To degree with formal, to job with non-formal education

By Emina Mušija

What young people don’t have a chance to learn in the school, they have an opportunity to learn, both theoretically and practical on numerous courses, seminars, summer schools and workshops. Many research show that non-formal education becomes crucial after the faculty studies, when the young people are starting to search for jobs.

When we are talking about studying, we immediately think of the formal education. But, that school experience is minor compared to the long life learning process of gaining new knowledge.

-We live in a period in which you need constant training and improvement. We are facing with a fast changes and it is necessary to follow the trends. Non-formal education is focusing on the individuality of the person and tries to improve it, while the formal education is focused on gaining knowledge and skills according to a plan and program and the individuality is put aside. The formal education gives us a basis and a traditional frame, while the non-formal is on a volunteering basis and because of that the interest for it is bigger and so are the results, points out Alen Duspara, graduated criminologist. He adds that both kinds of education are equally important because they complement each other becoming a standard and norm for those who want to develop themselves on a private plan.

Many students think that the formal education is more important than the non-formal, but that very often what they learn on the faculties is poorly structured and that there is a need for complete reform of the educational system.

-Formal and non-formal education can not connect each other in a way that the formal will give the theoretical basis and the non-formal, at least in our case in ONAuBIH, but in many other organizations that are dealing with education, the practical basis. It is highly useful these two basis to connect and the theoretical part should complement with the partical one. And we get a complete package, says Haris Dedović, editor in chief of the youth magazine Karike and the board member of ONAuBIH.

He thinks that the non-formal education better because there is a lack of will for progress at the faculty, for change and for gaining new things in formal education.

-At our faculties the professors are acting like postmen. They come at one place and thing that they don’t need to do more both, for the profession and for their lecture they teach. They think that they do not need to perfect themselves.

The importance of non-formal education is best visible in the situation when the young people start searching for jobs. The study conducted by the European Youth Forum showed that the skills that the young people are developing and gaining thorugh non-formal education is what the employers ask for.