Oxford medical student highlights holistic education as key to protecting children's rights

Geneva [Switzerland], March 10 (ANI): At the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Petrina Lander, a medical student at the University of Oxford, in her oral statement, while addressing the annual full-day meeting on the rights of the child, called for stronger global support for holistic education systems.
Lander emphasised that advancing the rights of children requires education systems that go beyond academic outcomes and address broader challenges such as poverty, safety, dignity, and long-term well-being.
She noted that education policies should respond to the realities many children face, particularly those living in vulnerable socio-economic conditions.
According to Lander, holistic education can play a critical role in preventing child labour, violence, exploitation, and other risks that undermine children's development. She argued that schools must function not only as places of learning but also as environments that promote health, protection, and community engagement.
Referring to India's National Education Policy 2020, Lander highlighted how the policy presents a transformative vision for schooling that integrates experiential learning, early vocational exposure, and life skills development. She explained that the policy also encourages schools to incorporate health, nutrition, and well-being into the broader educational framework.
Lander noted that traditional exam-centric education models often fail children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
By contrast, she said, flexible and context-responsive systems can help ensure that students remain engaged in education while gaining practical skills that improve their long-term opportunities.
She also pointed to the work of the Akshar Foundation, which collaborates with public authorities to transform government schools into centres of holistic learning and sustainable development. The foundation's approach combines classroom instruction with vocational skills, food security initiatives, health support, and supervised, age-appropriate work.
Under the model, students participate in activities such as peer tutoring, recycling programmes, agriculture, and other skill-building exercises designed to reinforce academic learning while preparing them for real-world challenges. Lander said such initiatives can improve literacy, retention, and employability while reducing vulnerability to child labour, early marriage, and trafficking. (ANI)