Imagine a bunch of kids marching up to their classmate's home, demanding that their friend's father stop drinking and abusing friend's mother. Another group of school children approaching their District Education Officer, urging him to admit children of migrant labourers they spotted at a quarry near their school.
It is precisely this kind of sensitivity and empowerment that the Institute of Human Rights Education seeks to achieve.
The Institute, which started out offering a programme on human rights education in Tamil Nadu, has been collaborating with about 4,000 schools across nearly 20 states.
It offers modules on human rights as part of the syllabus for students of classes VI, VII and VIII using interesting textbooks. All the schools under the Adi Dravida Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu are covered.
It is very important that children be given an opportunity to engage with issues pertaining to their own lives, says chairperson of the Institute V. Vasanthidevi.
Recognising the need for inclusion of human rights in the school curriculum, the National Human Rights Commission constituted a task force two years ago, with eminent academicians included Prof. Vasanthidevi as members, to look at how such programmes could be taken forward in a meaningful way.
The programme relates to children very easily, if their feedback is any indication.
Though the Institute had initially launched the Human Rights Education (HRE) programme independently, it later viewed the United Nations Decade of Human Rights Education (1995-2004) as an opportunity for concerted and collective action to promote the concept of human rights through educational interventions.
The Institute is now keen on addressing teacher-aspirants and practising teachers by entering the teacher education space in a big way.
The Institute has already been offering programmes for teachers and wishes to scale up the effort, to cover more teachers and students.
“A civil society organisation has its limitations. If the government takes this up, several thousands of children can benefit. The government should make this its own programme. That is our wish,” she notes.
