Indian educational policy is based on the Gandhian philosophy that personality development and social transformation result from education based on Socially Useful Productive Work; that is, meaningful manual work resulting in goods or services useful to the community. Decentralized work programs plus a core curriculum are basic to secondary…

This report synthesizes case studies of women teachers in rural areas of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. In each country, interviews and focus groups were conducted in selected states and districts with administrators and women teachers in rural elementary schools, as well as policymakers and community members. Following an introduction to…

Equivalency programmes (EPs) refers to alternative education programmes that are equivalent to the formal education system in terms of curriculum and certification, policy support mechanisms, mode of delivery, staff training, and other support activities such as monitoring, evaluation and assessment. The development of EPs is potentially an…

A review of past trends in adult literacy in developing countries shows that the following factors have been crucial to achieving large-scale literacy results: the state as the prime mover; political will or national commitment; a favorable development context; continuous mobilization activities; a broad conception of literacy; broad collaborative…

The national policies and implementation mechanisms for girls' primary and women's basic education in the following Asian countries were examined: Lao People's Democratic Republic; Nepal, Thailand; Indonesia; and India. The analysis focused on the following issues: (1) goals and progress; (2) national policies; (3) strategies (strengthening…