Study of Policies and Programmes Addressing the Right of Street Children to Education

Summary: This research project analyses the government of Nepal's
policies, strategies, and programmes in regard to Non-
Formal Education (NFE) for out of school children,
particularly street children as their basic fundamental
right.

The study addresses some key issues and highlights the initiatives taken by various organisations to address the educational problem for out of school children, particularly street children, in connection to EFA.

In particular, it asks: what kinds of policies and strategies is the government putting in place? What are the NGOs and INGOs doing? To what extent are GOs, NGOs, and INGOs dealing with the problem? How is the government dealing with the increasing numbers of unsupervised children living alone in the streets? What roles can NGOs and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) play in addressing the problem of street children's education?

The report finds that not enough is done to address the problem of education for out of school children. Key players who are supposed to play a leading role in finding a solution to the problem have become the major source of the problem. Government policies and strategies are directed by a centralised development trend, weak implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and lack of strong enforcement of existing laws and regulation. These are responsible for more and more children being out of schools and compelled to live on to the streets instead of ensuring the welfare of children and society in general. The lack of strong regional and national level coordination and networking amongst the target groups, GOs, NGOs, and INGOs has also been an obstacle in overcoming the problem.

The general public pretends not to notice the plight of an increasing number of destitute children in the streets. There is at present no real alarm or outrage from the general public even though these children face starvation, and are at the mercy of unscrupulous individuals and brutal gangs.

The lack of provision of formal or non formal education for street children will have a devastating impact on the development of the country in general and the achievement of EFA in particular.