Developing human and social capital through the provision of non-formal education in Western Uganda: A pilot study

Since the middle of the last century, non-formal education (NFE) has been promoted as a complement to or substitute for formal education. Today it has come to define myriad programs that sometimes bear little resemblance to one another. This paper argues for the legitimacy of NFE neither as a complement nor a substitute but as an alternative to formal education. From the findings of a pilot study into four programs in western Uganda, NFE is presented as a viable alternative to formal education for its ability to develop social capital, necessary for building self-reliance in learners.