At around 53.7% Nepal has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. A staggering half of the population is made up of children under the age of 18 and out of all children who enrol 20% drop out leaving a total of 40% outside of the formal school system (MOE, 2000). Whilst the Government of Nepal (GON) has formed a Non-Formal Education Council to launch initiatives like the Shiksha Sadan (Out-of-school Children) Programme in recognition of this, there is still a lack of focus on street children.
This article therefore attempts to scratch the surface of some of the needs and issues street children face in order to better understand what can be done to increase their literacy rates.
A true understanding of street children can only be reached when the preconceptions tied to its terminology are disentangled. The boundaries are blurred between children on the street and children of the street. The former, street working children, spend the majority of their time on the street to provide for their families but may not sleep there whilst the latter, street living children have broken all bonds with their families to work, live and sleep on the streets (Gurung, 2004). Here the term street children is used to encompass all of these children.
One predominant preconception of street children is that of passive victims. Interventions are therefore intended to rescue them away from the street and socialise them. Whilst they are at risk to exploitation and abuse, street life also provides these children income opportunities and decision-making autonomy. The way these children are perceived dictates responsive action and the failure to grasp the opportunities as well as the problems of street life has often led to unsuccessful education initiatives (Southon and Dhakal, 2003).
The GON has recognised that depriving children of their right to education is an impediment to them enjoying other rights and education is therefore essential as a tool for empowerment. A USAID empirical definition of empowerment created by rural Nepalese women described empowerment as a mixture of knowledge autonomy, decision making autonomy, physical autonomy (freedom of mobility), freedom of speech, economic security and emotional autonomy (freedom from domination). Classes in Nepal are predominantly taught on an authoritarian structure in order to empower students in the long term however street children are fiercely independent, the precarious and transitional nature of street life means they prioritise their autonomy in the short term, in order to survive. A UCW paper emphasized how often those children who learn to become confident and assertive in harsh working environments become branded as ‘disruptive’ and feel greatly patronised by teachers.
This social rejection is echoed in a street children’s analysis workshop; “Our biggest problem is the way society sees us, the way we are treated and scolded... We are not allowed into places and are thrown out of others (Southon and Dhakal, 2003).” Street children risk humiliation and bullying in formal social settings and as a result of this rejection feel no obligation to society. Education therefore needs to recognise them as active and not passive learners, to embrace their extensive life experiences and talents. Gurung (2004) argues that a more adaptive curriculum should be created to include health, security, HIV/AIDs, alcohol, life skills, legal issues, monetary and psycho- social aspects to reflect the socio-cultural realities they face. A UNESCO report into knowledge and attitudes among out-of-school street children towards HIV/AIDs found that the distrust of society was so strong that most street children would prefer to learn from their friends and peers and therefore advocated the use of peer mentors or peer educators to raise awareness on these issues (Gurung and Southon, 2005).
Formal education often clashes with the children’s freedom of mobility and economic security. Participatory research highlights the difficulty for street children to keep to rigid learning schedules; “Some places are too far to go regularly and then if you miss one day you are beaten. Generally for study you have to stay in a hostel (Southon and Dhakal, 2003).” The opportunity cost of going to school over earning is too high for many and the pressure to attend is mounting as a new guideline in the School Sector Reform Programme aims to punish teachers who do not ensure at least 220 days or 1000 class-hours in a year. However this guideline may also hold a new opportunity. The guideline came as a result to the disruption of lessons from strikes and therefore pressurises schools to make up the time with additional flexible hours outside of their schedules.
The UCW (2006) paper argues that a needs-based approach with flexible delivery modes is essential to allow for attendance. This could be through setting school hours to accommodate work schedules; creating academic calendars based on local conditions, additional schools shifts at off-work hours, independent study modules to compensate for lost time and On the Job Training (OJT). Research with street children in Pokhara found that 60% had enrolled and dropped out of school but out of all who participated 90% wanted education in the form of OJT (Gurung, 2004) such as vocational training and internships. There are concerns, however, that these initiatives are legitimising child labour. The UCW nonetheless emphasised the need to create a balance between ‘earning’ and ‘learning’ or the right to education, freedom of mobility and economic security as fundamentals of empowerment.
Southon and Dhakal (2003) found a discrepancy in attitudes between age groups of street children towards education where older youths blamed themselves for not partaking in training and younger children lay blame to organisations and educational programmes. The conflict here is between short-term and long-term autonomy, educational initiatives therefore need to tackle this through age specific responses.
Street children as a group are not homogenous and as such no single education initiative can be used as a panacea. Non-formal education needs to be highly flexible in its timing and delivery. A needs-based approach should be built with adaptive curricula which recognise street children’s independence, knowledge and interests. This may be through OJT, remedial education, formal- non formal ‘bridging’ education or non- formal substitute education. Alongside this, the issues street children face need to be mainstreamed into social studies in the formal system to work against prejudice and discrimination in society and to ensure links are built that guarantee street children open and equal access to public services. The most appropriate approaches therefore need to be transparent and participatory to ensure all street children’s interests are addressed.
References
Gurung, H. (2004) Study of Policies and Programmes Addressing the Right of Street Children to Education Research Report. Pokhara, Child Welfare Scheme UK.
Gurung, H. And Southon, J. (2005) A Study on Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and Beliefs in the Context of HIV/AIDS among Out-of-School Street-Based Children in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Kathmandu, UNESCO.
Ministry of Education, Government of Nepal. (2009) School Sector Reform Plan (SSCR) 2009-2015. Kathmandu, MOE.
Moulton, J. (1997) Formal and Non-Formal Education and Empowered Behaviour: A Review of the Research Literature, USAID.
NepalNews (2010) 220 Days of Classes Compulsory in Schools. URL: http://bit.ly/biOaMn [Accessed: 18 January 2010].
Rogers, A. (2005) Non-Formal Education Flexible schooling or participatory education? New York, Springer Science and Business Inc.
Rosati, ,F.C. and Lyon, S. (2006) Non-Formal education approaches for child labourers: an issue paper. Rome, Understanding Children’s Work (UCW)- Interagency of ILO, UNICEF and World Bank.
Southon, J. and Dhakal, P. (2003) A Life Without Basic Service “Street Children Say.” Kathmandu, SathSath and Save the Children UK, Nepal.
Watkins, K. et al (2010) Reaching the Marginalised EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010.UNESCO. Oxford University Press.URL: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001866/186606E.pdf. [Accessed: 02 February 2010].
World Health Organisation (2002) Working with street children : monitoring and evaluation of a street children project : a training package on substance abuse, sexual and reproductive health, including HIV/AIDS and STD. Geneva, WHO.
