OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN AND ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION

Can you imagine what you would be doing if you were not attending school? You may like the idea but think about it. The first few days and weeks may seem nice, like an extended holiday, but after a while, you get tired of staying home. You would want to go back to learning with your classmates in school. But what if you cannot go back to school?

Out-of-school children

The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) defines out-of-school children as children who do not have access to a school in their community, do not enroll despite the availability of a school, are registered but do not attend classes, or have dropped out of the education system, this also includes street children and child laborers.

Out-of-school children are children who are of the official school age, primary or secondary, and are not enrolled in school.

Most times, out-of-school children are out of school not because they want to be but because certain circumstances in their lives have made it so. If you have not, you should read our blog post on the “Critical factors affecting Sustainable Development Goal(SDG) 4”. This will help you understand factors that affect access to education and why students stay out of school.

Imagine you want to go to school but cannot due to reasons beyond your control and, sometimes, even your parent’s control. These factors could include:

Armed conflict: disrupts the life of children, damages school buildings, students and teachers are killed, and brings about a fear of gathering to learn.

Poverty: not having enough money to meet basic needs and pay for education.

Poor learning facilities and unqualified teachers: lack of a conducive learning environment and a lack of qualified teachers.

What is alternative education?

This refers to an informal style of education that is set up in a non-traditional educational setting and addresses the students' emotional, social and academic needs. It relates to unconventional approaches to learning and education other than the traditional means of learning, which takes place in a school building.

It is, however, not specifically for out-of-school children, as some of these programs could be a part of a school’s curriculum.

One primary reason for the introduction of alternative education is to provide education for students who face challenges that may affect their progress in the traditional school environment.

This is why we are working towards SDG 4, ensuring that we help as many children as possible to access this quality education while they are still young.

Why adopt alternative education?

1.????Not every child may get the opportunity to go to a traditional school. However, they too must learn and have access to education so they can better themselves

2.????While out of school, some children go into things such as stealing, fighting, and other crimes, becoming a threat to society. It is better to set up these structures and keep them engaged in educational programs that are beneficial to them

3.????An alternative education system created for out-of-school children makes them feel cared for in society. They get to meet people they can relate with while gaining knowledge.

4.????Customized curriculum: a curriculum that is specific to the educational needs of the children is used, making learning easy for them

5.????Scholarships cannot be awarded to everyone. No matter how many scholarships are awarded in a year to children all around the world, not every child will be able to get scholarships to study in a traditional school

Alternative education systems for out-of-school children

There needs to be a determination to get children enrolled in school, knowing that children are the future of a country and education has a significant role to play in their holistic development.

Online learning: Online learning is a form of alternative education, being that it is not taken in the traditional school setting or the traditional learning method. At Learnxplore, we have tutors break down subjects and simplify them for learners.

We also have offline materials such as:

·???????Workbooks

These are used as a form of assessment for children’s learning; they can use this to practice what they have learned.

·???????Flashcards

This includes two-sided flashcards that educate children on different types of animals; it makes learning fun and easy to remember for children.

With partnerships and the government, learning centers can be built where out-of-school children can access these resources. A registration process can be set up to keep track of students and monitor performances. If the government organizes these programs, it can accommodate many out-of-school children.

This will be a way to give basic education to these children; they can acquire basic skills such as literacy and numeracy skills. With this basic knowledge, they can go on to get other skills or further their education.

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SOURCES: Global Partnership for Education (GPE)