At the heart of the issue of education is the question of whether formal schooling is the best means of helping indigenous children improve their and their peoples’ prospects for the future. There is no single clear answer to this. Basic literacy and numeracy should be a goal for every child, as these are necessary life skills. They can be achieved through a mixture of formal and informal modes of education and ways of learning. Formal education should be made more accessible to indigenous children but should be reformed in such a way that it does not alienate them from their community and/or erode their love for their culture and people. For the majority of indigenous children for whom an extended school career is neither feasible nor likely to lead to professional employment, other ways to further their numeracy and literacy skills should be supported. (See also the recommendation on mobile school units). 1.5.2 Ways of facilitating access to schools and learning The Praebase programme gives indigenous children an incentive to attend school but this incentive alone is insufficient. The following proposals are, therefore, aimed at complementing this programme, which should be maintained as long as possible. Proposals concern both primary and secondary schools. -
A national anti-discrimination campaign targeting Bantu pupils, parents and teachers, and a national curriculum with a new compulsory component on human rights, key national laws and the history of indigenous peoples (see Recommendation 1.1)
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Training and recruitment of both indigenous and Bantu playground assistants and teachers
Teachers and playground assistants from both communities should be trained and recruited. They should be specially trained to watch and intervene systematically should indigenous children fall victim to bullying either inside or outside the classroom. Appropriate measures should be taken against any children using verbal or physical aggression against others. Teachers should also be trained not to equate indigenous lifestyles with backwardness or to suggest that it should be abandoned for the good of the children and their people. Explanation of the sophistication of indigenous culture as well as the tragedy of its history should be included in the curriculum alongside human rights issues and the new indigenous law of the Republic of Congo (see further recommendation, below). -
Building more indigenous schools that are also open to controlled numbers of nonindigenous pupils
Indigenous children’s uptake of school is much higher in institutions built specially for them, as this gives them a real sense of ownership. This report, therefore, recommends the building of more indigenous schools around the country. These schools should be able to accommodate the local indigenous school-age population as well as a minority of Bantu children. They should be large enough to accommodate all local indigenous children but not so large as to allow Bantu to form the majority. Such a mix and ratio would encourage
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