How minority students from primary school and secondary school deserve the right to quality education to help their development and promote lifelong learning no matter what race, background or status
Education in the UK
The education system is divided into four different sectors: primary, secondary, further and higher education. Legally, children have to attend school from the age of 5 until the age of 16 when completed with secondary school and acquired their GCSES. Many students attend sixth form or college to acquire A levels and some go further to gain their degrees. Specifically looking at younger students, those under 16 in the UK, there seems to be some issues in certain areas.
There has been work done for those in poverty, however this is still not enough, as now there are different minority groups who all deserve quality education and the same amount of push as everyone else. I believe that every child, no matter what social status or race, has the potential to change the world for the better through their own unique skills and ideas. Each child is capable of reaching so many academic heights. But why is it that societies ignore minority children and those who come from low status backgrounds? As I do not see much representation of these groups, I believe young individuals are not given the chance to go further and go beyond their potential. There should be more SDGs relating to pushing these children and adolescents further.
The issues
In the UK, poverty is a massive issue especially with minorities, as there is no emphasis or much work done for minorities who are living in poverty, especially children. Ethnic minority child poverty statistics and facts are incredibly shocking due to the fact that policy makers do not get to the root of this or do much research on these groups on ways to provide and help them. Knowing the roots, doing research and discussing patterns allows us to come up with long term and effective SDG's to provide better quality education for young individuals. In fact it is stated that "Around 60 percent of Bangladeshi children, 54 per cent of Pakistani children and 47 percent of black children are living in poverty." There is no public awareness on this or any policies discussed about this. Schools do not even discuss this matter or raise awareness for it. There are so many projects or goals that can be made to allow a change for this. In addition, "evidence has also suggested that poverty and social deprivation in children is linked to educational underachievement."
SDGs
The goals that should be driven forward should have more focus on minority groups and those in poverty as it is evident they have low chances of studying in private schools or they have less chances to do extracurricular activities due to their circumstances. There are so many changes and sustainable goals that can be made by the government and policy makers and schools. These should be:
More school schemes in both primary and secondary for chances for minority groups to educational opportunities that can show their potential.
Finding a pattern on where poverty occurs and implementing providers in school and areas such as food banks, shelter etc.
Arranging social clubs or any sort of clubs for minority groups.
Local authorities should connect these families through local hubs, bringing this community together, which will help young individuals as well as they will know they are in a safe and supportive community.
Celebrating diversity and culture by organising events.