Child Welfare Initiative by UNICEF in Africa – Children Friendly Schools
The exploitation of children and violation of their basic rights has become a vicious circle where the cause of this deterioration is also the reason for the same. The age at which blooming minds must be seated in a classroom and playing with friends is stolen by hunger, poverty, illness and other conditions. Education is the only path to break this vicious circle and equip the children in South Africa to build a bright future for them. Education will help the children break-free the shackles of poverty and exploitation and the progress of the children will ultimately lead to a rise of South Africa.
It is found that 27% of the public schools do not have running water, 78% do not have libraries and computers. Formals pre-schools and regulated day care facilities reach to only 16% of the children. The opportunities for a better, well resourced education in Africa are limited and the high rates of school dropouts, violence in schools, sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy, low rates of exam pass outs, HIV infections further deepens the inequalities in the school communities.
UNICEF is taking constant efforts to make schools and their environment in South Africa child focused, physically safe and emotionally secure. It is working with the National Department of Education in South Africa to develop holistic models to change the impoverished face of education. These models of schools, part of the Framework of Caring and Child Friendly Schools, are based on a set of six principles. According to these principles a child friendly school must be –
• Effective Academically
• Inclusive and Rights-Based
• Protective, Safe and Caring
• Gender Sensitive
• Health Promoting
• Able to build a partnership and link with the communities
The efforts taken by UNICEF have seen success and there has been a beginning of change in the arena of education in South Africa. One of the examples of this triumph is the Tree Top Farm School located in the rural area of Kwa-Zulu Natal. This farm school is one of 500 at most ‘at-risk’ school communities in the country. The ground at Kwa-Zulu Natal where the cows and the goats used to roam around has been converted into a safe school for the children and teachers. The community has partnership with the local police, NGOs and private sector that helped them install electricity, burglar bars and fence around the school.
This program of UNICEF progressed from 25 model schools in 2005-06 to 800 model schools in 2009. The model is being used to implement guidelines to develop national child friendly schools and a system for accreditation. National Education Management Information System is being revised by Department of Education to introduce the child friendly schools as an indicator of quality education.
UNICEF is also running an Education and Adolescent Program to address the three vital stages in the developmental life cycle of a child. The stages are–
• Early Childhood – The phase between child birth and six years of age.
• School going years – Age groups of 7 to 12 years of age.
• Adolescence – 12 to 18 years of age.
UNICEF is also coordinating efforts to remove obstacles in girl’s education and gender based violence in school. The technical expertise of UNICEF is lending a hand to the Department of Education for the Girls Education Movement in South Africa. The Girls and Boys Education movement is an effort by the government of the country to bring transformation in the society.
UNICEF is offering a package of services to support the development of the children from early childhood throughout their education for children to complete successful quality education and empower the children to become leaders of tomorrow.
