Child Rights and Education Challenges in Peru

Country Liaison for Peru, Martha Llanos, points us to important developments with regard to child rights and challenges to quality education in Peru. The government, private sector, and foundations have been key actors in ensuring child rights and the right to education and care in Peru. However, despite an indication of progress, Peru faces challenges to fully realize child rights and the right to a quality education.

Increased Support for Child Rights
Between 2013 and 2016, Peru has increased the budget reserved for children and adolescents by 13%, according to the KidsRights Index 2018 report. This is a positive trend despite the fact that all 182 countries that have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child have not lived up to their agreement to allocate their best available budget for supporting the rights of the child.

Low-Cost Private Schools in Peru
Over the last two decades, private education in Peru has grown exponentially. Nearly 40% of students from disadvantaged districts in the Lima area attend private schools. According to a new report by Education International called “ ‘Low-cost,’ Private Education in Peru: A Quality-Based Approach,” the privatization of schooling is a consequence of market deregulation and the government public education system not keeping up with demographic growth. The research also reveals that the quality of education in the “low-cost” education sector is consistently lower than in the public sector. Also, the cost of tuition makes up one quarter of the minimum wage per student, so this serves as a significant barrier for poor families seeking access to those schools. Therefore, these schools offer low-quality education while promoting social inequality.

Early Childhood Development
Dubai Cares has invested AED1.83 million to bring early childhood development support to 500 disadvantaged children in Peru between the ages of 0 to 3. Annina Mattson, Programs Director at Dubai Cares, hopes that the new program in Peru will catalyze the improvement of early childhood practices.

More Information:
“Peru: ‘Low Cost’ Private Education Under Scrutiny” https://www.ei-ie.org/en/detail/15701/peru-low-cost-private-education-under-scrutiny

“KidsRights Index 2018: Insufficient Budget for Children’s Rights” https://kidsrights.org/news/kidsrights-index-2018

“Dubai Cares Launches a Three-Year Program in Peru to Tackle Deficit in the Provision of Early Childhood Development” http://www.dubaicares.ae/en/news/media-library/news-releases/dubai-cares-launches-a-three-year-program-in-peru-to-tackle-deficit-in-the-provision-of-early-childh.html