The World Owes to the Child the Best it has to Give!!

By Brighton Musevenzo

Rural Schools, Online Education and the Rights of the Child

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and its Optional Protocols stipulates on the four guiding principles that should be observed all the time. These being non-discrimination, best interests of the child, right to life, survival and development and respect for the views of the child. These four principles, without getting into local legislations on the rights of the child are the blueprints that should be considered in all circumstances that have to do/deal with the child.

Rights of the Rural Child

With online education being the most preferred option currently and in the near future, the rights of children in the remote parts of the country cannot be understated. This is as much public knowledge that access to internet, data and even the mobile devices are a challenge and at this point not even mentioning the availability/access to electricity.

Even before the COVID-19 era, education in the rural remote areas already had technological accessibility challenges. With online education being introduced more needs to be done to accommodate the rural and remote school going child. There is need for strict advocacy and strategic guidance as to how best can this approach be as inclusive as possible.

Leaving No One Behind

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) mantra is on “Leaving No One Behind”. In the true concept of this ‘living phrase’ we ought to recognize that the child from the rural area is not left behind and is not segregated as far as online education and accessibility to online learning materials is concerned. Besides COVID-19’s effects on the quality of primary and secondary education at the moment, there was already a widening gap between the urban and the rural child in regards to the quality and standards of education. Something which the powers that be, need to review.

In the spirit of fair practice, everyone knows that exam classes are this year writing exams and their exams will be the same throughout the country. When one child is learning online and the other does not have access to internet, will that exam be based on the spirit of fairness? Accountability, fairness and justice needs to be all time principles especially when safeguarding children particularly in the rural areas in times of a crisis or otherwise.

Achieving Quality Education

SDG 4 mentions on achieving ‘Ensure Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Promote Life Long Learning Opportunities for All by 2030’. Our endeavor to achieve this quality education and political will is mostly seen not in times of peace and harmony but in times like these where innovation and leadership needs to be core guiding principles for inclusive development. This will ensure that we achieve the resolutions of the World Fit for Children and advance the Key Resolutions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Children are the leaders of the future. That future starts today and their rights needs to be observed to ensure a sustainable future. This is the responsibility of today’s leaders, advocates, educationists and humanitarian agencies. This is not only specifically for the child in rural areas but also some in urban areas but cannot afford to access the internet as purchasing data is a real challenge considering how economies are being impacted in most parts of the world with particular focus on Africa. The cost of data by most network providers is not friendly for the majority of middle/working-class families. This seriously impacts on the educational outcomes of the majority of students in primary and secondary schools.

Article 12 of the UNCRC mentions that Children have the right to have their views heard and respected in matters that affect them according to their age and maturity. Therefore, a lot needs to be done to capture the views of the child and consider them on this.

Children with Disabilities

Children with disabilities are also vulnerable in this regard. Taking cognisance that this pandemic was unplanned for, all efforts are to be made to make sure everyone is getting equal attention and that progress is universal in all sectors and spectrum of the social divide. Those that use braille, what are they going to do? Do they have access to that? Those that need physical assistance, are they as well catered for? Non-discrimination, intentionally/non-intentionally, intended/unintended need to be taken seriously and cautiously. If this is not handled correctly and properly, the negative results might not reveal now but in the near future. This is to be regarded as part of the long-term disaster risk reduction measures for the education sector.

Gaps in Digital Penetration

Acknowledging that there has been progress in access to internet and mobile phones, there are still recognizable gaps when it comes to the rural and rural remote areas. It is not prudent and ideal to deal with statistics at this point but facts are access to mobile phones, internet, data and the requisite technologies is still dismally low. The world we are living in is not ours but borrowed from the future. As Nelson Mandela said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Thanks for reading! Feel free to reach out to us if you have ideas on topics or questions we should address in future editions of #MentorHubAfrica. You can also email on musevenzob@africau.edu