Childhood Education (Campaign Project)

DISCLAIMER: The following blog post is merely intended as a credit fulfillment of our campaign project for our Oral Communications subject in Intec UiTM.

Therefore, this post will implement in no way the proposed solutions, nor should it be viewed upon as a medium to participate in the worldwide efforts to alleviate poverty and improve upon childhood education.

Again, this is simply as credit fulfillment for our Oral Communication subject but that does not lessen the gravity of the lack of childhood education in developing countries nor does it change the writers' sympathetic disposition towards this issue.

CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Education is a basic human right that all people, regardless of age, ethnicities or race, should deserve to have.

This right has been set in stone since 1948 in the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Moreover, on an international basis, the United Nations' International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 guarantees this right under its Article 13.

In particular, children are entitled to this right as education not only provides a brighter future for them but also shapes them to be future leaders of the world.

However, this is not the case in many parts of the world. According to figures obtained by UNESCO in 2005-2006:

1. 75 MILLION children are not in school even when they ought to be
2. 90 MILLION MORE do not even have basic access to education in the places they reside

Therefore, it can be clearly seen that something must be done about these numbers to allow children access to the education that they are so rightly entitled to.

Why?

Well, did you know that:

1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child states that 'education' is a RIGHT for a child?
2. Nearly A BILLION PEOPLE entered the 21st century UNABLE TO READ A BOOK or SIGN THEIR NAMES as they were deprived of education as a child?
3. In the United States alone, 50% OF THE UNEMPLOYED between the ages 16 to 21 cannot read well enough TO BE CONSIDERED FUNCTIONALLY LITERATE thanks to their deprivation of education as a child?
4. A SINGLE YEAR OF PRIMARY SCHOOL can increase the wages people earn later in life by 5-15% for boys and girls?
5. A child born to a literate mother is 50% MORE LIKELY to survive past the age of 5 years old?
6. SEVEN MILLION cases of HIV/AIDS can be PREVENTED in the next decade if every child in the world received education?
7. Education is the MOST EFFECTIVE steps to ERADICATE POVERTY?

Hence, it is of vital importance that education be made available to all children for the mutual benefit of both the children and the communities that they reside in.

This would mean:

1. Improvements in the standards of living, both socially and economically
2. A longer life expectancy for the children
3. The eradication of poverty in afflicted countries
4. Overall improvements in the quality of life in developing countries.

As we are only college-level students, there is not much that we can do to aid these afore-mentioned children. Even the best that we can do is to just raise awareness concerning this issue of child education and propose ways as well as suggestions for the general public to pitch in and help alleviate these children's plight.

Amongst the ways that we can help are:

1. Helping to raise awareness concerning this issue in order to grab the attention of a much larger audience
2. Charitable donations to well-established organizations that advocate this cause such as EFA (Education For All) and NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development)
3. Carry out activities during the World Day (charity sales, concerts) with the proceeds going to the World Education Funds.
4. Asking for donations from the general public in the form of old books, stationery, etc.
5. Asking the general public to sign a memorandum and send it to the UN as a sign of Malaysians' undying support of free and compulsory education to push the UN into taking actions.
6. Encouraging more people to join a special group of dedicated supporters (World Education's Global Support Network) who invest monthly in the education of the underprivileged.

It is only right that we, the more fortunate, help and provide aid to these underprivileged children.

Hope. Educate. Love. Protect