Today 1 in 5 children and young people around the world are not in school.
That’s an estimated 263 million children missing out on an education. (UN, 2018)
63m
primary school age children (6-11)
out of school
61m
lower secondary school age children (12-14)
out of school
139m
upper secondary school age children (15-17)
out of school
Number of children missing out on an education:
Despite the universal right to education promoted by the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, it is expected that 2030 will see a predicted (pre-COVID 19) 200 million children out of school.
Street children face unique barriers stopping them from accessing their education
No legal identification
Without their official identification documents street children either cannot enrol in school or are unable to take their exams, meaning they cannot progress.
No permanent address
Street children are a transient community, often moving from place to place which makes enrolling and staying in school extremely difficult.
No legal guardian
With no one to enrol them and support them to remain in school, children are unmotivated to stay. Earning their own income is often the priority for them.
Financial responsibility
Street children often have to work to support themselves and their family.
Cost of uniforms and books
Children may not be able to afford all the associated costs of uniforms or books.
Once in school street children often face discrimination in the guise of marginalization, stigmatization and discrimination in class, all which affect their self-esteem, attainment and desire to remain attending.
Having missed years of school living on the streets, many children find themselves at a disadvantage, unable to catch up with children of their own age and not permitted into classes with younger children.
Without access to this basic human right many street children will be unable to escape the vices of poverty and unable to create a better and safer future for themselves through education.
Each country has unique, complex and interrelated challenges when it comes to street children enrolling and being retained in school.
Today our programmes aim to tackle these issues at various levels:
Our partners work alongside this group to change their attitudes towards education, to promote its importance as well as ensuring they have the financial means to send their children to school and to not rely on them as income generators.
Our partners work with the wider community challenging attitudes that hinder street children from gaining an education. This can range from meeting with traditional leaders, religious leaders, teachers and headteachers – working to ensure that street children are not facing barriers to achieving educational attainment.
Many street children, especially girls, face violence on a daily basis in school. Our partners work with the schools and pupils providing training on Child Protection, Child Rights and positive discipline methods.
Toybox works with our partners to give street children the opportunity to learn through a variety of programmes: