Monday, 17 September 2012

ERC THANKS ACTION AID NIGERIA FOR SUPPORTING 2012 FREE SUMMER COACHING




Mr. Ken Okoineme from Action Aid Nigeria speaking to students recently on rights to education
The ERC thanks Action Aid Nigeria (AAN) for its support to the 2012 edition of the free holiday coaching. Action Aid Nigeria is a Non-governmental organization with a youth group called Activista with focus and interest in empowering young people intellectually to be able to organize and take action to peacefully influence and bring positive change.

We in the ERC look forward to partnering with AAN in future to make a better success of this initiative and explore the possibility of extending this programme to more communities in Lagos and other parts of the country as a mutual part of our common area of campaign.


Action Aid Charter on promoting rights in school

All schools must respect the following fundamental rights:

1.      Right to free and compulsory education: there should be no charges, direct or indirect, for primary education. Education must gradually be made free at all levels.

2.      Right to non-discrimination: schools must not make any distinction in provision based on sex, race, colour, language, religion, political opinion, nationality, ethnicity, ability, or any other status.

3.      Right to adequate infrastructure: there should be an appropriate number of classrooms, accessible to all, with adequate and separate sanitation facilities for girls and boys. Schools should be built with local materials and be resilient to natural risks and disasters.

4.      Right to quality trained teachers: schools should have a sufficient number of trained teachers of whom good proportion are female; teachers should receive good quality pre-service and in-service training with built-in components on gender sensitivity, non-discrimination, and human rights. All teachers should be paid domestically competitive salaries. 

5.      Right to a safe and non-violent environment: children should be safe on route to and in school. Clear anti-bullying policies and confidential systems for reporting and addressing any form of abuse or violence should be in place.

6.      Right to relevant education: the curriculum should not discriminate and should be relevant to the social, cultural, environmental, economic and linguistic context of learners.

7.      Right to know your rights: schools should teach human rights education and children’s rights in particular. Learning should include age-appropriate and accurate information on sexual and reproductive rights.

8.      Right to participate: girls and boys have the right to participate in decision-making processes in schools. Appropriate mechanisms should be in place to enable the full, genuine and active participation of children.

9.      Right to transparent and accountable schools: schools need to have transparent and effective monitoring systems. Both communities and children should be able to participate in accountable governing bodies, management committees and parents’ groups.

10.  Right to quality learning: girls and boys have a right to a quality learning environment and to effective teaching processes so that they can develop their personality, talents and physical and mental abilities to their fullest potential.

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