Page 41 - Šolsko polje, XXXI, 2020, 3-4: Convention on the Rights of the Child: Educational Opportunities and Social Justice, eds. Zdenko Kodelja and Urška Štremfel
P. 41
s. kraljić ■ implementation and protection of the child’s right to education
children, especially the question of whether equal access can be ensured
for all children in the family. The family’s housing capacity might also in-
fluence the quality of the right to education. While it is often impossible
to assure a child a private corner in ordinary circumstances, in a time of
COVID-19 it is even more difficult to find a place in the home to carry out
online education (e.g. listening to lectures).
The right to education has also been enormously curtailed for chil-
dren in need of learning support (e.g. children with special needs, children
of migrants, Roma, children in hospitals). Even talented pupils may have
been deprived of the challenges they receive at school. Of course, children
exposed to domestic violence at home should not be ignored since school
has often been a safe place for them to escape their home environment, at
least for a while. Now, at a time of the COVID-19 crisis, the restriction of
movement means this escape is not possible at all. The fact that, already
in ‘normal times’, many children face poverty makes the food available at
school often crucial for them, perhaps even their only quality daily meal.
We are moreover currently in the cold period of the year (winter) and
some families cannot provide adequate heating for their homes (Lancker
and Parolin, 2020) and also from this point of view such children are at a
disadvantage. We may conclude with certainty that the COVID-19 crisis
has significantly affected children’s lives and thereby their rights, especial-
ly the right to education, which is also linked to other rights (e.g. right to
privacy, right to play).
Teaching and learning have become more informal, mobile and im-
personal with the transition to ‘behind the screen’. How deeply this has
exacerbated the already existing inequality (e.g. between poor and rich,
rural and urban, boys and girls) and how children’s right to education has
suffered may never be fully known as much remains hidden behind closed
family doors. Still, we can be sure that the consequences will bring con-
siderable short- and probably long-term impacts on both the Slovenian
and especially global levels, especially for the most vulnerable children
(e.g. drop-out is on the rise (Dwawan, 2020)). Therefore, it is crucial that
online distance learning is only seen as a temporary solution for address-
ing the COVID-19 crisis. The digitalisation of education should never re-
place on-site schooling with teachers (Human Rights Council, 2020, p.
2). ‘Traditional’ on-site learning can better focus on the needs of an indi-
vidual child or a vulnerable group of children. The direct contact between
teacher and pupil makes it easier to identify the child’s needs and the pos-
sibilities for providing them. This then also ensures a better exercise of the
right to education and other children’s rights.
39
children, especially the question of whether equal access can be ensured
for all children in the family. The family’s housing capacity might also in-
fluence the quality of the right to education. While it is often impossible
to assure a child a private corner in ordinary circumstances, in a time of
COVID-19 it is even more difficult to find a place in the home to carry out
online education (e.g. listening to lectures).
The right to education has also been enormously curtailed for chil-
dren in need of learning support (e.g. children with special needs, children
of migrants, Roma, children in hospitals). Even talented pupils may have
been deprived of the challenges they receive at school. Of course, children
exposed to domestic violence at home should not be ignored since school
has often been a safe place for them to escape their home environment, at
least for a while. Now, at a time of the COVID-19 crisis, the restriction of
movement means this escape is not possible at all. The fact that, already
in ‘normal times’, many children face poverty makes the food available at
school often crucial for them, perhaps even their only quality daily meal.
We are moreover currently in the cold period of the year (winter) and
some families cannot provide adequate heating for their homes (Lancker
and Parolin, 2020) and also from this point of view such children are at a
disadvantage. We may conclude with certainty that the COVID-19 crisis
has significantly affected children’s lives and thereby their rights, especial-
ly the right to education, which is also linked to other rights (e.g. right to
privacy, right to play).
Teaching and learning have become more informal, mobile and im-
personal with the transition to ‘behind the screen’. How deeply this has
exacerbated the already existing inequality (e.g. between poor and rich,
rural and urban, boys and girls) and how children’s right to education has
suffered may never be fully known as much remains hidden behind closed
family doors. Still, we can be sure that the consequences will bring con-
siderable short- and probably long-term impacts on both the Slovenian
and especially global levels, especially for the most vulnerable children
(e.g. drop-out is on the rise (Dwawan, 2020)). Therefore, it is crucial that
online distance learning is only seen as a temporary solution for address-
ing the COVID-19 crisis. The digitalisation of education should never re-
place on-site schooling with teachers (Human Rights Council, 2020, p.
2). ‘Traditional’ on-site learning can better focus on the needs of an indi-
vidual child or a vulnerable group of children. The direct contact between
teacher and pupil makes it easier to identify the child’s needs and the pos-
sibilities for providing them. This then also ensures a better exercise of the
right to education and other children’s rights.
39
