who complete the non-formal training programme successfully are awarded a certificate each, and those who get selected for self-employment are now called back alongwith their parents for the loan formalities.

Entrance to Self Employment

Those finally selected and have received the non-formal certificate are officially intimated of the good news. They are then called alongwith their parents/guardians to the institute and all are given a clear explanation of the scheme in their own language e.g. all the implications, prospects our assessed machine, equipment, responsibility before the bank and government etc, and also job, work or production and approximate income etc. Once a trainee is fully satisfied the officially applies to join the self employment project.

Selection one's Trade (Project)

As a boy/girl get his/her training in the non-formal section, our instructors and staff members keep a close watch. Our main preoccupation here is to assess his/her aptitude to a particular job or a line of jobs with proficiency.

With our unceasing market research, experiments, prototype development and regular ancillary development, our technical staff always has a few dozen prospective orders in line, with our liaison agents to be started off at any given time.

Our aptitude study of a boy is always in line with these pending orders or market requirements. Hence we fit in most of our selected candidates to one or the other pending jobs. Thus completion of our six months non formal curse we select boys who fulfill the requisites of a self employed project.

However, we have to confess that the skills or job orders in hand are not always adequate when we assess the various aptitudes these lads exhibit. Hence we are on an all out effort to develop new jobs, skills, orders and know-hows with our research activities and publication.

Loan Arrangements and Machine/Equipment Procurement

Once the trainee has opted to join the DB SERI, he/she is taken to the Bank for the necessary formalities. Prior to this a project report is prepared to present to the bank, for necessary loan sanction, Bank accounts are operated jointly by the beneficiary and either Director or Principal. Selected machines are purchased against the bank loan. These machines are installed at the institution, and each one starts his own respective production, under the close supervision of the technical staff. From our experience so far we have seen that a boy of this category masters his machine in two weeks time and reaches an efficiency up to 50-60% in regards to production and accuracy etc. At this point each project holder is shifted alongwith his own machine to the production section where he will be allotted a space and other amenities. From this moment on this young entrepreneur becomes a productive person and starts his/her production and sells out the product. The money thus earned in a month is distributed as 40% to the Bank to repay the loan, 25% to the institute for the infrastructural assistance and the balance 35% as his own to take home for a living. Thus he becomes a breadwinner even as a trainee in the institute.

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Ancillary Development

Simultaneously we began with all out efforts to develop ancillary items for some very renowned companies in and around Calcutta. Most of the companies that we approached came forward and assisted us with their whole-hearted cooperation, by providing us regular work orders and imparting their know-how and development techniques. Some industries even sent a team of their development engineers to work with our boys to get production moving and to overcome the teaching problems that were bound to come on our way. Many of the industries we contacted provided us with immense help in our self-employment scheme. Our attempts to develop new and sophisticated components for various industries were very successful, because we had the backing of the main workshop of the technical school in Liluah, with a large variety of modern and sophisticated machines and with the help of these machines, special tools, jigs and fixtures and special ordinary, simple and cheap local machines, produced marvelous results. As a result the products coming out of our self-employment institute are of a high standard and precision, and the users of our products have great confidence in us. We acknowledge our sincere thanks to the good and generous benefactor Miseror of West Germany, who provided most of these modern machines, which are today the backbone of our technical school and still more the life and vitality of the Don Bosco Self Employment Institute.

It is found that a boy of average caliber with average working conditions can repay his total loan in 36 monthly installments. After the repayment of the loan, we usually relax a little on the income division scheme. We give them a liberty of taking home upto 40% of the income. This gives them greater satisfaction and a greater impetus to the newer project holders.

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		Go Top		Method of Operation at the Initial Stages How a Project Holder was Identified and Selected ? a) 15 to 20 youngsters are given non-formal training courses, of duration ranging from 3 months to one year. At the end of it, we pick out about 15 to 18 youngsters, who show bright prospects as entrepreneurs, and those falling under our selection criteria i.e. absolutely poor orphans, physically handicapped, scheduled tribe or caste, school drop-outs and those below poverty line. b) All who complete the non-formal training programme successfully are awarded a certificate each, and those who get selected for self-employment are now called back alongwith their parents for the loan formalities. Entrance to Self Employment Those finally selected and have received the non-formal certificate are officially intimated of the good news. They are then called alongwith their parents/guardians to the institute and all are given a clear explanation of the scheme in their own language e.g. all the implications, prospects our assessed machine, equipment, responsibility before the bank and government etc, and also job, work or production and approximate income etc. Once a trainee is fully satisfied the officially applies to join the self employment project. Selection one's Trade (Project) As a boy/girl get his/her training in the non-formal section, our instructors and staff members keep a close watch. Our main preoccupation here is to assess his/her aptitude to a particular job or a line of jobs with proficiency. With our unceasing market research, experiments, prototype development and regular ancillary development, our technical staff always has a few dozen prospective orders in line, with our liaison agents to be started off at any given time. Our aptitude study of a boy is always in line with these pending orders or market requirements. Hence we fit in most of our selected candidates to one or the other pending jobs. Thus completion of our six months non formal curse we select boys who fulfill the requisites of a self employed project. However, we have to confess that the skills or job orders in hand are not always adequate when we assess the various aptitudes these lads exhibit. Hence we are on an all out effort to develop new jobs, skills, orders and know-hows with our research activities and publication. Loan Arrangements and Machine/Equipment Procurement Once the trainee has opted to join the DB SERI, he/she is taken to the Bank for the necessary formalities. Prior to this a project report is prepared to present to the bank, for necessary loan sanction, Bank accounts are operated jointly by the beneficiary and either Director or Principal. Selected machines are purchased against the bank loan. These machines are installed at the institution, and each one starts his own respective production, under the close supervision of the technical staff. From our experience so far we have seen that a boy of this category masters his machine in two weeks time and reaches an efficiency up to 50-60% in regards to production and accuracy etc. At this point each project holder is shifted alongwith his own machine to the production section where he will be allotted a space and other amenities. From this moment on this young entrepreneur becomes a productive person and starts his/her production and sells out the product. The money thus earned in a month is distributed as 40% to the Bank to repay the loan, 25% to the institute for the infrastructural assistance and the balance 35% as his own to take home for a living. Thus he becomes a breadwinner even as a trainee in the institute.


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Go Top	Ancillary Development Simultaneously we began with all out efforts to develop ancillary items for some very renowned companies in and around Calcutta. Most of the companies that we approached came forward and assisted us with their whole-hearted cooperation, by providing us regular work orders and imparting their know-how and development techniques. Some industries even sent a team of their development engineers to work with our boys to get production moving and to overcome the teaching problems that were bound to come on our way. Many of the industries we contacted provided us with immense help in our self-employment scheme. Our attempts to develop new and sophisticated components for various industries were very successful, because we had the backing of the main workshop of the technical school in Liluah, with a large variety of modern and sophisticated machines and with the help of these machines, special tools, jigs and fixtures and special ordinary, simple and cheap local machines, produced marvelous results. As a result the products coming out of our self-employment institute are of a high standard and precision, and the users of our products have great confidence in us. We acknowledge our sincere thanks to the good and generous benefactor Miseror of West Germany, who provided most of these modern machines, which are today the backbone of our technical school and still more the life and vitality of the Don Bosco Self Employment Institute. It is found that a boy of average caliber with average working conditions can repay his total loan in 36 monthly installments. After the repayment of the loan, we usually relax a little on the income division scheme. We give them a liberty of taking home upto 40% of the income. This gives them greater satisfaction and a greater impetus to the newer project holders.
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