Economics and non-formal education

Sheffield and Victor P. Diejomaoh, Non-Formal Education in African Development. Our new and increased activities are likely to fall in ... the search for less costly education through non-formal training -- World Bank, Education Sector Working Paper. These two quotations exemplify the generally held opinion that programs of non-formal education are less costly than programs which are delivered through the formal educational system. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that while the conclusion that non-formal education is less costly may be correct, the data which has been brought to bear on this question do not substantiate this conclusion. An attempt will also be made to indicate which types of information should be collected if cost comparisons between non-formal and formal education and between various types of non-formal education are to be made. Finally, a research project is proposed which is designed to test the feasibility of collecting cost data using a common format to compare formal and non-formal educational projects.