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Sudáfrica: Little Progress for Youth With Disabilities

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África/Sudáfrica/19 de Agosto de 2016/Fuente: HRW.org

RESUMEN: Sudáfrica ha avanzado poco en hacer frente a la discriminación y la exclusión que sufren los niños con discapacidades cuando se accede a las escuelas, Human Rights Watch y la Sección 27, dijo hoy. El Gobierno Nacional de Sudáfrica tiene que tomar medidas urgentes para demostrar su compromiso con la educación inclusiva.   Mientras que altos funcionarios del gobierno han hecho declaraciones alentadoras acerca de la inclusión de todos los niños en la educación, el gobierno no se ha traducido su compromiso en acción. LaSección 27, un centro de abogados líder sudafricano de interés público, llevó a cabo una nueva investigación que demuestra violaciónes generalizadas y graves de los derechos de los niños con discapacidades, incluyendo la actual discriminación y la falta de medidas concretas para abordar áreas de alta exclusión en el Distrito Umkhanyakude de KwaZulu -Natal. Basado en entrevistas con 100 cuidadores de niños con discapacidades y las visitas a las escuelas especiales y 14 de servicio completo,  describe la situación allí como un «apartheid racial y discapacidad dual en el sistema educativo de Sudáfrica.»

South Africa has made little progress in addressing the discrimination and exclusion faced by children with disabilities when accessing schools, Human Rights Watch and Section 27 said today. South Africa’s national government needs to take urgent action to demonstrate its commitment to inclusive education.

Section 27, a leading South African public interest law center, conducted new research demonstrating widespread and severe violations of the rights of children with disabilities, including the ongoing discrimination and the lack of concrete action to address areas of high exclusion in the Umkhanyakude District of KwaZulu-Natal. Based on interviews with 100 caregivers of children with disabilities and visits to 14 special and full-service schools, it described the situation there as a “dual racial and disability apartheid in South Africa’s education system.”

“While senior government officials have made encouraging statements about inclusion of all children in education, the government has not translated its commitment into action,” said Elin Martínez, children’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The government is failing thousands of children and young people with disabilities who are being denied their right to inclusive education.”

Nongovernmental organizations have repeatedly called for clarity on the numbers of children with disabilities who remain out of school, as well as for explicit budget lines for inclusive education in national and provincial budgets. Human Rights Watch has also said the government should stop segregating children with disabilities, and ensure that they are accommodated and guaranteed quality education in mainstream schools.

The government has not yet presented accurate data to show how many children with disabilities are out of school and continues to rely on estimates and outdated data.

In November 2015, the minister of basic education, Angelina Motshekga, announced that the Department of Basic Education would take major steps to strengthen the implementation of its inclusive education policy. In March 2016, President Jacob Zuma announced his commitment that “all government institutions must ring fence a budget for participation by and empowerment of young persons with disabilities, and must report annually on the impact of these programmes.”

Yet, the government’s 2016-2017 budget does not have a dedicated budget line for inclusive education, and does not stipulate financial support for full service schools, which would be adapted or built to accommodate children with disabilities and provide specialized services and attention in a mainstream environment. The Department of Basic Education stated that it has budgeted R6.3 billion (US$450 million) for special schools in 2016, and allocated funds for workbooks for visually impaired learners.

Research conducted from 2013 to 2015 by Section 27 in Umkhanyakude District, in northeast KwaZulu-Natal, found that schools are not provided with sufficient and consistent funding to accommodate students with disabilities. Both special and full service schools in the district report serious problems with infrastructure and access to basic services.

While some full service schools receive as much as R273,000 (US$20,000) for this purpose, one school reported receiving as little as R22,000 (US$1,600) from the province’s Department of Education as recently as 2014/15. Full service schools report that they have too few classrooms, with multi-grade classrooms shared by as many as 89 children.

Chronic underfunding also affects special schools around the country, particularly those in rural areas like the Umkhanyakude District. Although the district’s three special schools have been built recently and appear impressive at first sight, they lack furniture and facilities needed by children with disabilities.

Human Rights Watch and Section 27 acknowledged the government’s attempts to carry out its screening, identification, assessment, and support policy, to ensure that all children are screened for learning barriers. Where the policy has been carried out correctly and understood by local education officials, it is increasing support for children with disabilities who are adequately assessed. However, the policy is not being uniformly rolled out in many rural areas, in many cases due to a lack of resources and the absence of qualified education personnel.

Beyond assessments, the government should ensure that adequate support and reasonable accommodations are provided in mainstream schools, to ensure that more children with disabilities can get quality education in inclusive environments.

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child will review South Africa’s record on September 19-20, 2016. Nongovernmental organizations have submitted evidence on the discrimination faced by children with disabilities in education. They urged the committee to recommend that South Africa should adopt adequate legislation to protect the right to education of children with disabilities, and allocate adequate resources to guarantee more children with disabilities access inclusive schools.

“We acknowledge the department’s intent to make a budget available to strengthen special schools for an inclusive education system,” said Silomo Khumalo, legal researcher at Section 27. “However, intent is not good enough. It must be supported with action. Funds from the Treasury must be allocated. We measure the department’s success by the standard set by the constitutionally entrenched right to basic education and children with disabilities’ right to equality. This right applies to all children, including children with disabilities, right now.”

New Evidence of Exclusion of Children with Disabilities
Section 27’s August 2016 report, “‘Too Many Left Behind’: Exclusion in the South African Inclusive Education System,” documents widespread violations of the rights of children with disabilities in the Umkhanyakude District of KwaZulu-Natal. Section 27 found violations against poor black children with disabilities so severe that it described the situation as a “dual racial and disability apartheid in South Africa’s education system” that amounts to systemic violations of children’s constitutional rights to basic education, equality, and dignity.

Based on interviews with 100 caregivers of children with disabilities, and visits to three special schools and 11 full service schools in the district, Section 27 found that a large number of children with disabilities in the district do not have – and may never have had – access to school. A study in Manguzi in 2001 estimated that 53 percent of children with disabilities “did not attend school,” and of those who did, 53 percent “reported having difficulties at school.”

At special schools, teachers struggle to teach the curriculum – both because they don’t have the requisite skills to teach children with varying barriers to learning, and because their classes are too big to give children individual attention and support.

Out of the 11 full service schools in the district, only two have any transportation provided by the province’s Department of Education. One of the schools, with an enrollment of 1,000 learners, has a bus that transports 120 children on a specific route. The second school shares a single bus with seven other schools in its area, and the principal must provide a list of only the children with the greatest need to receive the service. Many children on the list refuse to use the bus, saying they are bullied by high school students who also use the bus.

The nine remaining schools have no transportation or budget to help children with transportation. The schools say that the provincial Department of Education has been made well aware of their desperate need for transportation.

Ten of the 11 full service schools in the district are primary schools. Only one of the 14 schools in the district that serves children with disabilities – Somfula Secondary School – is a high school. This school has such limited space that it largely only accepts students from its primary school. Most children with intellectual, sensory, or severe physical disabilities cannot go beyond grade seven or attain a National Senior Certificate in their own district.

A government report released in November 2015 estimates that Kwazulu-Natal has as many as 182,153 children ages 5 to 18 with disabilities, but that as many as 137,889 – 76 percent – may not be receiving any schooling.

Selected Accounts
A parent of an 8-year-old boy with physical and intellectual disabilities in Manguzi, said:

The doctors [at Manguzi Hospital] referred my son to Sisizakele [special school], and I was told that he would be placed on a waiting list and I would receive a call. I have still not received a call. He was delayed in learning to walk and talk, though he will laugh sometimes. Now he can even bathe himself. But he can’t read or write and is very slow at school, and still struggles to speak properly. The local school indicated that they couldn’t cope with him after he had been there for a year.

He is eight years old. He has been out of school for more than two years. Both my son and I are hurt that he is not in school. It means that the teachers think my son is nothing compared to other people.

The head of department at a special school said:

Some learners leave the school, and then find somewhere to do grade seven, and then receive further education. Others cannot, because they are fully dependent and would require another special school to do so, even if they could cope with the content of higher grades. [There are] three children currently at the school who have the potential to go to grade seven after being educated at [our special school]; but because they are in wheelchairs, they cannot be taken to another school.

A principal at a full-service school said:

It is more important to have transport, because there are learners with disabilities at the school. There is a grade four learner who is epileptic, and he does not want to walk so far and so will fight with his parents. There is another learner in the school who has a physical disability who walks far to school, and sometimes when she arrives she will complain that she feels sick and so she can’t learn. This child has a limp, and must walk 10 kilometers to school. One side of her body does not work properly.

Fuente: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/08/19/south-africa-little-progress-youth-disabilities

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Argentina: ATE advierte de 40 despidos en el Ministerio de Educación

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América del Sur/Argentina/19 de Agosto de 2016/Fuente: El Diario 24

Trabajadores nucleados en la Asociación de Trabajadores del Estado (ATE) advierten 40 despidos en el Instituto de Formación Docente dependiente del Ministerio de Educación y Deportes. Además, denunciaron que están realizando un vaciamiento del área, como también abusos y maltratos.

Los empleados reclamaron por la renovación de los contratos que vencen a fin de mes y que por el momento no hay notificación sobre su continuidad. Además, advierten abusos y maltrato laboral llevados adelante por la directora ejecutiva del INFoD, Cecilia Veleda, y el ministro Esteban Bullrich.

El pasado miércoles por la tarde realizaron un escrache a las principales autoridades del ministerio, entre las que también estuvieron presentes la secretaria de Innovación y Calidad Educativa, Mercedes Miguel, y el asesor legal Manfred Hans Kurchen, quienes se encontraban en el relanzamiento del Programa Nacional de Formación Docente Nuestra Escuela.

Desde la ATE advirten que «el gobierno de Cambiemos ha tomado la decisión de profundizar el vaciamiento de nuestro organismo, encargado de centralizar las políticas públicas que ordenan y desarrollan la formación docente a lo largo y ancho de todo el país». Bajo la nueva gestión se eliminaron áreas del INFoD como la de derechos humanos y una que instalaba radios en todo el país que daba capacitación técnica a los institutos.

«Se caen alrededor de 40 contratos a fin de mes a través de contratos con universidades nacionales y con la Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos (OEI) y no hubo ninguna notificación de continuidad de ningún tipo», denunció a El Destape el delegado del INFoD-ATE, Lautaro Pedot.

Asimismo, ATE denuncia que el ofrecimiento de 50 pases a planta transitoria «son otorgados con criterios arbitrarios y se les han asignado salarios que no corresponden con los que este mismo ministerio ha ofrecido a compañeros de otras entidades». El gremio advierte que no son respetados los perfiles técnicos y el desarrollo profesional de los trabajadores y se realizan reducciones salariales que superan, en la mayoría de los casos, los 4 mil pesos en mano.

El INFoD se ocupa de la articulacion con todas las direcciones de educacion superior de los institutos del país y es una herramienta necesaria y fundamental para el mejoramiento del sistema educativo. «Estamos viendo un proceso de vaciamiento en un marco de desjerarquización de la formación docente», cerró Pedot.

Fuente: http://www.d24ar.com/nota/argentina/381908/ate-advierte-40-despidos-ministerio-educacion.html

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Canada’s Residential Schools Left Indigenous Parents More Distrustful Of Education System: Study

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América del Norte/Canadá/19 de Agosto de 2016/Autora: Chinta Puxley/Fuente: The Huffintong Post

RESUMEN: Un estudio reciente sugiere que el legado de las escuelas residenciales ha dejado a algunas personas indígenas más cautelosos y temerosos del actual sistema educativo de Canadá. El estudio, publicado en la edición de este mes de la Revista Canadiense de Sociología, sugiere que la desconfianza lleva a los padres a ser menos comprometidos con los maestros y podría perjudicar a la educación de sus hijos. El artículo se basa en entrevistas con docenas de educadores y padres del sur de Ontario. La mayoría eran indígenas. La Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación escuchó el testimonio gráfico de supervivientes que se detallan a abuso físico, sexual y emocional. Sus hijos hablaron sobre el trauma intergeneracional que sufrieron como consecuencia de ello. La comisión estima al menos 6.000 niños murieron en las escuelas.El sistema educativo se espera la participación de los padres, lo que puede significar ventajas educativas para aquellos que están activamente involucradas, sugirió. «Es una parte muy importante de la cultura escolar, pero no todos los padres pueden participar en la misma forma.» Como resultado, algunos niños se les puede negar recursos importantes, tales como materiales de aprendizaje adicionales, actividades después de la escuela o los programas de dotados, dijo. Canadá está empezando a abordar la cuestión. Siguiendo las recomendaciones de la Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación, muchas provincias – incluyendo Alberta, Ontario y Manitoba – se están moviendo para incorporar currículo indígena en el aula a partir de la escuela primaria. Sin embargo, las escuelas y los maestros tienen que hacer más para llegar a las familias indígenas y para ayudar a reconstruir su confianza sacudida. Las escuelas juegan un papel importante en la reconstrucción de la confianza y la reconciliación.

A study suggests the legacy of residential schools has left some indigenous people more wary and fearful of Canada’s current education system.

The study, published in this month’s issue of the Canadian Review of Sociology, suggests that distrust leads parents to be less engaged with teachers and could hurt their children’s education.

The article is based on interviews with dozens of educators and parents from southern Ontario. The majority were indigenous.

Researcher Emily Milne, assistant professor of sociology at MacEwan University in Edmonton, said virtually every indigenous participant was touched in some way by the residential school experience.

«People expressed a bit less comfort with schools. There was a bit less trust there with schools because of this history,» Milne said. «It was very much part of their educational experience, discrimination that they experienced while they were in school.»

About 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Metis children were taken from their families and forced to attend government schools. The last school closed outside Regina in 1996.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard graphic testimony from survivors who detailed physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Their children talked about the intergenerational trauma they suffered as a result.

The commission estimated at least 6,000 children died at the schools.

One person Milne interviewed told her: «I have the worst fear of teachers … Even if the teacher is the same age as me, I’m still nervous around them.»

This unease can put indigenous children at a disadvantage, Milne said. The education system expects the participation of parents, which can mean educational advantages for those who are actively engaged, she suggested.

«It’s very much a part of the schooling culture but not all parents can participate in the same way.»

As a result, some children may be denied important resources such as extra learning materials, after-school activities or gifted programs, she said.

Milne found that fear and unease subsided somewhat depending on an indigenous person’s education level. The longer people spent in school, the more comfortable they were with educators.

«They were approaching education in different ways,» she said. «They had more knowledge of the school system that they could draw on to navigate the schooling process and be very present in their children’s schooling.»

Milne said Canada is starting to address the issue. Following recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, many provinces — including Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba — are moving to incorporate indigenous curriculum into the classroom starting in elementary school.

But schools and teachers have to do more to reach out to indigenous families and to help rebuild their shaken trust, she added.

«Schools play an important role in rebuilding that trust and in reconciliation.»

Fuente: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/08/17/indigenous-parents-more-fearful-distrusting-of-education-system-study_n_11560826.html

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El 15% de los indígenas latinoamericanos no acceden a la secundaria

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Por: Contagioradio

Desde 1994 la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas declaró el 9 de agosto como el Día Internacional de los Pueblos Indígenas, con el objetivo de reconocer a estas comunidades sus tradiciones, valores, idiomas y costumbres, y cómo han aportado al fortalecimiento de las culturas nacionales. Con esta conmemoración la ONU también busca llamar la atención de los gobiernos y diversos sectores de la sociedad para solucionar los problemas a los que a diario se enfrentan los indígenas, en ámbitos como los derechos humanos, el medio ambiente, la educación y la salud.

Para este año la conmemoración hace énfasis en el derecho a la educación, destacando que si bien la Declaración de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas, dispone que tienen derecho a establecer y controlar sus sistemas e instituciones para que impartan educación en sus propios idiomas y métodos culturales, la mayoría de los pueblos indígenas no pueden ejercer plenamente este derecho pues existen graves disparidades en relación con el resto de la población.

En América Latina y el Caribe el 85% de los niños y niñas indígenas asisten a la escuela secundaria, pero solo el 40% completa ese nivel educativo. En Nunavut, Canadá, solo el 40% de los niños indígenas en edad escolar van a la escuela. En Australia, solo el 60% de los adolescentes indígenas de entre 15 a 19 años acceden al sistema educativo, mientras que en Guatemala el 50% de estos jóvenes no logran terminar sus estudios. En Perú la población no indígena recibe 2 años más de educación que los niños indígenas y en Bolivia la diferencia es de 4 años.

La ONU asegura que entre los obstáculos a los que se enfrentan los estudiantes indígenas, se destacan la estigmatización de su identidad; las actitudes discriminatorias y racistas en el entorno escolar y en los libros de texto y material docente; las barreras lingüísticas; la insuficiencia de recursos y la baja prioridad que se da a su educación y que se manifiesta en la escasa formación de los docentes, así como en la falta de material pedagógico.

En otros ámbitos como el de la pobreza la cifras también son alarmantes, pues pese a que los 370 millones de indígenas, que actualmente viven en 90 países, representan menos del 5% de la población mundial, constituyen el 15% de los más empobrecidos y la tercera parte de los 900 millones de personas que viven en condición de indigencia en las zonas rurales.

En Estados Unidos, el ingreso medio de los indígenas no llega a la mitad de la media general, en Alaska casi la cuarta parte vive bajo el umbral de pobreza, mientras que en Canadá el 60% de los niños indígenas sobreviven por debajo de este nivel. En Paraguay los pueblos indígenas son 7.9 veces más pobres que el resto de la población, en Panamá 5.9, en México 3.3 y Guatemala 2.8.

Frente a la esperanza de vida de los pueblos indígenas se observan diferencias de por lo menos 20 años en relación con el resto de la población. En Guatemala la esperanza de vida para estas comunidades es de 13 años, mientras que en Panamá es de 10, en México de 6, en Nepal de 20 al igual que en Australia, en Canadá es de 17 y en Nueva Zelanda de 11. Por otra parte la mortalidad infantil indígena supera el 70% y la desnutrición duplica los registros para los niños no indígenas, en Honduras el 95% de la población indígena menor de 14 años enfrenta este flagelo.

El desplazamiento forzado es otra de las problemáticas a las que se enfrentan actualmente los pueblos indígenas. El proyecto de la represa de Bakun en Malasia, desplazó a por lo menos 8 mil indígenas de 15 comunidades, debido a la tala de 80 mil hectáreas de bosques pluviales. En Tailandia varias comunidades de las tierras altas, entre ellas el pueblo karen, fueron desplazadas de los parques nacionales contra su voluntad.

Fuente: http://www.contagioradio..com/solo-el-85-de-los-indigenas-latinoamericanos-accede-a-la-secundaria-articulo-27559/

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Sudáfrica: 0% university fee increase for 2017 will be unsustainable

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África/Sudáfrica/14 de Agosto de 2016/Autor: Dineo Bendile/Fuente: EWN

RESUMEN: El Consejo de Educación Superior ha recomendado un aumento en todos los ámbitos relacionadossegún la inflación para las universidades de Sudáfrica en 2017. A principios de este año, el ministro de Educación Superior Blade Nzimande pidió al consejo para que le asesore sobre un marco regulador para la gestión de los aumentos de tasas tras numerosas protestas de los estudiantes. Ahora el cuerpo ha presentado un informe al Nzimande, donde se dice que un aumento de tasas cero por ciento el próximo año será insostenible. El Consejo de Educación Superior ha aconsejado a las universidades para acordar un aumento de tasa uniforme que será implementado en el año 2017. Se cree que un aumento de la manta en el nivel del índice de precios al consumidor es el método más favorable para su uso. Según el informe, este método equilibra los intereses de los estudiantes con la sostenibilidad del sector de la educación superior. Sin embargo, muchas asociaciones de estudiantes que han hecho presentaciones ante la comisión de investigación sobre la educación superior gratuita esta semana todavía mantienen el rechazo hacia el aumento de tasas el próximo año.

The Council on Higher Education has recommended an across the board inflation-related increase for South Africa’s universities in 2017.

Earlier this year, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande asked the council to advise him on a regulatory framework for managing fee increases following numerous student protests.

Now the body has submitted a report to Nzimande, where it says a zero percent fee increase next year will be unsustainable.

The Council on Higher Education has advised universities to agree on a uniform fee increase which will be implemented in 2017.

It believes a blanket increase at the level of the consumer price index is the most favourable method to use.

According to the report, this method balances the interests of students with the sustainability of the higher education sector.

The council says universities are better off negotiating as one unit than having individual exchanges with students over increases.

However, many student bodies that have made presentations to the commission of inquiry into free higher education this week still maintain they want no fee increase next year.

‘THERE’S NO MONEY’

Yesterday, National Treasury said it hadn’t budgeted for another zero percent fee increase in the higher education sector next year.

Treasury said it hadn’t made any plans for the decision to be rolled over to 2017 but it had planned for fee increases to resume next year and will now continue with involvement in fee discussions.

Treasury Deputy Director General Michael Sachs said, “We’ve budgeted on the basis that we will return to the situation of normal fee increases.

“But of course we’re prepared to respond to changes if they’re there.”

Sachs said continuing with no fee increases will mean sourcing money from other aspects of the Budget.

With Treasury saying it’s not willing to take out loans to spend more on higher education, it said the only other alternative is to increase taxes.

Lobby group Students for Law and Social Justice (SLSJ) said it believed students should only pay university fees based on what they can afford.

The group made its presentation to the commission of inquiry into free higher education yesterday afternoon.

Like other student groups, it was also calling fees to remain flat despite National Treasury saying it hadn’t budgeted for this next year.

Representatives from SLSJ said they didn’t agree with calls for higher education to be free for everyone.

Nikhiel Deeplal said the rich, who can afford to pay, must do so to ease the burden of government having to subsidies universities.

“The rich must be able to subsidise the poor, therefore remove the billions that are being pumped into State institutions and we give it to individual students.”

The group believed its proposed method will work better than the current system which sees National Student Financial Aid Scheme funding given to poor students, while those who don’t qualify are disadvantaged.

Fuente: http://ewn.co.za/2016/08/13/Council-on-Higher-Education-recommends-inflation-related-increase-for-universities

 

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Singapur: SAP schools shouldn’t be tweaked for sake of tokenism: Janil

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Asia/Singapur/12 de Agosto de 2016/autora: Charissa Yong/Fuente: The Strait Times

RESUMEN: Escuelas del Plan de Asistencia (SAP) Especiales de Singapur, que enseñan a los estudiantes sean bilingües en Inglés y Chino, quedaron bajo el punto de mira en una conferencia sobre la diversidad. Los miembros de la audiencia habían sugerido que las escuelas ofrezcan clases de idioma malayo o tamil para que sus poblaciones estudiantiles puedan ser más racialmente diversos. La sugerencia se produjo durante una discusión sobre los estudiantes chinos en las escuelas de SAP que tienen  amigos de otras razas. Pero el ministro de Estado de Educación Janil Puthucheary no está a favor de él, diciendo: «No queremos hacer uso de la participación simbólica racial con el fin de provocar una posición cultural. «Queremos tener un resultado real», agregó. En resumen, un objetivo educativo que ofrece la mejor oportunidad de educación a todos los estudiantes. El Dr. Janil dijo que las escuelas de SAP juegan un importante papel cultural en Singapur. Que se iniciaron en el año 1979 debido a las preocupaciones sobre la lengua china y las oportunidades disponibles para la mayoría de China para proteger su patrimonio cultural.

Singapore’s Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools, which teach students to be bilingual in English and Chinese, came under the spotlight at a conference on diversity yesterday.

Members of the audience had suggested that the schools offer Malay or Tamil language classes so that their student populations could be more racially diverse.

The suggestion came during a discussion on Chinese students in SAP schools having few or no friends of other races.

But Minister of State for Education Janil Puthucheary is not in favour of it, saying: «We do not want to make use of racial tokenism in order to provoke a cultural position.

«We want to have a real outcome,» he added. In short, an educational goal that gives the best education opportunity to every student.

Raising a hypothetical situation in which a SAP school offered Malay, he said that in such a situation, a handful of Malay students would apply to that school.

«And then what? … Do those kids get a better education because they are learning Malay in a SAP school?

«Or are we saying that this is a good thing because all the rest of the kids now have some exposure to a Malay student or more Malay students in schools?»

Dr Janil also felt a handful of Malay or Indian students in a SAP school would realistically offer little chance or time for most Chinese students to meaningfully interact with them.

«If we can make an argument that there is a clear educational benefit, a greater benefit, then I think it’s worthwhile,» he added.

Dr Janil said SAP schools play an important cultural role in Singapore. They were started in 1979 because of concerns over the Chinese language and the available opportunities for the Chinese majority to protect their cultural heritage.

He also said similar programmes exist for Malay and Tamil, but do not have comparable take-up rates.

He wondered whether the SAP school system had been singled out because of its success, adding that they make up a small proportion of the school system.

Returning to his main point, he argued that having a small group of non-Chinese students is not going to change the racial harmony dynamics. Neither would it change the intra-school mix a great deal.

The reality is that SAP schools will continue to consist mostly of ethnic Chinese students and minority students who choose to take Mandarin, he added.

Fuente: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/sap-schools-shouldnt-be-tweaked-for-sake-of-tokenism-janil

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Canadá: The 4 Per Cent That Canada Is Leaving Behind

Noticias

América del Norte/Canadá/12 de Agosto de 2016/Autora: Pippa McDougall/ Fuente: Huffingtong Post

RESUMEN: Los jóvenes indígenas son una de las cohortes de más rápido crecimiento en Canadá, sin embargo, están entre los más vulnerables. En el 4,3 por ciento de la población de Canadá, un aumento del 2,8 por ciento en 1996, la diversa población indígena de las Primeras Naciones, los mestizos y los inuit comparten una característica común: casi la mitad de la población está bajo la edad de 26. Aunque el grado de retos socioeconómicos y la falta de oportunidades varía entre las comunidades indígenas de Canadá, no hay duda que el efecto de los resultados socioeconómicos más bajos se hace sentir agudamente entre los niños y niñas aborígenes. Las tasas de pobreza coresponde a  niños que viven en las reservas que PERMANECEN asombrosamente alta en más de un 45 por ciento en comunidades remotas. Por otra parte, los jóvenes  han tenido significativamente más bajos índices de asistencia y graduación de las escuelas debido a la escasez crónica. Posteriormente, limitadas oportunidades de empleo han dejado a los jóvenes la sensación de que hay pocas posibilidades de un futuro mejor.

Indigenous youth are one of the fastest growing cohorts in Canada, yet they are among the most vulnerable. At 4.3 percent of Canada’s population, an increase from 2.8 percent in 1996, the diverse indigenous population of First Nations, Métis and Inuit share a commonality: almost half of the population is under the age of 26. Although the degree of socioeconomic challenges and lack of opportunity varies among Canada’s Indigenous communities, there is little doubt that the effect of lower socioeconomic outcomes is felt most acutely among aboriginal girls and boys.

Poverty rates among First Nations children living on reserves remain staggeringly high at over 45 percent in remote communities. Furthermore, First Nations youth have had significantly lower attendance and graduation rates from schools due, in part to chronic underfunding. Subsequently, limited employment opportunities have left youths feeling that there is little prospect for a better future.

We might all ask ourselves, as did Charlie Angus, Member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay, «how a country as rich as Canada can leave so many young children and young people behind?»

Indicative of this problem is Attawapiskat, a remote First Nations community in Northern Ontario that declared a state of emergency in April 2016 after 11 youth attempted suicide on a single day. This tragedy has revealed the third-world like conditions that many of these youth are living. While the provincial government quickly pledged 2 million in short term aid and dispatched a team of 13 emergency practitioners, including mental health workers, nurses and security personnel, it was once again a temporary solution to a systemic problem.

The plight of the aboriginal people of Canada seems to only be given the attention and resources it needs when a crisis emerges. Attawapiskat should serve as a wakeup call. It is no longer acceptable to wait for a state of emergency for Canadians to have their basic needs met.

Among those basic needs, few are more fundamental than education. Too many First Nations children do not have access to an education comparable to that of other Canadian children. The Canadian Centre for the Study of Living Standards has calculated that $71.1 billion would be added to Canada’s economy if aboriginal people attained the same educational levels as other Canadians.

Young people need hope and opportunity and a first step towards that would be to close the funding gap in education. Investing in youth, including aboriginal girls empowers entire communities to find solutions from within. While our current federal government has taken a positive step in committing $8.3 billion over 5 years, increased funding alone cannot eliminate generations of neglect. Sustained action and resources will be needed in order to avoid more preventable crises.

While Canadian society seeks to achieve economic parity among men and women broadly, the challenge is even greater in indigenous communities, particularly for women and girls. Canada has recognized the value of supporting women and girls in developing countries, and we must place equal emphasis on not only the education, but also health and wellbeing of indigenous women and girls here at home.

As Canada’s 2016 G(irls)20 representative, I believe that people are to be valued equally regardless of ones gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious belief. Collectively, we need to translate that belief into ensuring that every indigenous girl and boy has the same opportunities that we afford other young Canadians across the socioeconomic strata. In tandem with equal funding in education for indigenous youth, this will require a constructive dialogue and a renewed relationship built on trust, partnership and reconciliation.

Fuente: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/girls-twenty/4-per-cent-girls-left-behind-canada_b_11343028.html

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