(Abuja, June 16, 2024) – African governments should accelerate plans to ensure free, quality education for children from preschool through secondary school by 2030, Human Rights Watch said. today, on the occasion of the Day of the African Child, celebrated under the auspices of the African Union (AU).
Africa is the continent with the largest number of out-of-school children. In 2021, 98 million children and adolescents of primary or secondary school age were out of school in sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of children of nursery school age do not have access to education suitable for early childhood. And although significant progress has been made across the continent in closing the gender gap, more girls than boys are outside the school system and many drop out before have completed their primary or secondary education.
“ Millions of African children are still waiting to receive an education, while millions more are going to school but not receiving the quality education their governments have promised to provide. said Mausi Segun, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “ Dozens of African states have adopted educational standards that conflict with their human rights obligations, compromising the quality of education available to African children. »
The theme for the Day of the African Child 2024 is: “Education for All Children in Africa: The Time is Now”. As deadlines for meeting global and African education commitments rapidly approach, African governments should focus their efforts on ensuring access to free, quality education for all and remove the legal, policy, and practical barriers that continue to deny education to millions of children, especially girls, Human Rights Watch said.
All African governments have committed to guaranteeing 12 years of primary and secondary education for all their children and providing them with at least one year of free pre-primary education. The deadlines set by States to achieve these goals are rapidly approaching, notably that of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa adopted by the AU, which gives Member States until 2025 to achieve, and the Targets of Sustainable Development (SDGs), which are intended to be achieved by 2030. The AU has designated 2024 as the Year of Education to renew collective commitment and action common of African countries towards these objectives and the achievement of its long-term development program.
Some African states have taken important steps to guarantee these rights. In 2022, Zambia implemented a policy of free education, from early childhood to secondary level, in all its public schools, while Madagascar passed a law establishing one year of free and compulsory pre-primary education. In 2023, Sierra Leone passed a new education law, guaranteeing children a full 13 years of free education, including one year of nursery school as well as one cycle of secondary education.
Financial barriers and the lack of free education have a disproportionately negative impact on children from the poorest households, who are most at risk of having to drop out of school. All governments should adopt stronger measures to introduce free education and end the practices of charging students’ families additional tuition and registration fees and charging them for materials and school uniforms, often at unaffordable costs, and also take care of other indirect costs such as school transport.
African governments’ commitment to guaranteeing at least one year of pre-primary education has not been implemented equally, according to research by Human Rights Watch. For example, in Uganda, a country which adopted the idea of free primary education in 1997 and free secondary education in 2007, free pre-primary education is not available. Human Rights Watch and the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights Uganda found that high school fees for children aged 3 to 5 attending private preschools exacerbated educational inequities and created an insurmountable barrier for most families, particularly those living in rural areas and those on low incomes.
African governments should adopt legal and policy provisions to guarantee the right to early childhood education and ensure that full cycles of secondary education are free and accessible to all children across Africa, a said Human Rights Watch. They should particularly ensure that universal access to primary and secondary education is supported by completely free education.
African governments will not meet their obligations until they remove the biggest obstacles and end the human rights violations suffered by girls. Thousands of girls drop out of school permanently or are excluded by teachers and school officials because they are pregnant or already mothers, and many are unable to continue their education due to marriage. early. Eighteen of the 20 countries with the highest rates of child marriage in the world are in sub-Saharan Africa. Most have very high rates of adolescent pregnancy, as well as high percentages of girls out of secondary school.
The failure of governments to eradicate sexual violence in schools and end impunity for sexual offenses poses a significant barrier to education for many girls. In many countries, students, overwhelmingly girls, are exposed to high levels of sexual and gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation, harassment and abuse at the hands of teachers, other supervisors and establishment and students.
In Kenya, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Senegal, teachers and school officials, as well as many bus drivers and motorcycle riders, sexually exploit and coerce girls into sexual acts in exchange for money for fees school fees, sanitary napkins or other basic products. In Senegal, in certain contexts, the very low rate of retention of girls in school is closely linked to the fear that they will suffer acts of sexual harassment and gender-based violence at school or that they will be exposed to it at a high risk of pregnancy.
Across the continent, progress has been made in promoting the right to education of girls who are pregnant or teenage mothers. Thirty-eight countries have adopted policies relating to the education of these students. And yet, even with this type of policy, some countries maintain attitudes that have the effect of restricting girls’ right to education, including the denial or limitation of comprehensive sexuality education and inaction in the face of violence. widespread sexual activity in schools.
More than 10 countries have punitive policies towards pregnant students, or lack legal provisions identifying the problem of teenage pregnancies in schools. At least five countries treat sex outside of marriage as a crime.
African governments should urgently review their policies and adopt human rights-respecting measures towards students who are pregnant or mothers, fully reflecting their commitments to promoting girls’ right to education . Governments should also comprehensively address the broader needs of adolescent mothers, including through the adoption of social protection measures that provide them with adequate financial support and guarantee their children’s access to child care and education starting in kindergarten. .
Governments should devote more resources to preventing teenage pregnancies by promoting and ensuring the sexual and reproductive rights of adolescents, including access to comprehensive and free sexuality education and information. judgement.
“ The common vision of the African Union and States to secure the future of Africa through education is clear », concluded Mausi Segun. “ African governments should urgently follow through on their commitments to ensure quality and completely free education, in line with their human rights obligations, by 2030. »
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