Every child deserves access to a decent, affordable education

On Human Rights Day, nearly a quarter of century will have passed since South Africa adopted arguably one of the most progressive constitutions in the world. During that time the country has witnessed significant changes as it moved from an apartheid state to a multiparty democracy.
                                                 

One of the areas where there remains a great deal of concern is education. Nelson Mandela said “... [e]ducation is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. For each individual, it is one of the most important factors in determining their life chances. Without access to decent quality education, a young person is most unlikely to fulfil their potential both for themselves and to the benefit of the wider society.

However, securing quality education for all is not just a matter of societal and personal development but a question of fundamental rights. South Africa has enshrined the right to education for all in its Constitution. It has also accepted a range of international and regional obligations in respect of education, most recently with the ratification of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Yet despite this recognition, South Africa’s education system is failing millions of its schoolchildren.

Moving towards the private sector

In this context of perceived crisis in the country’s education system it is unsurprising that many lower-income parents are turning towards the private sector and in particular so-called “low fee” schools. These institutions charge a daily or weekly fee, which is supposed to be affordable for poorer families. Often they are able to keep costs low while also generating a return for investors by using low-cost materials, paying low-qualified teachers less and operating to scale. Teaching can often involve a highly scripted model through the use of daily downloads to IT tablets. While some have praised its efficiency others have criticised the lack of pedagogical input.

Single state agency needed to coordinate California's 'patchwork' of early childhood education programs

California will continue to lag behind other states in providing enough child care slots and diverse preschool options for all its nearly 2.5 million children under the age of 5 until it develops a more unified system that provides affordable care and makes it easier for families to enroll.
                                                       

That is a key recommendation in a recent report published by the Learning Policy Institute. Researchers say California needs to have one state-level agency that will help coordinate the state’s often-confusing array of child care and preschool programs. The new agency should also examine factors that affect the quality of programs, such as low wages for preschool teachers and child care workers and a lack of ongoing professional development for those employees.

It also recommends that to ensure more coordination locally, the state “fully fund and grant decision-making authority to a single coordinating body at the county or regional level”.

The report, titled “Building an Early Learning System That Works, Next Steps for California,” examines both problem areas and promising practices in early childhood programs across 10 California counties that vary in population, child care cost and region, including large urban areas such as Los Angeles and small rural areas like Trinity County.

The report also made three other recommendations. It suggests that California make early childhood education affordable for all children from birth to age 5, build a well-qualified workforce and improve the quality of all preschool and child care programs. To meet these goals, the report suggests that the state establish universal preschool for all 4-year-olds, increase the number of full-day child care programs and ensure more on-the-job training and coaching for child care providers and preschool teachers.

Budgeting for your child’s education

The new school year is almost upon us and many parents are scrambling to ensure their children have everything they need for a successful start.
                                                 

“Besides the normal school fees, parents need to fork out extra on uniforms, stationery, extracurricular activities, excursions; to mention a few. This sometimes puts strain on parents’ pockets; especially if these unforeseen expenses are not planned for,” says Ester Ochse, FNB Product Specialist.

She believes that saving for your child’s education should be a top priority for parents.

Ochse highlights a few aspects to consider to ensure that children’s educational needs are taken care of:

Research schools
When choosing which school your child will go to, you need to consider the area it is located in, how safe it is, if you’d be able to get to the school quickly if there’s a problem and whether it is affordable.

Start saving for your child’s education
Ochse says it’s never too late to start saving, whether for crèche, nursery, primary or tertiary education. Every bit you save can make the financial burden lighter in future and help your children get the best education possible. Look into a savings account, trust or investment that offers great interest and consider setting up a debit order to ensure you save a little bit every month.

Although your budget may ultimately decide which route you take, ensure that your chosen school gives your child the support they need, the extra-curricular activities you think they’d be interested in and where they feel comfortable with the environment, teacher and fellow pupils.

Revise your budget
With a new year come price increases and a new budget. Ensure yours is up-to-date and that you don’t overspend in unnecessary places.

Calculate and include all fees
Ensure that all fees for school, extra classes and possible medical emergencies are on your list. Ensure that you have enough money saved up to cover these costs when they crop up during the year.

Education department seeks list of 'problem kids'

With multiple incidents highlighting lack of children's security being reported from NCR region, the Gautam, Budh Nagar education department has asked all the government and private schools to share a list of students with "criminal tendency/unruly behaviour" so that they can be counselled against such behaviour.
In a letter issued to all the schools on December 6, officials have said that the list of students will be kept strictly confidential and "correct guidance" will be given to them.
                                               

"Considering the increasing number of cases of criminal intent among students, you are requested to provide a list of the students with criminal tendency or unruly behaviour which will be kept confidential so that they can be given correct guidance after discussion with higher officials," reads the letter.
While the government schools have said that they do not have any such children studying in the school, most of the private ones have not replied to the letter, leave alone submitting such a list.

Frowning at the order, schools have however said that demarcating a child as having a "criminal bent of mind" can have multiple repercussions and it was next to impossible to keep the names of such children as "confidential" and suggested that a common workshop be held for the purpose of counselling.
"We have replied asking the DIOS office, how they can define a child having a criminal intent. These are very sensitive cases. These letters come only in the wake of some incident like the Ryan Bhondsi case. However, such a counselling needs to be consistent. Rather than doing this with few students, there should be a common counselling workshop with the students. But are the authorities equipped to follow up on them?," Asha Prabhakar, Secretary, Unaided Recognised Public Schools Association (URPSA) told TOI.

Rima Dey, Principal, Savitribai Phule Inter College said that such an act is extremely difficult to keep confidential.
"Parents will object to it and question what crime the children have done that they are being demarcated as having criminal tendency. They will seek proof for the same. These things can spread like fire by word of mouth in residential institutions," she said.
Officials however said that their intent was to keep the activity totally among officers and not even at the clerk-level.
"Our motive is to provide such children with counselling or guidance by counsellors from NGOs," DIOS PK Upadhyay told TOI.

Spread education, remove child labour

BHUBANESWAR: Minister of State for Labour and Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Sushant Singh on Sunday emphasised on education and massive awareness to eliminate child labour which is the worst form of violence on children.“We all need to work together to eradicate child labour and bring them to mainstream through education. The State Government is taking up various steps for welfare of children. But we all need to work together to end the menace,” he said while flagging off a human chain, signature campaign and a walk against child labour organised by child rights organisation People’s Cultural Centre in association with Labour Directorate.
                                                 

Child labour not only affects a child’s health,  it impacts his/her ability to receive schooling and perform academically. When children are forced by their families to work, they no longer have the time to attend school.Stating that child abuse is a major cause of concern, which creates barrier for free growth of children, former Labour Commissioner Ashwini Das stressed on coordination and convergence between different departments and key stakeholders to curb it.

Hundreds of students from different colleges participated in the walk from Ram Mandir to Lower PMG and signature campaign and human chain at Station Square. Meanwhile, with incidents of child abuse assuming alarming proportion in the State, World Vision India, a humanitarian organisation working for child protection, has launched its national campaign in Odisha with an aim to end sexual abuse and exploitation of children by 2021.

Odisha ranked fourth in list of worst rate of child sexual abuse in the country which stands second in world. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, 109 cases were registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in the State in 2014. Similarly, of 10,854 cases of child rapes in the country during 2015, about 1,052 cases were registered in Odisha, which ranked third.

The true cost of excluding a child: £370,000

Permanent exclusion from school usually marks the end of a long struggle to keep a child in mainstream education. Unfortunately, it often also marks the beginning of a life of unemployment, poor health and crime. In addition to the inestimable/immeasurable costs suffered by the child, IPPR’s recent comprehensive study into school exclusions estimates that each cohort of excluded pupils goes on to cost the public purse an additional £2.1 billion, in benefits, healthcare and criminal justice costs.
                                               

Unsurprisingly, the impact on employment prospects is significant and immediate. An excluded child is nine times more likely than their non-excluded peers to be NEET (not in sustained employment, education or training) six months after their GCSEs. A 2014 Department for Education report found a marginal return of £150,000 over a life-time, just for getting two good GCSEs compared to getting none at all. Most excluded children don’t even sit two GCSEs.

However, our report also explains that this is likely to be a gross under-estimate. Large numbers of children are effectively excluded from school, but do not appear in official statistics. This happens via a combination of informal exclusions and some illegal practices, meaning the total number of excluded children could be many times that officially recorded.

But, of course, the act of permanent exclusion isn’t responsible for the extent of negative outcomes for excluded children. In most instances, the pupils who reach this stage are already behind their peers, with many (77 per cent) classified as having a special educational need or disability. They are disproportionately likely to have grown up in poverty, to have an unstable home life and to be suffering mental health problems. Often, the last resort of exclusion is used if a child is dangerous to other pupils in their school.

Call for public education campaign to ease pressure on child abuse hotline

SOUTH Australia’s shiny new hospital opened and almost immediately its emergency department was swamped.
                                               

Amid a bad flu season which is stressing hospitals statewide, the desire for a stickybeak at the new RAH attracted some with complaints as minor as a stubbed toe or overactive bladder.

It has prompted authorities to resurrect the “emergency departments are for emergencies” television advertisements first aired in 2015.

The ads urge people to consider visiting a GP or pharmacist instead of unnecessarily clogging up an ED.

A new evaluation by SA Health found they contributed to noticeable falls in people presenting to EDs with minor problems in 2015 and 2016.

Health is one of the most overstretched government departments in SA.

Not far behind is the state’s child protection agency and, in particular, its abuse reporting hotline.

A campaign similar to that deployed for hospitals could better educate people on when to report to the hotline — the equivalent of an emergency department in some sense, given it triages cases.

It could explain to those with concerns about a child that it may be better to speak to a school counsellor or welfare organisation. Previous reports to the hotline have included a child not wearing a hat outside, or being sent to school with “just” a vegemite sandwich for lunch.

The State Government promised to run such a campaign in late 2015, but it never materialised and now it says it’s not necessary.

Instead, it will focus on better training for social workers who assess reports, and those who are legally required to report suspected abuse, such as doctors, police or nurses.

But if the Government has faith that this kind of campaign can work in health, then why not try it for child protection?