New Delhi,14th December, 2012

The National Human Rights Commission organized a day-long national conference on Human Rights Education in New Delhi today. Inaugurating the conference, Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Chairperson, NHRC said that despite the progress made relating to promotion and protection of human rights in the country, the violations of human rights remained a matter of deep concern. This is due to failure of education system for not been able to inculcate human rights values among students.

He said that there is a need to engage all the stakeholders in a serious debate so that human rights education curriculum both at the school and university education level is carried forward in a uniform and more meaningful manner.

Justice Balakrishnan said that with the changing times, the old religious world view and values of social and national solidarity have also changed. People are growing highly individualistic and are particular about their rights but not of others.

The NHRC had developed some modules on human rights education which needed to percolate down the system of education through NCERT and CBSE. He expressed the hope that the deliberations at the conference will help evolve a strategy on giving impetus to human rights education at school and university level for the students, teachers and the management.

Some of the important suggestions came up following the discussions were as follows:-

" School curriculum needs to be revised by conducting a thorough enquiry of the status of human rights education at school level at different parts of the country and content analysis of different subjects.
" Training of all teachers both in theoretical and practical aspects of Human Rights.
" Organize mock courts on violation of human rights for school children.
" Dedicate one month w.e.f. from 11th November to 10th December to observance of human rights education.
" At higher level of education, inter-disciplinary basic course module needed to be prepared which may be replicated by all the streams of education without limiting it only to specific programmes like-BA, MA, MPhil, PhD in human rights.
" E-learning of human rights should be promoted.
" NHRC may develop a uniform basic training module in consultation with the UGC for higher level of education.

During the conference, the speakers included, among others, Dr. Justice V.S. Malimath, Chairman, Law Commission of Karnataka and former Member, NHRC, Mr. Rajarshi Bhattacharya, Secretary, Dept. of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Prof. (Dr.) Ranbir Singh, Vice-Chancellor, National Law University, Delhi, Prof. P. Sinclair, Director, NCERT, Mr. Mathew Philip, Executive Director, South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring, State Education Board Representatives, NGOs, Vice-Chancellors, NHRC Members and senior officers.

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