Inclusive Education: Ensuring Rights of the Girl Child

1. Social Justice and Equity in Quality Education Inclusive Education: Ensuring Rights of the Girl Child -V Rukmini Rao Gramya Resource Center for Women vrukminirao@yahoo.com

2. The Current Status-Gender Discrimination • World-wide of the more than 110 million children not enrolled in school, nearly 60% are girls • By age 18, girls have received an average of 4.4 years less education than boys • In some countries in sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls have HIV rates up to five times higher than adolescent boys • Pregnancies and child-birth related health problems cause the death of nearly 146,000 teenage girls each year

3. The Current Status-Gender Discrimination-contd.. • In sub-Saharan Africa, a woman faces a 1 in 13 chance of dying in child birth • At least one in three girls and women worldwide have been beaten or sexually abused in their life time • An estimated 150 million girls under 18 have experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence involving physical contact. • Three million girls and women are subjected to female genital mutilation every year

4. The Current Status-Gender Discrimination-contd.. • Over 100 million women are now missing in Asia which will result in a 12 to 15% excess of young men in the next 20 years • China and India alone are responsible for 80 million missing females. • Women and children account for 80% of civilian casualties during armed conflict Source: Vital Statistics UN Cyber School Bus, UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence against Children, UNICEF

5. Girls’ Education in India • At the time of independence, the national female literacy rate was as low as 8.9% • Gross enrollment ratio for girls was 24.8% at primary level and 4.6% at the upper primary level in the 11-14 years age group

6. Access to Schooling Improved • In 1950-51, 2,09,671 primary and 13,596 upper primary schools were functional • In 2004-05, 7,67,522 schools are functional at the primary level and 2,74,731 schools at the upper primary level. • Today 98% of India’s rural population has access to primary schools within a Kilometer of their habitation

7. Access to Schooling Improved • In 1950-51, enrollment of boys was 13.8 million and 5.4 million girls in primary school. • In 2004-05, this has increased to 69.7 million boys and 61.1 million girls in primary school • At upper primary level, enrollment increased from 2.6 million boys and 0.5 million girls to 28.5 million boys and 22.7, million girls

8. Policy Framework • Constitution of India Article 15(1): Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.—(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them. • Education for All, 1986 • Modified in 1992 • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, EFA 2001

9. Policy Framework –Contd.. • Earlier education was a State subject in the federal structure • 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976 brought education into the concurrent list • Education now responsibility of Central government, State Government, Local Government • Education cess levied to raise resources

10. Policy Framework –Contd.. • 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 has made elementary education a fundamental right for children in the age group of 6-14 years by providing that “the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine”

11. Role of International Agencies • UNICEF- Research, Reports and public debate • ILO- Campaign to prevent child labor, NCLP, financial support • SIDA • The Government of Netherlands • DFID- Quality of education, Support in AP • World Bank- DPEP Support • Civil Society Organizations – International campaigns

12. Stop Child Labor Campaign • Campaign carried out by Alliance 2015, Network of European Development Organizations • Action plan for companies to combat child labor • Focus on all forms of child labor (not only worst forms) • Engagement with companies in the global supply chain • Combating child labor within broader goals of realizing labor rights • Focus on engagement with multi stake holders including unions, NGOs and governments

13. To Promote Inclusive Education, Indian Experience • Required change in attitude of the elite • Early understanding that poverty had to be overcome to ensure universal education • Child labor was a necessary evil for survival • Cannot interfere in family life and bring girls into public life • Fear for safety of girls • Lack of resource allocation

14. Some Significant Barriers- to Ensure Inclusive Education • Extreme poverty • 18 official languages • 29 languages spoken by more than one million people • More than 2000 dialects • High levels of child labor • Girl children invisible due to bondage at home • Remote location of villages/hamlets

15. Role of Civil Society in India • Making a shift from focus on access to creating demand • Anti child labor campaigns • Identifying “missing” girls • Community mobilization • Mobilization of SHGs • Mobilization of local leaders • Mobilization of religious leaders • Mobilization of Children/girls • Mobilizing through street plays, public meetings, workshop seminars

16. Role of Civil Society in India- Contd.. • Local state and national networks formed • Public debate and lobbying with parliamentarians • Women’s movement demand for 6% of the budget for education, 1995 Beijing conference outcome • Vertical mobilization from the grassroots to international organizations • Millennium Development Goals, Wada Na Todo Campaign • Mid day meal programme in schools (Right to Food)

17. Strategy • Adult Literacy programmes (failed but created demand for primary school’s for disadvantaged children) • Night schools for children • Part time day schools • Summer camps (30 to 45 days) to enroll children in hostels • Back to school programme with residential bridge schools • Demand for government hostels, target SC/ST boys and girls

18. Creating Access • Demand for minimum infrastructure • School building • Close location of early childhood education centers in primary schools (brought girls into school) • Toilets • Drinking water • Residential schools for vulnerable children • Demand for Teachers • Teacher Training • Quality learning material • Constant monitoring

19. Gramya Experience with Lambada Community • Campaign to stop female infanticide and sale of girl babies for international adoption through community mobilization • Successful advocacy and lobby with state government • Identification of out of school children including girls • Demand for local schools from the state government • Interim schools started with support from CRY handed over to state government • Setting up bridge-school for girls (on going) • Link to welfare hostels • Need for continuous support to girls and counseling of family members • Up scaling in collaboration with state government, SERP Programme

20. Gramya Experience • Integrated approach • Prevent violence against women • Identify vulnerable families with a large number of girls • Identify all out of school girls and send them back to school, bridge-schools, government hostels • Stop female infanticide • Prevent girl child marriage

21. Gramya Experience Contd.. • Prevent child labor • Identify vulnerable teenagers and send them back to school • Prevent trafficking of girls and women • Rights training for adolescent girls • Responsibility with women leaders of SHGs • Vertically integrated from the village to the district level • Supervision of school facilities by SHG leaders (in the process of being set up)

22. Vulnerability of Dalit Children/Girls • Practice of untouchability • Girls made to clean playground • Made to sit at the back of the class • Discrimination by teachers • Poor quality of food served • Poor infrastructure facilities • Sexual harassment of girls • Alcoholic teachers • Response-campaigns to prevent discrimination • School committee set up with responsibility to community leaders

23. Who remains out of school? • Girls from extremely poor families/suffering ill health • Orphan girls • From shepherd community • Migrating parents • Girls from large families where household help is required • Older girls who missed primary school • Girls from tribal community (others) living in remote hamlets

24. Who remains out of school? • Girls from violent homes • Girls with disabilities • Children of sex workers • Agriculture child labor (picking cotton, helping the families etc) • Girls from Muslim Community (some may be enrolled in religious schools)

25. Quality of Education Issues • Relevance • Achieving minimum levels of Learning • Assessment through standardized achievements tests • Need to improve achievement, testing methodology • Need for curriculum reforms • Restructuring teacher training contents and methodology

26. Quality of Education Issues Contd.. • Poor infrastructure • Overcrowded class rooms • Lack of competency based teaching learning materials • Poor science teaching • Poor mathematics teaching • Poor language teaching

27. Quality of Education Issues Contd.. • Poor supervision in educational administration • Unqualified teachers • Limited/nil in service training • Achievement levels tend to decline as the children move up in the educational hierarchy