S
tr
engthening C
ommunit
y L
ear
ning C
en
tr
es thr
ough Link
ages and Net
w
or
ks: A S
yn
thesis of Six C
oun
tr
y R
epor
ts
Part II:
Findings and
Comparative Analysis
Following is the synthesis of these six reports. This synthesis will draw freely from the
reports. Where appropriate, direct quotations and specific cases from a particular
report will be used to illustrate main points. The emphasis of the synthesis, aside from
getting a clearer picture of CLCs and their networks, is to illustrate the process and
strategies for establishing, maintaining, and expanding these networks to make the
CLCs even more optimally effective. It is hoped that such an approach to this synthesis
will be helpful to other newer or less successful CLCs in making use of the powerful
tool that networks represent.
The CLCs
A. The Basic Structure of CLCs: Types, Structures, Legal
Frameworks
As can be expected from the range of CLCs in the six countries, there are a wide variety
of types, structures and organizational setups involved. These can roughly be classified
as: those primarily initiated by central government and its subsidiaries (e.g. Thailand,
China, Indonesia), and those primarily initiated by NGOs or local communities (e.g.
Japan, Bangladesh, and partially the Philippines).
Even within these categories there is wide variety, specifically as concerns the manner
in which national and local responsible officers interact and relate. In Thailand, for
example, the national Department of Non-Formal Education continues to play a vital
and catalytic function; in Indonesia, the CLCs deal directly with the sub-district branch
of the Education Department; in China, aside from national edicts and guidelines, it is
the provinces and, indeed, the districts that play the catalytic role. In the Philippines,
both government-supported CLCs and NGO-operated CLCs work together with little
operating distinction between them, except for principal sources of funding. This is
helped by a strong federation of organizations with their own clusters of CLCs. Perhaps
the structure and operation of the typical locally-run CLC is best described in the
Bangladesh Study, where they are basically community entities, often without legal
status, and operating with the impetus of active local community participation.