EDUCATION UNDER ATTACK – RECLAIMING SCHOOLS AS ZONES OF PEACE

By Helene-Marie Gosselin and - - Reprint | | Print |

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NEW YORK, May 7 2008 (IPS) - Amongst the many casualties of conflict, education seldom makes the headlines, but students, teachers, administrators, and education officials are also on the front lines of battle, writes Helene-Marie Gosselin, Director of UNESCO, Office to the United Nations. In this article, Gosselin writes that the right to education is a pillar of development. Prosperity and peace can only be achieved if we commit to ending the injustice of denying this right to the millions of children around the world who can\’t go to school, and who will nonetheless have to make their way in the world as adults. UNESCO estimates that about 37 percent of the 72 million children not in school live in conflict-affected areas. There cannot be peace without upholding the right to education, or without ending the vicious cycle of violence in and against our schools. Can we not open doors to the 72 million children not in school, teach peaceful co-existence, and make all our schools a sacred place?

Under the repressive Taliban regime she ran a clandestine school for girls from her home in Kandahar Province. In the wake of the Taliban regimes’s demise, she worked tirelessly to get Afghan girls back into school. As provincial director for women’s affairs, she put her life at risk everyday through her work – because she believed that access to education is a basic human right. In September, 2006, Safia Ama Jan paid the highest price for her principles, when she was shot and killed outside her home.

As we mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we should stop and think about the ramifications of education or the lack thereof. The right to education is a pillar of development. Prosperity and peace can only be achieved if we commit to ending the injustice of denying this right to the millions of children around the world who can’t go to school, and who will nonetheless have to make their way in the world as adults. The numbers grab our attention: UNESCO estimates that about 37 percent of the 72 million children not in school live in conflict-affected areas.

Amongst the many casualties of conflict, education seldom makes the headlines, but students, teachers, administrators, and education officials are also on the front lines of battle, facing violent attacks. Last year UNESCO highlighted this plight in a wide-ranging report, ”Education under Attack”, hoping to raise awareness about this under-reported problem that affects countries from Afghanistan to Colombia, Thailand and Nepal, to name a few.

The nature of the attacks varies greatly: bombings, targeted assassinations, destruction of educational buildings, even abduction of teachers and recruitment of children as child soldiers. The motives are equally multi-faceted: ethnic strife, terrorism, discrimination, exploited or politicised religious or ideological beliefs, as well as hate, ignorance, and fear.

Violence in schools is also prevalent in so-called stable and prosperous countries: bullying, shootings, discrimination, and corporal punishment, are becoming more common in countries that pride themselves as models of human rights enforcers. UNESCO and UNICEF, along with a multitude of NGO partners, have been raising awareness about the impact of violence on children for a long time. In 2006, a report was published to highlight this issue and to propose recommendations. Governments are reminded that there are several international norms, standards, and human rights conventions, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, that address this issue and should be implemented.

”The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one,” said Malcolm S. Forbes. Schools are not only places to acquire skills and knowledge. They are also places to learn about ethics, moral values, and tolerance and understanding of cultures. UNESCO’s approach to addressing violence and building peace intertwines the forces of culture and education. Culture shapes our frames of reference, our ways of thinking and acting, and our educational content.

In light of this, UNESCO recently published Guidelines on Intercultural Education as part of its programme to provide quality education for all. To this end, learning about other cultures, beliefs and religions, and ways of life, and building understanding of, respect for, and dialogue between the different cultural groups is deemed essential.

UNESCO’s work further recognises that religions and spiritual beliefs collectively and historically reflect the diversity of the human experience and are particularly important components of intercultural education and dialogue. Indeed, cultural diversity and inter-religious dialogue are getting more attention – a look at the report on the Alliance of Civilisations published last year by the UN is an indicator of this, as is the increasing involvement of governments in this initiative.

It is against this backdrop that the Third Forum of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) will take place in Hiroshima, Japan, May 24-26, 2008. The Forum will focus on ‘Learning to Share’ in order to improve the lives of children worldwide through three ethical imperatives: ending violence against children; ensuring that no child lives in poverty; and protecting the environment.

On this occasion, a Toolkit for Ethics Education through Interfaith Learning will be introduced by the Geneva-based Interfaith Council on Ethics Education for Children. UNESCO is committed to work in partnership with the GNRC, UNICEF, and a myriad of others to ensure that this toolkit will be distributed and used widely.

World leaders committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015 in order to improve the lives of billions of people across the globe and to ensure a lasting world peace. But there cannot be peace without upholding the right to education, or without ending the vicious cycle of violence in and against our schools. Can we not open doors to the 72 million children not in school, teach peaceful co-existence, and make all our schools the sacred place envisioned by the late Safia Ama Jan? (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)