Sunday November 18, 2007

Protecting children’s rights

By RASHVINJEET S. BEDI

YOU might think that the simple matter of choosing prefects or a class monitor is not a big deal, but it does matter to teachers.

A report titled “Knowledge and Practice of Human Rights in Secondary Schools” by The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) revealed that 74% of them want full authority to choose prefects while 45.9% want the same when it came to choosing class monitors.

The survey polled 2,132 secondary school teachers nationwide in 2003.

But it is important that children be given a voice even in the matter of choosing a class monitor, as it would constitute participation as underlined by the Convention of Human Rights of the Child (CRC), says Suhakam commissioner Dr Chiam Heng Keng.

“They must be able to express who they want as monitor or at least their voice must be heard. It doesn’t mean making a decision solely based on what they say. It would take into consideration their feelings and opinions,” explains Dr Chiam.

The CRC, an international treaty that recognises human rights of children, comprises 54 articles and two optional protocols. It is the most universally accepted human rights document in history as 194 countries have signed it. Only the United States hasn’t signed it.

The Malaysian Government signed and ratified the CRC in March 1995 although it has reservations on articles 1,2, 7, 13,14, 15, 28(a) and 37.

The CRC is based on four principles – participation, protection, survival and development.

According to a child advocate who requested anonymity, Malaysia passed with flying colours in the decade end review (2000) of the CRC especially in matters relating to survival.

“The numbers are fine at a macro level. But we reflected and found many things lacking, especially in terms of participation (of the children in decision-making),” says the child advocate.

In Japan, adds the advocate, many district offices have child representatives.

“Even university students cannot join organisations without prior permission, so what more children,” says Dr Chiam.

In terms of development, the Education Act of 1996, which is fashioned after Article 28, makes primary education compulsory although not free for Malaysian children aged six to 12 years. In the recent budget, however, the Government announced that it would provide free textbooks and would abolish school fees.

However, there are still children who don’t have the opportunity to go to school.

“There are still groups being deprived although parents are citizens. Because of poverty or ignorance, some parents don’t register their children. Some of these children are born out of wedlock,” says Dr Chiam.

As these children do not have documentation and are considered stateless, they are not entitled to education.

A report by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of a Child released in 2007 estimated that 200,000 Malaysian children of primary school age are not attending school. This number included dropouts or those who never went to school at all.

Dr Chiam says that efforts to educate are made, especially for the indigenous. A pilot test on indigenising the curriculum is being conducted at two locations in the peninsula.

“They are teaching basic things to the children, such as hygiene and adapting to their own environment, rather than learning the Year One syllabus,” says Dr Chiam.

Efforts are also being made for children with disabilities in line with Article 23.

“A lot more is being done for disabled children, such as providing more classes. More teachers are also being trained,” she says.

Dr Farah Nini Dusuki, vice-president of Malaysian Association for the Protection of Children, says the Child Act 2001 was one of the first major efforts of implementing the CRC.

“The laws are comparable internationally but the problem is enforcement. You hardly hear of anybody being prosecuted for not sending his or her children to school, for example,” she says.

And while the CRC was signed a long time ago, not many people are even aware of it, as the Suhakam study found. Only 6.2% of teachers and 7% of administrators polled knew about it.

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