Poverty, language barriers, and discrimination in India is continuing to reinforce an already hostile environment for the children seeking education in the country. At UNICEF, the delegates and Amnesty International have maintained a debate on the multiple issues brought up since the beginning of the conference pertaining to the topic of education for children in poverty. Whether it be prioritizing the utilization of NGOs, building accessible infrastructure, improving the quality of teachers, or providing incentives to the student’s family, a complete resolution is yet to be found.
Currently, the largest aspect of this multi-faceted problem is the lack of transportation infrastructure. In certain rural areas, children often need to walk for miles through treacherous mountain terrain just to arrive at their school. Due to the low attendance rates of many rural communities, these schools are severely underfunded by the Indian government. Without students, the government does not see a point to further increase the funding that goes towards these rural educational systems.
The low attendance rates then bring a second concern to mind: why xo these rates exist in the first place? According to the delegate of Denmark: “Not only do the students not have an incentive to join the schooling system, but the prominent language barrier between the students’ mother tongue and the language used in instruction further discourages them from attending school.” To tackle this problem, the delegation of Mexico and United Kingdom both proposed a solution to implement a transition program, where students can be educated in their native language, and have the option to adopt a secondary language, as to not become isolated in their own communities.
However, in a dissenting opinion, Poland stated: “We don’t believe that accessibility is of the largest concern. Furthermore, as seen in the educational system in Canada, a globalized developed country, it expects the student to be fully educated and immersed in one language: English. It is not seen as assimilation; it is seen as just being a part of the country and its culture. So why is it necessary for there to be this dual-language program in India?”
Notwithstanding UNICEF’s efforts towards finding a consensus for the issue of education, the proposed dual-language program is yet to be solidified.
Currently, the largest aspect of this multi-faceted problem is the lack of transportation infrastructure. In certain rural areas, children often need to walk for miles through treacherous mountain terrain just to arrive at their school. Due to the low attendance rates of many rural communities, these schools are severely underfunded by the Indian government. Without students, the government does not see a point to further increase the funding that goes towards these rural educational systems.
The low attendance rates then bring a second concern to mind: why xo these rates exist in the first place? According to the delegate of Denmark: “Not only do the students not have an incentive to join the schooling system, but the prominent language barrier between the students’ mother tongue and the language used in instruction further discourages them from attending school.” To tackle this problem, the delegation of Mexico and United Kingdom both proposed a solution to implement a transition program, where students can be educated in their native language, and have the option to adopt a secondary language, as to not become isolated in their own communities.
However, in a dissenting opinion, Poland stated: “We don’t believe that accessibility is of the largest concern. Furthermore, as seen in the educational system in Canada, a globalized developed country, it expects the student to be fully educated and immersed in one language: English. It is not seen as assimilation; it is seen as just being a part of the country and its culture. So why is it necessary for there to be this dual-language program in India?”
Notwithstanding UNICEF’s efforts towards finding a consensus for the issue of education, the proposed dual-language program is yet to be solidified.