Participatory Approaches in Developing Farmer Education and Community Ownership of Training in Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

Education is one of the main driving forces of community development. This article argues that in transition countries, community participation in developing rural vocational education systems is a prerequisite for bringing about change at local level. The reform of vocational education and training (VET) for farmers in Kyrgyzstan shows that pragmatic approaches to participation yield best results in terms of financial and operational sustainability of a training system. Following a brief description of the challenges faced by communities in transition countries, the article lists factors making participatory approaches indispensable for adapting the existing vocational education system to the realities of a market economy. Two examples demonstrate how the Agricultural and Rural Vocational Education Project of the Swiss NGO Helvetas uses participatory curriculum development processes in order to empower the communities to develop locally adapted training courses and how self-governance and co-financing of VET can be strengthened through the creation of Local Vocational Training Funds. The article ends with lessons learnt on the use of participatory approaches in VET for both Kyrgyzstan and other transition countries.