Research project focus on educational rights for migrant workers
Date:
Read:
The director of the Centre for Educational Rights and Transformation at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), Mr Solly Vally, has called for better access to education for migrant children in South Africa.
Vally was speaking during a workshop on the research project about the educational rights of migrant learners, held at the University of Venda's Art Gallery in Thohoyandou last weekend.
He said the workshop also aimed to identify blockages and barriers that prevent access to education for migrant learners in the country. They also discussed a a joint plan of action to ensure that migrant children know and realise their rights to education.
The workshop, a joint venture between the University of Venda, UJ and Save the Children in Limpopo, was attended by government officials, educators and NGOs. “We have been running the workshops in the Western Cape, Gauteng and Limpopo during the past year, visiting various schools with migrant learners. It has been a useful interaction between migrant organisations, pupils and South African state officials. There are many myths concern migrants and the workshop corrects some of these misconceptions,” said Vally.
He added that the workshop also heard terrible stories from refugees and migrant people, who often flee their countries after hardship there. He also mentioned that plans were at an advanced stage to host a national conference aimed at addressing the issue of migrant people, refugees, migrant children and how to address their handicaps.
According to Ms Rachel Chininga of the Centre for Positive Care in Sibasa, of the 18 000 children in their database, only 0.5% are migrant children and she urged relevant stakeholders to register more migrant children. “We have organised mini-libraries, so that young migrant children can read and research some learning projects. Since 2007, we have reunited some of the migrant children with their parents, as our organization takes care of migrant children,” said Chininga.
