End of summer doesn’t mean back to school for many children. We have less than 500 days for MDG # 2 but still there are 58 million children which are denied by the duty bearers for their basic right of education and other 160 million who are in schools but ending up having poor quality education and not able to read and write a sentence. Most of the time when organizations conduct baseline to find out the reasons which deprive children from education; poverty only contributes 38% – 44%, followed by the other reasons, like; Teachers absenteeism, children in conflict zone, poor quality of education, corporal punishment, neglect by parents and gender based discrimination and violence.
Dysfunctional schools, depressed children
It seems like jigsaw puzzle to me that healthy society attain good education or educated society tends to be more healthy, there is poor governance because of corruption or corruption is increasing due to inadequate governance. Why still some countries allocate less than 2% of their GDP for education, when half of their population print their thumb instead of writing their name? Why they ratified UNCRC, agreed to MDG # 2 when they have neither intention, nor concrete policies and clear way forward to fulfill those promises.
Another layer of this chronic problem is the lack of efficiency, effectiveness, honesty, transparency and accountability, which even limit the available resources, worsen the problem by inhibits children from attaining schools. Why there is no accountability if teacher doesn’t teach, funds for schools improvement and free book are embezzled.
Interactive schools and blooming children
As development professionals we all are striving for improvement, but we need to pause and think that, are we pushing a wall? Because it seems we are busy, trying, sweating, putting efforts, using energy and resources but beyond our sophisticated offices and long capacity building sessions we regularly attend, lies a reality. We all are change makers so we are obliged to a.) change our perspective and b.) think that what, where and how we want to bring, when will it happened and how will life be afterwards.