and reinforce reading skills for neo-literates by providing 2 daily papers a day for each reading centre. A major survey of village reading centres was conducted in 1981 which revealed that more than half needed improvement. The main reason was that the centres' activities were not properly coordinated with the fight against illiteracy and with promotional and developmental literacy programmes.

Moreover, it was found that the majority of Thai people who lived in the rural areas love to chat after their hard work in the rice field. They gathered in the local leaders' house or reading centre as a meeting place. They discussed political, social, economic and personal, issues. They learned how to solve their problems by sharing their experiences and knowledge. Some village reading centres were gradually developed to be community learning centres. Therefore, the Thai adult educator initiated the idea of the establishment of a community learning centre in 1982 by launching the Hill Area Education and Community Development Centre as the first sample of this initiation, but not developed in full. This centre served as a learning centre, a community forum, the community training centre, the community reading centre and the co-ordination centre for community development. It operated through the management of the community members to create a sense of ownership and was facilitated and supported by both district and provincial non-formal education centres through the work of non-formal education volunteer teachers. Later, DNFE set up the strategy of "One District One Community Learning Centre" and initiated the Community Learning Pilot Project in Barnkog Village, Supanburi Province in 1991. The community learning centre provides equal access to education for out-of-school learners through literacy programmes, post literacy programs, basic education, continuing education, and vocational and life skills training, etc. Since then, the implementation of Community Learning Centres in Thailand has begun. The community learning centres have been devised as a firm mechanism to provide Lifelong Learning in the rural communities. It is the turning point of non-formal education provision from bureaucracy-oriented to community-based approaches. DNFE has changed its role from organizer to facilitator. CLCs are set up and organized by the community and for the community while DNFE facilitates the implementation through collaboration with various community sectors, both GOs and NGOs.

The community itself serves as a learning base complemented by various types of educational media namely: Adult Education learning materials, textbooks, hand books, audiocassettes, video programs as well as some Computer Aided Instruction programs. At CLCs, literacy and post literacy classes, as well as other vocational skills training are being conducted to respond to the diverse needs of community learners and their ways of life, as well as with the democratic path and conform changing society. In addition, CLCs also provide a venue for conducting public meetings and social gatherings. And as CLCs belong to the community, all community members are encouraged to participate in organizing educational and quality of life improvement activities in their communities. Thus, the key strategies for community learning centre implementation are community involvement participation and ownership. Since May 1998, DNFE has collaborated with communities sectors to set up CLCs in rural communities throughout the country.

(2) The Non-Formal and Informal Education Act, 2008 came into force on March 4, 2008. The aim