Dinesh Kamath's Editorials 'Rights of children trampled' and 'Education for all by 2030?' that were published in Newsband

Rights of children trampled

The Growing Crisis for Refugee and Migrant Children is worrying the members of Unicef. Over 50 per cent of the 50 million children who have migrated or been forcibly displaced across borders are said to have fled violence. About one in three children who live outside their country of birth is a refugee.

The dramatic rise in school enrolment under a global universal primary education drive, or the halving of infant mortality rates under the Millennium Development Goals is good news. But they are accompanied by bad news like

trafficking in boys and girls, conscription by armed groups in conflict zones and exploitation in the sex trade which are growing in number.

The governments should address the root causes of conflict, violence and extreme poverty and be more sympathetic view on humanitarian imperatives.

There have been many appeals from various human rights groups on the state of countries devastated by wars and the plight of children.

The shocking report that the number of Child refugees is on the surge send further signal on the pathetic plight of the refugee children whose future in regard to education and other bare necessities are grim. It is horrifying that the children are used for crimes like trafficking, sex trade and conscription by armed groups. Hence UNO must find out a concrete means to solve the child refugees problem rather than be a mute spectator of this global anathema.

Education for all by 2030?

Current educational attainments remain far from adequate for the enhancement of personal well-being and social progress. There are many rewards individuals and societies are able to reap when endowed with higher qualifications. People with a master’s degree stand to enjoy wage advantage while their governments receive over a lifetime in taxes and social contributions more than they invest on a graduate.

The objectives of reduction of poverty, alleviation of hunger, expansion of employment, empowerment of women and gender equality are all influenced by the qualifications and skills that men and women possess. Without an educated and empowered populace, the dream of an enlightened, more tolerant and peaceful world would forever remain elusive.

Will the dream pertaining to Education for All by 2030 become a reality? Government and educational institutions should unitedly work to achieve the goal by 2030. Government should stop fabricating excuses and instead work on education system with cohesion

The thing is education has been less targeted towards personal well-being and social cause. The quality education is a mirage to the people and the rural education suffers at the hands of the government and pedagogues, both are indifferent to the education of the rural poor. The government has not reaped the dividend on its education investment so is the yield of the recipients. Corruption and policy paralysis are the major conundrums in education and the governments. 2030 target of quality education is only a namesake target. Poverty reduction, hunger alleviations, empowerment, gender equity etc. all depends upon quality education but the quality education is made a joke of by the bureaucrats and unscrupulous politicians.