About Nongovernmental Organizations

Nongovernmental organizations are groups that are not owned or managed by the government. They have close ties with similar organizations, as well as larger institutions like the United Nations. NGOs also form relationships with the public in different countries to help them achieve their goals. NGOs gain support through these relationships, furthering their mission to make the world a better place.

1. Significance
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NGOs are important because they are private organizations that are not controlled or represented by the government. They can act independently of the government, and therfore can support causes that may not be aligned with an administration's plans. They provide a different insight into certain issues and aid people not only individually but in a larger context.

History
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The name "nongovernmental organization" was coined by the United Nations. It was important to identify these groups as unidentified with states or governments. Even today, a number of NGOs have established a relationship with the United Nations. NGOs are found at the local, national and international levels.

Types
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There are many types of nongovernmental organizations, ranging from operational to advocacy groups. Operational NGOs are geared toward development: Their main goal is to provide relief and make countries sustainable. Advocacy groups are more oriented toward promoting a cause, which they do by working as activist or lobbying organizations.

Considerations
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Some nongovernmental organizations receive funding from the government, but one of their main sources of revenue is fund-raising activities. Some also collect membership fees, as well as receiving grants from donors and other institutions.

Potential
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As the world becomes more connected due to globalization, these organizations are gaining more prominence, because they aid nations in political, economic and social ways. One of the main goals of nongovernmental organizations is to forge collaborations between different organizations and nations; the emergence of a more connected world helps further this mission.

Role of ngo in educational settings Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have been playing a central role in education of marginalised groups in developing countries since 1980s. They emerged as alternative providers of education against the backdrop of the States failure to provide relevant and quality education for economically and culturally disadvantaged groups. They are assumed to have pro-poor orientation, flexibility, innovation, costeffectiveness, and participatory approaches in their educational projects. Democratization in 1990s has been working as a further boost for role of NGOs in education sector in developing countries. Though NGOs vary in their ideologies, strategies and geographical coverage, donor-drivenness make them as part of the global associational revolution. NGOs are seen as symbols of social responsibility and global morality. They have long been working with project-based approach to reach the non-enrolled and dropouts from public schools with the active support of international donor agencies. However, introduction of Sector-Wide Approaches (SWAps) and Poverty Reduction Strategic Plans (PRSPs) by multilateral and bilateral development cooperation agencies since mid-1990s has strong bearings on the future role of NGOs in development in general and education sector in particular. Under the new framework of sector programmes, donors have been emphasising national ownership of sector programmes by highlighting on coordination, complementarity and coherence among different stakeholders. Within the new modality of development cooperation, the role of NGOs in education sector has been facing serious dilemmas. On the one hand, they provide educational opportunities for hard-to-reach groups who are left out by public schools. On the other hand, they are blamed for creating parallel education system which run outside national educational administration and monitoring system. Under SWAps, there is a distinct risk that the mandate of NGOs in education sector may be squeezed and they may turn into sub-contractors of government in the field of education losing their civil society characteristics. Despite the important role of NGOs in reaching marginalised groups, there is very little understanding on the impact of SWAps on the role of NGOs in education sector. The aim of this paper is to analyse existing literature on the role of NGOs in the education sector and the strengths and weaknesses of NGO projects. It will also explore the future role of NGOs within the broader national education sector development programmes.