Magazine 2012
Human Rights Education : The Collective
Educational Struggle for Producing Change
Ms. Maria Shaikh
R. J. College,Mumbai.
Individual welfare and a complete erasure of human sufferings is the ultimate task of Human Rights Education.
To make this dream a reality is no easy task b a massive and collective educational struggle must be launched
to expose and condemn discriminatory practices. Human Rights must be incorporated into the curriculum and
education must struggle to create the desired social change. A societal transformation can be brought about
by Human Rights Education as it breaks rigid mental barriers and orthodox beliefs change into progressive
ideas.
Human rights are inseparable rights b an individual is born with these rights b from basic rights of survival to civil
and political rights and also much more important are social, economic and cultural rights and another significant
development is b groups rightsb at the national and global level.
There are major roadblocks to realise the goals of Human Rights Education. In the competitive world of present
times, core subjects like Maths, Science etc. which offer lucrative careers are given more importance. These
can be major obstacles in the home, community and the school. As individuals place their Self above all
things, rights of others may not be considered. People fight wars and shed blood in great battles for protection
of their own rights but they never bother about the rights of others b and that is where the problem arises and
here the white coat struggle of Education for Human Rights begins. Human Rights Education not only creates
an awareness of an individualb s personal rights but it also sensitizes the masses to respect the human dignity of
others. Teachers must, first, respect the individuality of learners and so extensive pre-service and in service
training sessions on childrenb s rights should be conducted to avoid academic injustice and to prevent dominant
cruel power practices on the child. Along with performing their duties, teachers should initiate a strong fight not
only for their own rights but against all forms of exploitation done to weaken the morale of the teaching
community.
Many topics in the present day curriculum highlight serious Human Rights issues so we can conclude that the
curriculum is not defective b for example, the human reproductive system can foster in learners the idea of the
worth of the life of a girl child. Hence Human Rights Education can blend beautifully with the existing curriculum
without burdening students with an additional subject but there is an overwhelming fear that teachers may rush
with strong academic focus on the evaluations and the other examination schedule and due to time constraint
they neglect core Human Rights issues . Hence there is a strong need for revamping the curriculum with new
innovations and plans to integrate human rights officially with the curriculum but there is danger of teachers
omitting, deleting and shortening discussions on human rights issues cannot be ignored. Therefore a strong
moral commitment is required from teachers. A committed teacher will resourcefully integrate Human Rights
Education with the strong course content and touch the hearts of his /her students. The teacher must bring out
the real picture of victims of discrimination rather than fear discussion over controversial issues and the silence
of the teachers over such issues may not only create negative images of the individuals and communities but
they may also sow seeds of discontent and hatred in the minds of young learners.
Although learners are imparted rigorous training and the education system struggles to generate awareness of
their rights b right to education, play, recreation, etc., they also have the right do demand protection from
physical and sexual abuse, corporal punishment, economic exploitation (fee hikes) and safe teaching and
learning environments but when students forcefully assert their rights, it is regarded as an offence and severe
disciplinary action is taken.
Human Rights Education could be integrated into the curriculum while teaching Languages, Social Studies,
Science, Civics, Political Science, Sociology, Law etc. Both in Schools and at higher educational levels. The
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content of Human Rights Education can include "many recent trends in Education such as Conflict Resolution,
Law -Related Education, Development Education, Issues related Education, Peace Education, anti-bias Education,
Multicultural Education and Global Educationb . Moreover the focus should not be only on imparting theoretical
knowledge but on assuring that thoughts and ideas should accompany appropriate actions.
Forming Inclusive Heterogeneous Co-operative Learning groups can help in conflict resolution promoting
community values and at the same time inculcating multicultural Education. Schools then become Human
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Rights communities fostering values of peace, unity, co-operation, tolerance and respecting the dignity of
others.
Human Rights Education cannot be confined to school learning. Dissemination of Human Rights Education can
be done by channelizing valuable human resources to reach out to the masses. The human resources, that is
management, teachers and students should take crucial steps to mobilise the community and educate them on
Human Rights. Students who are trained in Human Rights can create an awareness in the community, Teachers
and learners with the assistance of NGOs can break down traditional thinking patterns by educating the masses
on issues like child labour, dowry and women Education. Films on Human Rights and training grassroot
communities can go a long way in realising the goals of Human Rights Education. Also the community can be
invited to participate in competitions, co-curricular activates, conferences, seminars, symposium conducted in
schools.
Students should be acquainted with the Human Rights movement-the civil liberties phase, the democratic
rights phase, the Human Rights phase. This will give them an understanding of the evolution of Human Rights
and they must also understand the role of UN specialised agencies like UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO and the non-
governmental bodies (NGOs) who work tirelessly to make Human Rights a reality .
Social Change and progress is brought about by communication through the flowering of diverse languages.
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But Education commits a crime- " Language Genocideb or Language Murder. A child is put to shame, punished
and penalized for speaking in his mother tongue. Such an attitude of educators destroys not only the language
but it crushes the childb s identity. Hence Education must protect the linguistic rights of the child by enriching
languages of majority and minority groups, foreign languages and official languages. Many languages have
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become invisible as their importance has not been propagated by Education. The result is "vast archives of
knowledge and expertise are spilling into oblivion, leaving humanity in the danger of losing its past and perhaps
jeopardizing its future as well.... [When] a language disappears traditional knowledge vanishes with itb [Linden
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991, quoted in Leets and Giles 1995: 37]
Linguistic Genocide is also committed when languages are labelled as vernaculars and the most brutal atrocities
are done when the skills and talents of vernacular medium students are underestimated. Hence both teachers
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and learners must understand the meaning of the word b vernacularb . " According to Madras Mail and Hindu,
Feb 5,1939, the word b Vernab was specifically appropriated to mean homeborn slave and was extended to mean
slaveb s language or even belonging to a slaveb b . We as teachers cannot degrade students in this way. So before
teaching Human rights, we must reframe our own language and avoid other forms of hidden language abuse.
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Also learners must understand how "language of rule is used by the governing classes to secure their dominanceb .
Usage of phrases like Yours humbly, Yours obediently and I beg to apologise is now slavish language taught by
British masters to exercise their rule over us. So learners must be taught how to use language in order to define
themselves.
Protection of the environment from human destruction has been a major issue of concern. With Environmental
Education, the students must be made aware of their environmental rights and duties. Devastation of the
Environment leads to violation of Environmental Rights of others. Dominant groups damage natural resources
and deprive people of their environmental rights by taking away their rights for b Economic Progressb . In this way,
they can be educated to save water, save electricity, use public means of transport and it goes against their
conscience to rob the rights of others. When they are taught the concept of Environment as an indispensable
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individual right, they learn that they must also Abstract
My paper entitled
Human Rights Education : The Collective Educational Struggle for Producing Change
Highlights Significant
Viewpoints on the white coat struggle of education to overcome major roadblocks in Education. Some of the
major obstacles faced by Educationists are that teachers focus on core subjects to help students face tough
competition and the problem of time constraint faced by them due to the rigid examination schedule forces
them to neglect Human Rights Education. Schools have to be open minded when students forcefully assert
their rights and teachers must fearlessly discuss controversial issues related to Human Rights. The content of
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Human Rights Education can include "many recent trends in Education such as Conflict Resolution, Law -
Related Education, Development Education, Issues related Education, Peace Education, anti-bias Education,
Multicultural Education and Global Education.
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Education Commits a crime called Language Genocide or Language Murder when the learner is forced to
abandon his mother tongue. Hence Education must protect the linguistic rights of all. Teachers should not label
students as failures or vernaculars or resort to other kinds of language abuse. Teaching Environmental Rights
goes a long way in protecting natural resources. A Global core curriculum must be designed to incorporate
both global and national values. An individual must be a global citizen and he must also preserve his national
identity. Teachers must encourage students to take up a Career in Human Rights and make major contributions
to humanity. b encompass the right of other species to survive on this planet.b
A global core curriculum must be designed to help the learner to connect across lines of difference to establish
a wide network of human relations around the globe and strengthening his own culture. The Globalisation of
Education has been identified as an intertwined set of global processes affecting education, such as worldwide
discourses of human capital, economic development and multiculturalism, intergovernmental organisations,
information and communication technology, NGOs, and multinational corporations. Global Education must
facilitate understanding of global cultures- Preserving oneb s own identity and being a responsible global citizen
is the greatest challenge that global education faces today. MNCs and TNCs dominate and exercise power on
the individual. Lack of participation of the poor and exploitation of local consumers in Global Shopping Mall
and exploitation of workers as they have no choice of trade unions turns to defend their rights at the Global
Workplace turns globalisation into a false dream and so minds of educationists and learners must not be swept
away by the impact of globalisation.
HRE is life long learning and resourceful teachers must encourage young learners to take up Human Rights as
a career and explore rich opportunities in the field. Teachers must first invite experts who could speak about
multiple opportunities arising in governmental, NGOs and charities, academia and law. The nature of work
could include research, marketing, public relations, lobbying and education. Such information can arouse
interest and learners will become active Human Rights activists and they will be active agents of social change..
(Endnotes)
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Value Education and Human Rights, V.T Patil,2008 Gnosis,Delhi,pp173.
2
Linguistic Genocide in Education, Tove Skutnabb Kangas, Orient Longman, New Delhi.
Linguistic Genocide in Education, Tove Skutnabb Kangas, Orient Longman, New Delhi. Pp295.
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Linguistic Genocide in Education, Tove Skutnabb Kangas, Orient Longman, New Delhi. Pp 151.
Linguistic Genocide in Education, Tove Skutnabb Kangas, Orient Longman, New Delhi.pp311.
www.nhrc.nic.publications/environment.pdf
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