Based upon Plan International's dataset of 1.4 million sponsored children, the report compares sponsored children with a disability to those without, from 30 countries worldwide. The report, produced in collaboration with London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, reveals that children with disabilities in developing countries are being held back from an education. The findings will help Plan International - and other researchers and organisations - to improve responses to the needs of children with disabilities, particularly their health and education.

This article maps the state of education of girls with disabilities in 2013, including the specific barriers that limit their right to education.

Certain girls face an increased risk of violence at school because of who they are. Lesbian girls, for example, experience both sexism and homophobia combined. Girls with disabilities face both sexism and disability discrimination. In this information sheet Amnesty International calls on governments and schools to train school staff in early intervention strategies and to develop and implement a code of conduct for all students that explicitly prohibits sexual violence and sexual harassment in the educational context

 

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In this report, the Special Rapporteur shows that non-formal education programmes provide flexible, learner-centred means to improve education outcomes. This is particularly relevant for girls and groups in vulnerable situations, including children with disabilities, minorities and rural and impoverished children, who are disproportionately represented among out-ofschool populations. When designed to be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable, such programmes enable States to fulfil the right to education of learners who are excluded from the formal system. Furthermore, such programmes can promote holistic learning objectives that support cultural and linguistic rights.

Finaly, the Rapporteur calls upon States to recognize non-formal education as a flexible, cost-effective mechanism that can provide quality education and that can help States to meet their obligations in connection with the right to education.

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This Resolution (A/HRC/RES/32/20) was presented by the United Arab Emirates and adopted by consensus. The resolution links back to the panel discussion held by the Council during its 29th session, on this topic and the OHCHR report on that panel discussion (A/HRC/30/23).

The resolution urges States to eliminate discrimination against girls in education and remove all obstacles such as discriminatory laws, custom, tradition or religious considerations, financial barriers, violence, child labour, harmful practices (eg: FGM), gender stereotypes, child, early and forced marriage and early pregnancy.  It also called on States to:

  • Ensure that educational institutions are safe and free from violence and abuse and girls can travel to and from and attend school safely
  • Address the school drop-out rate of girls and ensure that there are primary and secondary school places available for girls within a reasonable distance from home
  • Provide equal access to education for girls from marginalised and excluded groups, with disabilities, indigenous girls, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, girls in rural areas and economically disadvantaged girls
  • Provide every primary and secondary school with professionally trained and qualified teachers, including female teachers and with full access to separate, adequate and safe water and sanitation services
  • Develop a non-discriminatory, inclusive, accessible and culturally sensitive, safe, supportive and secure environment conducive to providing a quality education, including human rights education….and financial literacy …. to enable girls to be proactive actors in society
  • Eliminate gender based stereotypes from all educational processes, practices and teaching materials
  • Prioritise education in State budgets, increase investments and international cooperation to allow all girls to complete free, equitable, inclusive and quality education and support developing countries through financial and technical resources for ‘country-led national education plans’
  • Support access to education for girls in emergency situations, migrant, internally displaced and refugee girls and those in humanitarian crises and conflict situations.

Finally, the resolution requests the OHCHR to prepare a report to be presented at the June 2017 session of the Human Rights Council on: ‘the realisation of the equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl’, ‘obstacles limiting effective access’ and ‘recommendations on appropriate measures to eliminate gender disparities in education by 2030, taking into account Goal 4 of the SDGs’.

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Dans ce rapport, la Rapporteuse spéciale explique que les programmes d’enseignement non formel offrent des moyens souples et centrés sur l’apprenant pour améliorer les résultats dans le domaine de l’éducation. Ces programmes sont particulièrement utiles dans le cas des filles et des groupes vulnérables, notamment des enfants handicapés, des enfants issus de minorités, ainsi que des enfants vivant en milieu rural ou dans la pauvreté, qui sont surreprésentés dans la population non scolarisée. Lorsqu’ils font l’objet des dotations voulues, qu’ils sont accessibles, acceptables et adaptables, ces programmes aident les États à donner effet au droit à l’éducation des apprenants exclus du système formel. Ils contribuent en outre à la réalisation d’objectifs généraux d’apprentissage qui favorisent l’exercice des droits culturels et linguistiques.

Enfin, la Rapporteuse invite les États à reconnaître l’intérêt de l’éducation non formelle qui constitue un moyen souple et peu onéreux d’assurer un enseignement de qualité et peut à ce titre contribuer à permettre aux États de s’acquitter de leurs obligations relatives au droit à l’éducation.

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En este informe, la Relatora Especial explique que los programas de enseñanza no académica ofrecen fórmulas flexibles y centradas en los estudiantes para mejorar los resultados de la educación. Ello es particularmente importante para las niñas y los grupos que se hallan en situación vulnerable, como los niños con discapacidad, las minorías y los niños de las zonas rurales y empobrecidas, que constituyen un porcentaje excesivo de la población no escolarizada. Cuando se los formula para que sean asequibles, accesibles, aceptables y adaptables, esos programas permiten a los Estados hacer efectivo el derecho a la educación de los estudiantes que están excluidos del sistema académico. Además, esos programas pueden promover unos objetivos pedagógicos integrales que fomenten el ejercicio de los derechos culturales y lingüísticos.

Finalmente, la Relatora exhorta a los Estados a que reconozcan que la enseñanza no académica es un mecanismo flexible y eficaz en función de los costos que puede proporcionar una educación de calidad y ayudar a los Estados a cumplir las obligaciones que tienen respecto del derecho a la educación.

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More than 40 percent of Tanzania’s adolescents are left out of quality lower-secondary education despite the government’s positive decision to make lower-secondary education free.

This report examines obstacles, including some rooted in outmoded government policies, that prevent more than 1.5 million adolescents from attending secondary school and cause many students to drop out because of poor quality education. The problems include a lack of secondary schools in rural areas, an exam that limits access to secondary school, and a discriminatory government policy to expel pregnant or married girls.

For a summary, see here.

For an esay to read version, in English, see here.

La Convention relative aux droits de l'enfant (CIDE) s'applique aux enfants de moins de 18 ans. Elle reconnaît l'éducation comme un droit à chaque enfant sur la base de l'égalité des chances. Son article 28 garantit la gratuité de l'enseignement primaire obligatoire pour tous, la gratuité progressive de l'enseignement secondaire qui devrait en tout état de cause être disponible et accessible à tous, et l'accessibilité à l'enseignement supérieur en fonction des capacités. Il énonce l'obligation de l'État de prendre des mesures concernant la fréquentation scolaire. Elle encourage la coopération internationale en matière d'éducation, en particulier l'élimination de l'analphabétisme et la favorisation de l'accès aux connaissances scientifiques et techniques. Son article 29 définit les objectifs de l'éducation et reconnaît également la liberté des parents de choisir le type d'éducation qu'ils veulent donner à leurs enfants et la liberté de créer et de diriger des établissements d'enseignement, conformément aux normes minimales fixées par l'État.