To mark the International Day of Education
EDUCO: MORE WORK TO BE DONE TO UPHOLD CHILDREN’S RIGHT TO EDUCATION ESPECIALLY DURING COVID ERA
According to the NGO, the five challenges currently faced in education are: reversing the increase in school drop-out rates, ensuring the quality of learning, preventing further inequity in education, keeping schools open and providing socio-emotional support for children.
January 21, 2021.- As we celebrate the International Day of Education on January 24, the NGO Educo warns that COVID-19 puts children’s right to education at risk. “The economic and social consequences of the pandemic are making it difficult for millions of children all over the world to exercise their right to education. Education is not a service, it is a right, and therefore must be guaranteed. For this reason, governments must take the necessary measures to ensure this.” affirms the Executive Director of Educo, Pilar Orenes.
According to the childs-rights focused organization, the arrival of COVID-19 has led to an unprecedented educational emergency and has exacerbated existing educational inequalities that affect the most vulnerable children in particular. Faced with this situation, the NGO warns that the possibility of ensuring inclusive, equitable and quality education by 2030, as pledged by states internationally, is becoming more remote.
Educo believes that at this time and as a result of the pandemic, the following are the five challenges in education which society is facing and which governments should address:
- Reverse the increase in school drop-out rates
- Ensure the quality of learning
- Prevent further inequity in education so that children have the same opportunities now and in the future
- Keep schools open whenever possible
- Provide socio-emotional support for children within the educational context
“The children who were forced to leave school because of community quarantines need our help. We need to work collectively, as a society, to get them back to school. There are several reasons behind children missing school. Sometimes they need to work and help their family earn, or they are physically unable to keep up with online classes. This has been the case for Filipino children especially in the last few months of 2020. Children and families in many parts of the country have had to deal with the effects of consecutive typhoons on top of the current health crisis. Another consideration is that dropping out of school affects boys and girls differently, so we need to have specific strategies, especially for girls”, Olga Rodriguez, Country Director for Educo Philippines explains. To date, Educo Philippines’ COVID-19 and Typhoon Goni (Rolly) response operations are still ongoing.
Additionally, the NGO believes that it is essential to ensure the quality of the education across the board, especially in the case of partial or totally remote learning, as all children deserve this. In this respect, the organisation stresses that they must have digital tools for following classes, know how to use them safely and they must be given specific support so that they can catch up after missing classes during so many months due to the pandemic.
The third challenge that Educo highlights is avoiding more inequity with regards to access to education and continuing to fight against the inequity that existed before the arrival of the pandemic. The organisation believes that the measures that must be taken should be aimed at ensuring equal opportunities for children, as these will not only affect their present, but also their opportunities in the future. “Another of the challenges we believe to be very necessary is maintaining schools open as long as the sanitary situation allows it. In most of the areas where Educo works in in Central America and Asia, schools are still closed. We must exhaust all options to open them if the sanitary situation permits it and maintain in-person classes. More efforts must be made in this area. Schools are spaces which ensure equity in education. The closure of schools has slowed down the learning process for many children. But schools are also protective spaces, in which they are safe and less at risk from suffering all kinds of violence, like child labour, child marriage, adolescent pregnancy, smuggling, etc.” explains Ms. Orenes. Lastly, the NGO believes that schools should dedicate time and space to providing socio-emotional support to children after the difficulties which they have experienced and continue to experience as a result of the pandemic, like financial problems in their families, the lack of social relationships and increasing uncertainty about the future.
About Educo:
Educo is a global development NGO focused on education, child protection and child participation, which works in 14 countries carrying out projects in which more than 800,000 children and young people participate.
For more information:
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