07.27.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:07 pm by nadia
Some 300K children are non-schooled, dropouts in Morocco, study
Rabat, July 26 - Over 300,000 children are dropouts or have never been to school in Morocco, revealed, here Thursday, the Secretariat for Literacy and non-Formal Education.
Presenting this study, the State Secretary for Education and non-Formal Education, Anis Birou said the latter provides with data on children dropout and non-schooling, their families’ social and economic conditions as well as the factors facilitating their re-schooling.
“This data allow a better diagnosis in schools and communes that are in need of a fast and integrated intervention,” he noted, adding that this UNICEF-led initiative seeks to mobilize students, teachers, employers, local communes as well as civil society, at the local, regional and national level, concerning the right to education and to highlight the factors of non-schooling and school dropout.
Mr. Birou recalled the setting up of a follow-up study of school dropout through the creation of the “priority schooling project”, which aims to build up a geographical mapping of the school dropout phenomenon.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/some_300k_children_a/view
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Posted in Uncategorized at 5:06 pm by nadia
Some 300K children are non-schooled, dropouts in Morocco, study
Rabat, July 26 - Over 300,000 children are dropouts or have never been to school in Morocco, revealed, here Thursday, the Secretariat for Literacy and non-Formal Education.
Presenting this study, the State Secretary for Education and non-Formal Education, Anis Birou said the latter provides with data on children dropout and non-schooling, their families’ social and economic conditions as well as the factors facilitating their re-schooling.
“This data allow a better diagnosis in schools and communes that are in need of a fast and integrated intervention,” he noted, adding that this UNICEF-led initiative seeks to mobilize students, teachers, employers, local communes as well as civil society, at the local, regional and national level, concerning the right to education and to highlight the factors of non-schooling and school dropout.
Mr. Birou recalled the setting up of a follow-up study of school dropout through the creation of the “priority schooling project”, which aims to build up a geographical mapping of the school dropout phenomenon.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/some_300k_children_a/view
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07.19.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:55 pm by nadia
Background: Population estimated in 2001 at 29.1 million, of which 44% are rural and 39.5% are aged 18 and under. Many factors have prompted large scale urban migration from rural areas - in 1998/99, only 5% of rural dwellers had access to clean drinking water compared to 78% of urban residents, and both poverty and illiteracy rates in rural areas were double those in the cities. Demographic statistics also show a strong gender imbalance, with 61% of females illiterate compared to 33% of males. The official religion is Islam, and although the official language is Arabic, French is also widely spoken, along with Berbere and Spanish.
Definition and statistics: The terminology ‘street children’ is used to refer to children who live on the streets who are deprived of family support and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of 10 and 14 years old, and their distribution between different cities is quite varied. For example, a survey conducted in 1999 by the Ministry of Families, Women and Children in partnership with local authorities suggested that there were around 600 street children in Marrakech, compared to over 5,000 in Casablanca.
Factors pushing children onto the streets:
- Rapid urbanization due to a high rural exodus has swelled city populations, but the urban infrastructure and services have not been prepared to cope with such an influx, leaving many without any support.
- The structure of the Moroccan family has changed due to increasing poverty. Parents are unable to fulfill their traditional role as providers, and children increasingly become the main sources of revenue in large families. With his traditional authority weakened, the father turns to violence as an expression of his status and physical punishment becomes more common.
- Families also disintegrate and break up due to the divorce or disappearance of the father (leaving the mother and children alone); re-marriage of one of the parents; alcoholism and drug abuse; and maternal prostitution. Single mothers remain the outcasts of society, and are unable to garner support from eroding communitarian solidarity.
- Lack of access to schooling either through geographical reasons (distance excludes many in rural areas from attending) or for reasons of expense and the costs incurred by textbooks, uniforms etc, in combination with a general drop in the quality of education offered, have all led to greater incidence of drop-outs. Those who do obtain degrees find that these qualifications are of little use in securing a job in the labour market, and education is not viewed anymore as a form of social promotion.
- The weak socio-economic status of families also pushes children to work from a very young age, and it is often the children themselves who take the initiative in searching for a job. School does not offer a future in their eyes, while a job provides immediate income to support the family. Unfortunately, many of the small jobs they take are exploitative in terms of their working conditions, salaries and hours. For example, young girls often find work as domestic maids, and although a child is not allowed to work legally before the age of 15, poor implementation and enforcement of this law has pushed many children much younger into the profession.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 4:55 pm by nadia
Achievements:
Government
The ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; the introduction of a new penal code adopted in 2002 (ensuring, among other things, legal assistance for children under 18); a political strategy that includes a national survey on children living and working in the streets, greater access to formal and non-formal education opportunities, awareness campaigns on the street children phenomenon, improved
electricity and water services in rural areas, and increased financial support for NGOs working with children and towards sustainable development.
NGOs and Civil Society
NGOs specifically dedicated to helping street children have been formed and a network has been created to ensure communication and coordination of actors across the main urban centres of Morocco.
Several seminars and workshops have also taken place between 1996 and 1998 bringing together governmental agencies and NGOs to discuss the welfare of street living and street working children. In 2001, the NGO network proposed a National Plan of Action for street children, but this has unfortunately not been applied yet. However, a free helpline was set up in 2000 under the initiative of the ‘Observatoire National des Droits de l’Enfant’.
Constraints and challenges: Lack of national policies/strategies to stem the flow of rural to urban mass migration; lack of qualified social workers; poor quality service provision; lack of innovative strategies for the integration and rehabilitation of street children; lack of reliable data on children in the streets.
Lessons Learned: In 1995, the organisation BAYTI started the first programme specifically targeting street children, and has developed since then several guiding procedures, including:
- The need for a flexible and holistic approach to street children, incorporating psychosocial, participatory and individualised aspects
- A 4-step methodology, beginning with (1) identification of street children and analysis of their situation; (2) development of an individualised strategy/project plan; (3) implementation of the project/strategy; and (4) consolidation and follow up on the child’s progress after reintegration/rehabilitation.
- The need for an integrated approach that is based around coordination and cooperation between government institutions (e.g. police, judiciary) and ministries (e.g. health, education), the private sector (to enable job placement and skills training for street children) and the NGO sector.
- The need to exchange experience and lessons learned with regional and international agencies working on the same issues.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 4:55 pm by nadia
Recommendations:
Prevention
• Develop/improve policies to ensure provision of basic social services (e.g. water, education, healthcare) to all.
• Develop a National Strategy for Education that enables access for all and reduces social inequalities.
Protection
• Training for police officers, judicial staff and educators on safeguarding the rights of the child.
• Provide free medical and legal assistance to children in conflict with the law.
• Create specific posts within police and judicial structures for Child Protection personnel
Advocacy
• Implement awareness raising campaigns on children’s rights in schools and the mass media.
Rehabilitation and Reintegration
• Monitor and improve existing programmes to ensure holistic (psychological and physical) treatment of children.
• Develop innovative and flexible alternatives (e.g. fostering) to existing rehabilitation strategies using shelter homes and drop-in centres.
• Develop qualitative indicators for follow-up monitoring of rehabilitated/reintegrated children.
Participation
• Ensure that children are involved in making decisions that affect their welfare, and that they are given the opportunity to express their feelings throughout.
• Ensure that programmes do not exacerbate existing stigma and victimisation of street children.
Monitoring
• Develop a comprehensive national database on street children, and a set of qualitative and quantitative indicators that can be used to accurately assess and monitor their situation.
This report is taken from “A Civil Society Forum for North Africa and the Middle East on Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Street Children”, 3-6 March 2004, Cairo, Egypt. A full version of the Civil Society forum report is also available on the CSC website.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 3:39 pm by nadia
Children living in poor environments are extremely vulnerable: lack of medical treatment and facilities, soiled and dirty water usage, poor and unbalanced nutrition are few characteristics of such standard of living. The priority then is to eat not to study. By providing nutritious meals in schools we can answer both needs: Physical and Intellectual ones. Education can be a solution to break out of Poverty.
Every year, some 132 million infants around the world attempt an extraordinary sprint – from defenceless newborns to pro-active three-year-olds. And every year, countless numbers of them are stopped in their tracks – deprived, in one way or another, of the love, care, nurturing, health, nutrition and protection that they need to survive, grow, develop and learn.
Out of 100 children born in 2000, 30 will most likely suffer from malnutrition in their first five years of life, 26 will not be immunized against the basic childhood diseases, 19 will lack access to safe drinking water and 40 to adequate sanitation, and 17 will never go to school. In developing countries, every fourth child lives in abject poverty, in families with an income of less than $1 a day.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 3:38 pm by nadia
24,000: the number of people who die everyday of hunger or hunger-related causes.
UNESCO: Countries with an adult literacy rate of about 40 percent, GNP per capita averaged $210 annually; in those countries with at least 80 percent literacy rates, GNP per capita was $1000 and above.
The World Bank: A minimum of four years of primary education increased farmers’ productivity by 8.7 to 10 percent in 13 countries.
1970-1995: between these years, women’s education and relative status contributed to a 44 percent reduction in child malnutrition in developing countries. Improvements in women’s education contributed more than any other input.
Providing nutritious food at school is a simple but effective way to improve literacy rates and help poor children break out of poverty.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 3:38 pm by nadia
School feeding focuses on the individual child while yielding tangible results for society.
A Nation can prosper by improving children’s educational opportunities, reducing their hunger, applying school feeding. It all works toward creating the human infrastructure needed for nations to prosper.
Offer school meals = significant increase in enrollment and attendance rate.
malnourished children are ensured at least one nutritious meal a day.
In traditional cultures where girls may stay at home or work, school feeding and take-home rations often convince parents to send their daughters to school.
In emergencies, school feeding provides a critical source of nutrition and ensure that education is not interrupted.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 3:38 pm by nadia
For a child suffering from hunger, going to school is not important; having enough food to eat is.
There are 300 million chronically hungry children, in the world. 100 million of them do not attend school. The majority are girls.
Among the poor, there is often not enough food at home and most schools in developing countries do not have canteens or cafeterias. On empty stomachs, kids become easily distracted and have problems concentrating on their lessons. This short-term hunger impedes a child’s ability to learn and achieve.
In many cases, severe malnutrition results in mental and physical stunting. This, in turn, puts an added burden on poor nations.
Research confirms, however, that basic education is the most effective investment to improve economies and create literate, self-reliant and healthy societies.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 3:37 pm by nadia
“There can be no significant or sustainable transformations in societies – and no significant or lasting reduction in global poverty – until girls receive the quality basic education they need and that is their fundamental right.” -Carol Bellamy, UNICEF Executive Director
As a foundation for human development, education enables individuals to make genuine choices about the kind of lives they wish to lead. Ultimately, education opens an infinite number of doors that might otherwise remain shut. But for millions of youngsters – most of them girls – this human right is denied.
Girls’ education may be the single most effective weapon in the prevention of HIV/AIDS. It slows and reduces the spread of the disease by contributing to female economic independence, delayed marriage, and an understanding of the disease and how to prevent it.
Quality education keeps children in school and makes them less vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
Education can impart an early understanding of social justice and peace and of the fragile environment in which we live.
Countries with higher primary enrolment and smaller schooling gaps between boys and girls are usually more democratic. And investments in girls’ education – particularly those directed to the quality of education – also benefit boys. The reverse is not always the case.
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