The Education Component

The African Women’s Progress Scoreboard (AWPS) is a qualitative measure of progress that in this component of education will assess the existence and effectiveness of policies and programmes on girls’ school drop-outs and Human Rights Education (HRE). This

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is designed to give an overview of country initiatives targeting the retention of girls in school and other behaviour communication and change measures that have been instituted to combat negative stereotypes and attitudes on girl´s education.

3.3.2.1 Policies on Girl School Drop-outs This policy analysis of the countries under study is aimed at assessing the existence and effectiveness of measures to prevent girls’ school dropout, thereby improving their future outcomes through retention. This also sheds light on the ability of the countries to safely re-integrate and protect those who have previously dropped out.

3.3.2.2  Specific Measures for School-aged  Girls Affected by Pregnancy

The 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child is categorical that the State parties to the charter shall put in application appropriate measures to ensure that children who become pregnant before completing their education have an opportunity to continue with their education on the basis of their individual abilities. Only three of the thirteen countries studied have put in place specific measures to guarantee re-integration of child-mothers into the education system after pregnancy. Some best practices to be emulated include The Gambia’s Women’s Act of 2010 which allows re-admission for female drop-outs due to pregnancy while prohibiting withdrawal from school of teenagers under the statutory age of adulthood-18 years- for marriage. The ‘Re-entry’ policy for victims of teenage pregnancy is a landmark initiative by the Gambian Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MOBSE), which is likely to yield sizeable dividends in the future. The non-discrimination against girls in education is emphasized in the constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a result, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education authorized, through a circular,

the heads of education institutions to allow pregnant girls / mothers to continue their education normally. Additionally, the Congo Republic has in place a 1964 law designed to protect the girls who were once excluded from the school system due to pregnancy, though it has had little impact thus far.

Contrary to the good practices cited, Cabo Verde is urged to review its Guidelines for better management of the issue of pregnancy in schools (2001) which "advised the students to stop attending school in case of pregnancy." The reason for the implementation of this decree is that "the pregnancy of female students has created constraints in the operation of the schools, as these do not have the conditions (neither in terms of physical infrastructure and equipment, nor in terms of psychological or other support / counseling) and, moreover, many teachers are not prepared to deal with this situation”.

3.3.2.3 Prevention and Protection of Girl School Dropouts

Policies and programmes to prevent and protect girl school dropouts have been put in place by twelve of the thirteen countries studied. In order to boost the retention of girls in school in Togo, schooling is compulsory until the age of 15years with the abolishment of school fees in pre-school and public primary education.

Djibouti and the Congo Republic on the other hand have compulsory basic education from the age of 6 to 16 years. Senegal has the SCOFI (la Scolarisation des Filles) programme which has implemented several strategies for the retention of girls in school such as the joint project with Plan-Senegal to support 1000 girls aged between 10 and 16 years in 10 villages of WackNgouna district. It is aimed at paying school fees for girls in scientific disciplines, their medical fees as well as the construction of school infrastructure. The creation in 1993 of a cell responsible for the education of girls in Mali has boosted the completion rates for girls from previous years. This has been

complemented by encouragement awards and scholarships for child- mothers. The Democratic Republic of Congo has a raft of measures aimed at retaining girls in school, notably; measures on elimination of barriers to education access for girls and boys; measures to strengthen the presence and retention of girls and women in higher education (science, mathematics and technology); measures to bridge the gap between men and women’s basic functional literacy and measures to remove barriers to the enrolment of pregnant teenagers as mentioned previously. A Strategic Plan for the education of girls in Côte d'Ivoire was approved in September 2006. This also complemented the provision of school meals since 1997, which not only ensures food security but also promotes the education of girls. Several measures have been put in place in Malawi to ensure the retention of girls in school such as the introduction of free primary education (FPE) in 1994; introduction of school feeding programme in primary schools;

a two-year cash transfer programme targeting girls aged 13 to 22 with small stipends paid directly to young girls to encourage their school attendance and prevent them from dropping out; bursaries for girls to continue with their education especially at secondary school level.

The existence of a gender policy in education to provide a framework for planning and implementing gender responsive education sector programmes; the establishment of the National Taskforce for Gender and Education;

the establishment of ministerial taskforce on girls’ education and the establishment of gender desk within the ministry of education are indicators of institutional framework for implementing polices to protect and prevent female dropouts in Kenya. The Girl’s Scholarship Trust Fund in the Gambia, caters for school fees, books and exam fees for girls in Regions 2 to 6 and continues to run successfully with over 25 percent increases, annually. In the 2007/2008 academic year, 14,246 girls were sponsored and a total of 10,761,333 Dalasis was disbursed.

3.3.2.4 Human Rights Education

The United Nations Declaration on human rights education and training defines Human Rights Education and Training (HRET) as comprising

“all education, training, information, awareness-raising and learning activities aimed at promoting universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” It also states that HRET encompasses: education about human rights; education through human rights and education for human rights.

In contrast to policies and programmes aimed at retaining girls in school, human rights education and training has received negligible attention with only five countries under the current study demonstrating some elements of HRET. Human/women’s rights education is integrated into the Primary and Secondary education curriculum in subjects such as Social Studies, Cultural Studies, Moral and Religious education, Languages as well as Guidance and Counselling in Botswana.

Additionally, it has as a key target to be achieved by 2016, “strengthened capacity to develop and deliver human rights education”

and intends to “lobby and advocate for policy review and curriculum development at schools (primary and secondary) which covers human rights education for teachers.” Another stated target is to have “sensitized and capacitated education stakeholders on human rights education.” The programs for Personal and Social Development at the University of

Cabo Verde and the Pedagogical Institute for teacher training includes a module on Gender Relations. The Directorate General of adult education and literacy has implemented a nationwide radio course on family relations from a gender perspective.

The Child Protection Alliance in the Gambia also engages in information and training of children and adolescents on issues that reflect human rights ethics, the obligations of the State, adults and themselves. Additionally, the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies provides funding to assist key women’s stakeholder institutions and mounts its own periodic seminars, media publicity programmes and studies for women and sensitization of the general public. In Malawi, civic education on human rights in education is carried out by talking to parents and learners on the importance of education.

Mother Groups are made up of women from schools’ local communities – the mothers and grandmothers of the learners. Their role is to advocate for girls’ education in the community and support girls. The introduction of education, culture of peace, human rights and democracy programs in primary and secondary education in Mali as well as the creation of the UNESCO Chair for the promotion of a culture of peace and human

Box 11: Human Rights Education and Training in the Gambia

The TOSTAN Community Led Development Project for 2006-2011 is being implemented by the Women’s Bu-reau with funding from UNICEF. It is designed to equip primarily women and adolescents with knowledge related to human rights awareness and ways of asserting those entitlements. The expected outcomes of the Project in-clude increased knowledge and application of human rights and responsibilities and the abandonment of harm-ful traditional practices, such as FGM/C and child mar-riage.

Source: The Gambia 2012 AGDI report.

Box 10: The UN declaration on human rights education and training

This declaration asserts that everyone has the right to know, seek and receive information about their human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is a call to the United Nations, governments, non-governmental organizations and other bodies to intensify their efforts to promote the universal respect and understanding of HRET.

Source: UN General Assembly, 2011.

rights in 2006 at the University of Bamako has given impetus to human rights education and training. Senegal’s National Consultative Commission of Human Rights (CNCDH) has developed a Guide to education rights for teachers of primary and secondary education levels, to support all teachers in primary and secondary school levels in francophone countries in their interventions to promote the culture of human rights in schools.