How to Become a Representative for Congress

How to Become a Representative for Congress
How does one become a representative for Congress? The journey to becoming a Member can be difficult and demanding. However, the privilege to represent one’s country can be very rewarding.

The U.S. Congress is divided into two chambers. The requirements vary by chamber, as do the roles they serve. To become a member of Congress one must first decide whether one wants to serve in the House of Representatives or in the Senate. Once having made this decision, one must meet certain specifications to qualify for office.

How to Become a Representative

  1. Meet the Qualifications
    The U.S. Constitution requires Members of the House be at least 25 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and live in the state–though not necessarily the same district–they represent. Article VI, clause 3 requires that all Members take an oath to support the Constitution before they exercise the duties of their office.The Constitution was deliberately written to make becoming a Member of the House more accessible, to making this chamber closest to the people. Founders wanted it to be possible for ordinary citizens to obtain office and for elections to be frequent.To be eligible for the Senate, candidates must be at least 30 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years and reside in the state they plan to represent at the time of election.
  2. Identify Key Issues 
    Members of Congress are representatives of their constituents. To become a representative for Congress, potential candidates need to determine and articulate issues that are relevant and important to voters. One must have strong knowledge of current political affairs and one’s stance on current and future policies.
  3. Build a Network
    Connections and relationships are key to running a successful campaign. According to Business Insider, this factor is causing many hopeful millennials to lose congressional races. In a blog post by hopeful House Member Erin Schrode, a 24-year-old activist from Northern California who hoped to be the youngest woman elected to the House, told readers a man told her after voting he would have voted for her instead of the incumbent–had he known who she was. Name recognition is an essential component of a successful campaign.
  4. Fundraise
    Money matters in elections. Funds pay for advertisement, media exposure, branding, letters to potential voters and commercials. While there is no minimum amount required to run for office, more funds equate to better efficiency and exposure.
    Wendy Carillo, a thirty-six-year-old who arrived in America as an undocumented immigrant recently launched a race for Congress. In an interview with Medium, she suggested a candidate should raise at least $100,000 to pay for the “mini enterprise” one creates when running for office.
  5. File Paperwork
    According to BallotPedia, federal law requires all candidates to file a statement of candidacy within 15 days of receiving donations or funding costs for their campaign that exceed $5,000. This is the only part of ballot access that is mandated by federal law. To have one’s name printed on an election ballot, a congressional candidate must do one or both of the following: collect and file petition signatures and/or pay registration fees. Once this is satisfied, requirements vary from state to state.
  6. Campaign
    The final and most crucial task is to campaign. Talk to voters. Learn what matters to them. Appeal to their desires in your language and actions. Congressional candidates can spend up to 18 hours a day campaigning. A successful candidate must know and act on what matters to voters.

Still want to become a representative for Congress after having read up on how to? Stay grounded in the fact that campaigning does not have to be difficult or tiresome. Listening to the needs of constituents and turning them into policies make the work rewarding and gratifying. Our country truly becomes a nation for the people, run by the people when members of Congress remember this principle.

– Jeanine Thomas

Photo: Flickr

,

John McCain Against Ethnic Cleansing in Burma

Senator John McCain Takes a Stand Against Ethnic Cleansing in BurmaOn September 12, 2017, Arizona Senator John McCain spoke out against the treatment of the Rohingya population of the Rakhine State of Burma, also known as Myanmar. The Rohingya people are mostly Muslim-practicing individuals, and according to the United Nations, they are under attack. Specifically, the U.N. stated that the situation, which is characterized by a series of “cruel military operations,” is a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

In his address, Senator McCain withdrew his support of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (NDAA), which sought to expand a military relationship between the United States and Burma. Specifically, Senator McCain criticized Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her lack of interference with the ethnic cleansing in Burma, stating, “I can no longer support expanding military-to-military cooperation given the worsening humanitarian crisis […] against the Rohingya people.”

According to Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia Joshua Kurlantzick, Suu Kyi, who is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient for her work with democracy and human rights, “has never demonstrated much sympathy” to the Rohingya people. Suu Kyi has remained mostly silent throughout the humanitarian crisis; however, she has claimed that the ethnic cleansing in Burma was burdened by an “iceberg of misinformation,” which has further enabled the country’s continuous Buddhist nationalist movement.

The Rohingya people, a minority group within Burma‘s largely Buddhist population, are not recognized as an official ethnic group by the country’s government. The attacks against the Rohingya people escalated on August 25, 2017, when the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) targeted multiple Burmese police and military officials.

Approximately 270,000 Rohingya people have fled Burma in order to find safety and solace in Bangladesh. Additionally, tens of thousands of Rohingya people remain displaced throughout Burma. However, the Burmese government has suspended all foreign aid to the Rakhine State, which has left all of the Rohingya people without necessities like food or health services.

Human Rights Watch has called upon the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to place pressure on the Burmese government in order to allow access to foreign aid for the Rohingya people. Suu Kyi’s silence has had a significantly negative impact on the attacks against the Rohingya people, but she can help stabilize the situation by allowing foreign aid to reach the misplaced Rohingya people.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is an organization that has provided approximately 580,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh with food, which is particularly important for pregnant women and young children. Also, the WFP’s nutritious food has slightly lessened the risk for disease outbreaks among the Rohingya refugees, as nutritious foods help to strengthen the immune system.

The Rohingya people still remain displaced throughout Bangladesh with no shelter; however, the WFP’s food delivery to the Rohingya people, and Senator McCain’s address, are important beginning steps to helping the refugees obtain better lives.

– Emily Santora

Photo: Flickr

10 Facts About the Aardakh Genocide

Aardakh GenocideOn February 23, 1944, the Soviet Union launched a mass deportation operation of its Chechen and Ingush populations. Although two distinct ethnicities, the Chechens and Ingush have been historically linked due to their linguistic similarity and persecution by the Russian government. The Chechen-Russian rivalry is one the oldest and most drawn-out conflicts in modern history, stretching across three centuries. The struggle came to a head during World War II amid numerous ethnic cleanses being carried out by Joseph Stalin. Although many minority groups were targeted and seen as threats to the Soviet Union, the treatment of Chechen people is largely thought to be the worst among the those beset—resulting in the event being referred to as the Aardakh genocide. To gain more insight into the nature of this “relocation operation,” here are ten facts about the Aardakh genocide.

  1. The deportation began on a day of celebration. Since 1919, February 23 has been a day for Russia to celebrate the Red Army. In 1944, NKVD officers invited Chechen and Ingush people to participate in the festivities in a gesture of solidarity. When the Chechens arrived, however, they were met with armed soldiers and were told that they must leave the country. Often families were given little more than a half hour to collect their things before being driven out of the country.
  2. At least a quarter of those who were deported died in transit. Of the 493,000 Chechen and Ingush people that were captured, 123,000 of them perished or were killed during the round-ups and early years in which they were exiled from the country.
  3. The exile lasted for 13 years. Survivors were not able to return to their homeland until 1957, when the Soviet Union came under new leadership. Nikita Khrushchev, who replaced Stalin, reversed many policies put in place by the former premier, including the exile of the Chechen and Ingush peoples.
  4. The Chechens lost a significant portion of their population. Between 1944 and 1952, the Chechens lost roughly 54 percent of their people. It was routine for soldiers to eliminate anyone “unfit” for travel. Those who were ill or protested the expulsion were systematically executed on the spot.
  5. The Chechens were accused of colluding with the Nazis. This false narrative was fueled by the Soviet government and used as propaganda to demonize the Chechen population. Despite this, records from the time prove that many Chechens served in the Red Army and were decorated war heroes.
  6. February 23 is respected as a day of tragedy. The Chechen and Ingush people have not forgotten their treatment at the hands of Soviet soldiers. February 23 is remembered by many in these cultures as a solemn day to remember the brutal maltreatment.
  7. The operation was classified as a genocide in 2004. It was not until half a century passed that the European Parliament finally declared the treatment of the Chechen and Ingush as a genocide.
  8. Aardakh is a Chechen word which roughly translates to “the exodus” or “lead out.” During the time of the operation, the Chechens referred to it as the “aardakh.”
  9. The Aardakh genocide was a defining moment for the Chechens. Among other socio-political factors following the exile, the Aardakh was a significant force that moved the people to declare their independence in 1991.
  10. Chechens were forbidden from discussing the deportation. After the exile ended, the Soviet regime placed a ban on discussing the events of the deportation. This did not stop the Chechens from sharing stories and quietly passing along their histories to their children in the years that followed. This oral history laid the groundwork for the surge of Chechen nationalism that followed in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Aardakh genocide permanently marred the legacy of the Chechen people. It is considered by some historians to have been the greatest ethnic trauma of the Soviet Union’s reign. Some Chechens continue to fear deportation to this day, especially as tensions with Russia continue to increase.

– Micaela Fischer

Photo: Google

,

Education in Latvia

Read more
, ,

Pumpkins as a Solution to Poverty in Bangladesh and Uganda

Pumpkins

Every year, the citizens of Bangladesh have to contend with monsoon season, a cool, rainy period that usually lasts from June until October. Most parts of the country get at least 2000 millimeters of rain per year, and 80 percent of that falls during monsoon season. Northeastern Bangladesh is typically hit hardest, sometimes receiving over 4000 millimeters per year.

The heavy rains bring another problem: flooding. When rivers flood, they destroy both crops and nutrient-rich topsoil. As flood waters recede, they often leave behind large quantities of sand and silt, which reduces the availability of arable land.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) blames this problem in part for Bangladesh’s malnutrition epidemic. According to USAID, 25 percent of Bangladeshis remain food insecure, and women and children are affected most. Of children under five, 16 percent are acutely malnourished and 41 percent have stunted growth.

But one organization believes it has found a solution. Practical Action, an international NGO that uses technology to alleviate poverty in developing countries, has spent several years experimenting with various “sandbar cropping” techniques in Bangladesh. Their solution? Pumpkins.

Practical Action’s tried-and-true technique for farming pumpkins in the sand is to dig a pit in the sand and fill it with compost and a dozen pumpkin seeds. The pumpkins can grow and be harvested before monsoon season rolls around again.

Pumpkins provide a variety of health and logistical benefits. They can store for a year, providing a stable, reliable source of food. They are also a good source of Vitamin A, a nutrient often lacking in Bangladeshi diets. And in a nation where rivers often change course during monsoons and farmers thus lose their land, sandbar cropping provides more security.

This is why Practical Action started Pumpkins Against Poverty, a project to train 50,000 Bangladeshis with no land of their own to grow up to 600 pumpkins a year. Participants can use the extra income generated by selling the crop to buy livestock or send their children to school. The project will last until March 2018 and has the potential to be replicated nationwide.

Bangladesh is far from the only country to realize the value in farming pumpkins as a solution to poverty. Uganda has also embraced the crop as a profitable, nutritious foodstuff. Pumpkin varieties in Uganda are numerous and include Sweet Cream, Bala, Dulu, Onziga, Sunfish, Anderina and Sugar Pie, among others.

Fatuma Namatosi, founder of Ugandan agribusiness firm Byeffe Foods Company Ltd., decided to center her business on pumpkins, citing them as her favorite crop. The company makes pumpkin porridge, which is popular among children and gives them a vital nutrition boost. Byeffe also helps teach young Ugandans agricultural entrepreneurial skills and creates jobs in the field that employ thousands of young people.

Namatosi founded Byeffe in 2015. Since then, she says, “I’ve provided more accessible and nutritious food options to communities across Uganda, created a variety of agricultural jobs that generate income for families, and empowered more people like me, especially young women, to create their own path in the agriculture industry.” All that progress comes down to pumpkins.

– Chuck Hasenauer

Photo: Flickr

Using Social Inclusion to Combat Violent Extremism

Social InclusionNearly 15,000 foreign jihadists have moved to join the IS effort, according to a recent United Nations estimate. The actions taken by extremist groups have had devastating effects all over the world. Initiatives, global collaborative efforts and legislative conquests have been directed at minimizing tragedies by stopping them at their source. Experts argue that social inclusion can help thwart violent extremism.

The World Leadership Alliance Club de Madrid, in partnership with several democratic institutions, including the U.S Department of State, meets regularly to discuss global issues and methods of conciliation.

In October 2015, the Madrid Agenda arose from the conversations. The document describes how basal involvement in combination with an engaged society, including local religious and community leaders, youths, families and women is one of the best ways to prevent extremism. The agenda created a 10-point framework based on hundreds of voices that spoke out against recurring themes that give rise to violent extremism in various countries.

The framework focuses heavily on social inclusion. Despite direct causal links between poverty and extremism, combating economic hardship is a moral imperative: “Where systematic exclusion creates injustice, humiliation and unfair treatment, it can produce a toxic mix that allows violent extremism to flourish,” the address explains.

The 10 Madrid Goals Summarized
The Madrid Agenda counseled for accountable and transparent governments that advocate for the rights of all citizens. There is an emphasis on equal access to opportunity and meaningful employment for qualified citizens.

Local leaders are motivated to act as peaceful role models for the disenfranchised and be conduits of communication and adjudicators on a regional level.

The goals similarly promote peaceful and meaningful modes of free expression without repercussion, giving agency to silenced and oppressed voices.

Involving Social Media
Gilles de Kerchove has been the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator for the past 10 years. In a 2017 interview, the coordinator proposed an initiative that would block IS propaganda that aims to reach and recruit thousands of potential jihadists.

In the wake of the Brussels terrorist attacks, Kerchove mentioned issues of social discrimination and questioning identity. He admits that these injustices often lead to radicalization. Socially polarized individuals often seek out sympathetic companionship and a sense of belonging. What quicker way to find like-minded people than through the Internet?

Kerchove mentioned the collaborative efforts major social media companies have already taken to more efficiently remove and prevent the sharing of illegal content. They have also engaged social responsibility with the empowerment of moderate voices via the Civil Society Empowerment Program.

Digital evidence also plays a major role in securing convictions against extremist recruitment. With more compliance and support of social media apps and means, digital evidence will facilitate the incrimination of recruiters more effectively.

A Hopeful Future
A nation is much like the human body; they are both capable of great things. The body automatically fights pathogens, heals wounds and endures extreme pressures; a well-run nation can fight poverty, ameliorate social inclusion and endure tragedy.

When we get sick, we visit the doctor. We may be prescribed medication or a regimen designed to heal the body and eliminate the ailment. Our first question is not “what can we amputate or lobotomize?” Instead, we ask “where is it coming from, how can we fix it?” In a country, when a source of pain and illness is identified, the best way to fix the problem is by the same means. The strategies outlined by the aformentioned groups aim to do just that.

– Sloan Bousselaire

Photo: Flickr

,

Combating Global Poverty by Partnering With Local Artists

Local ArtistsIn the fight to end global poverty, people often think of just donating money and food to people in the developing world. While this is helpful, many other companies see the benefit in creating opportunities for people in impoverished communities throughout the world to earn a sustainable income that allows them to provide for their families and have something to look forward to. These are five companies that give local artists work and help impoverished communities with every purchase.

Pura Vida bracelets
Pura Vida is a bracelet company created by Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman in 2010 during a college graduation trip to Costa Rica. The two bought bracelets from bracelet makers Juan and Joaquin, who were living in poverty and selling bracelets to survive. Paul and Griffin decided to take 400 of Juan and Joaquin’s bracelets back home and they sold quickly, so they decided to partner with Juan and Joaquin to create Pura Vida. The company has since grown, providing full-time jobs for over 150 artisans around the world. The company has partnered with over 190 different charities and has raised $1,500,000.

Serengetee
Serengetee is a company that specializes in t-shirts with bold pockets made from fabrics from artisans in over 25 countries, which supports “artisans, their families and ancient fabric-making traditions.” The company also donates 10 percent of their profits to a range of grassroots causes.

Visible clothing
Visible is a clothing company that makes every step of the clothes-making process transparent, allowing customers to know exactly who made their clothes and know that they are treated fairly. The workers they hire are all from the developing world, because the company feels that since 98 percent of clothes in the United States are outsourced to these countries anyway, having their company work with these people but actually treat them fairly is a good way to help end poverty.

Krochet Kids
Krochet Kids was founded by three men who as teenagers liked to crochet their own hats for ski trips, and eventually began selling them at school. During college, one of the men traveled to Uganda and realized that teaching people in impoverished countries to crochet would allow them to sustain themselves and their families. They then traveled to Uganda to educate women on how to crochet. Since becoming a nonprofit in January 2008, Krochet Kids has employed over 150 people in Uganda and Peru, allowing them to work, get an education and receive mentorship.

Ten Thousand Villages
Ten Thousand Villages sells a variety of products, including pottery, baskets, ornaments, jewelry and clothing, created by people in communities throughout the developing world. Ten Thousand Villages is dedicated to providing good working conditions, long-term partnerships, fair pay, sustainability, and empowerment to their workers. Since being founded in 1946, Ten Thousand Villages’ employees have earned $140 million in sustainable income when they would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed.

By shopping with one of these companies, you can know that your money is going toward the fight to end global poverty while supporting local artists.

– Téa Franco

Photo: Flickr

Fresh Life Toilets: Toilets for Kenya

Toilets for Kenya2.5 billion people lack access to a hygienic toilet. The toilets that they do have often dump human waste into water sources or leave it exposed to the air. Leaving human waste in water or out in the open can cause diarrheal diseases that can kill many people, mainly affecting children under the age of five. Sanergy, the creator of Fresh Life Toilets, hopes to provide toilets for Kenya and alleviate the unhygienic conditions in slums.

These low-cost and high-quality sanitation toilets prevent people in Kenyan slums from using pit latrines or what is known as “flying toilets”, which are non-decomposing plastic bags. What Sanergy offers are not only toilets for Kenya and its communities, but a proper way to dispose of the waste as well.

Sanergy and those in the areas that work with them collect the waste on a daily basis. After they have replaced the waste cartridges, they take the waste to a treatment plant to convert it to fertilizer or a protein for animal feed. These treated products are then sold at a lower price than the competing alternatives offered in Kenya. Essentially, Sanergy is turning human waste into money.

Most of the operations involved with the Fresh Life Toilets are run by local business people. Sanergy is not only creating a more sanitary environment by providing toilets for Kenya, they are also providing jobs. Over 90 percent of Sanergy’s employees are Kenyan and 60 percent of them live in the communities in which they serve.

Currently, 1134 Fresh Life Toilets are active. In 2017, 2467 metric tons of human waste were safely transferred and made into fertilizer. Because of these toilets, over 900 jobs have been provided to Kenyan people.

Fresh Life Toilets not only provide toilets in Kenya, but also a reliable income for the families that own them, created by a small fee that is comparable to the cost of non-hygienic alternatives. By doing this, individuals in the community get both a source of profit and an increase in sanitation, benefiting both the Kenyan people and their economy.

An example of the change a Fresh Life Toilet can make is exemplified by Fresh Life Toilet owner Agnes Kwamboka, who used to sell an illegal alcoholic beverage called “chang’aa” in order to provide for her family. Being an owner of a Fresh Life Toilet has changed that. Now, she is able to make a profit, help the local economy and contribute to a cleaner environment in a safe and legal way.

The Fresh Life Toilets provide Kenyans with a hygienic way to use the bathroom. With the Fresh Life Toilets, they no longer have to use the undignified flying toilets and their communities are much cleaner. Sanergy is able to provide the communities with disease prevention and sources of income with one solution, giving them the opportunity to grow.

– Daniel Borjas

Photo: Flickr

,

10 Facts About Nazi Germany’s Generalplan Ost

Generalplan Ost

The unforgettable tragedy of the Holocaust committed by Nazi Germany during World War II resulted in the deaths of more than 12 million people in Europe, but Hitler and his party had greater ambitions for an even larger genocide called Generalplan Ost.

10 Generalplan Ost Facts

  1. Generalplan Ost means “masterplan of the east” and was the Nazi plan for the resettlement of Eastern Europe with German citizens after their victory in World War II, which they presumed was imminent in 1941 when they developed the plan.
  2. The territories they were prepared to take over and occupy were Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus and parts of Russia and Ukraine. The Nazis believed people from these territories were racially inferior and required extermination in order to make room for the Aryan Germans.
  3. To exterminate the unwanted people in Eastern Europe, Generalplan Ost called for mass starvation or moving those they wanted to get rid of farther east. Nazi policy in relation to the Generalplan Ost stated: “many tens of millions of people in this territory will become superfluous and will have to die or migrate to Siberia.”
  4. Heinrich Himmler was in charge of coordinating Generalplan Ost, as he had been appointed Reich Commissar for the Strengthening of German Ethnic Stock, which allowed him to decide the fates of people in Eastern Europe. Himmler had Oberfuhrer SS Professor Meyer-Hetling from the Berlin University prepare the plan.
  5. The plan called for the extermination or deportation of 31 million people in Eastern Europe, where about 45 million people were residing at the time. Professor Meyer-Hetling’s plan called for the immediate removal of 80-85 percent of Poland’s population and 50 percent of the Czech Republic’s population, as well as the later deportation of 85 percent of Lithuania’s population, 75 percent of Belarus’ population, 65 percent of western Ukraine’s population and 50 percent of Latvia and Estonia’s populations.
  6. How people were to be “removed” according to Generalplan Ost was based on a racial hierarchy crafted by the Nazis. Those of Slavic origin were “undesirable” and were to be moved into Siberia. The Jews were to be “totally removed,” meaning killed. The rest of the people in Eastern Europe were to be enslaved, “Germanized” or killed.
  7. Special German einzatsgruppen (“task forces”) led operations to kill Eastern Europeans from the end of 1941 to the end of 1942. They killed over 300,000 civilians in Belarus, Ukraine and the Baltic states alone.
  8. Hitler argued that he wanted to acquire Eastern Europe for the resettlement of Germans to the territory in order to give Germans “Lebensraum” (living space). The term was coined by the German geographer Friedrich Ratzel in 1901; he believed a country needed enough resources and territory to be self-sufficient and to protect itself from external enemies.
  9. Hitler was not the first to insinuate racist views towards the Jews, Slavs, and other people of eastern Europe. Multiple early 20th century scholars argued that the resources of the eastern European states were wasted on the “racially inferior” Slavs and Jews.
  10. Part of Hitler’s inspiration for Generalplan Ost and Lebensraum came from the United States’ westward expansion. Hitler believed Germany’s “manifest destiny” lay in the east.

Thankfully, Generalplan Ost never came fully to fruition. It is hard to imagine that there could have been an even greater genocide than what occurred in the Holocaust. Sadly, genocides continue to occur in the world today. Foreign states must act to stop genocides and prevent them from happening, for if foreign states had not intervened in World War II, Generalplan Ost and the Nazi regime could have succeeded.

– Mary Kate Luft

Photo: Flickr

Education in the Czech Republic: Focusing on Inclusion

One of the former Soviet bloc countries in Europe, the Czech Republic has a robust economy and a low poverty rate. But education in the country is still very much in a transitional phase. Czech students continue to face challenges in improving their performance as the country slowly moves to a more inclusive education provided to all.

The provision of education in the Czech Republic is controlled by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, which is a part of the Constitution. Education is compulsory for all children at the age of 6 to 15 years.

Compulsory education in the Czech Republic was first instituted in 1774. Though the official language of instruction is Czech, which belongs to the western Slavic family of languages, several international schools teach in English and other languages. Grading levels in instruction range from výborný, the best grade, through to nedostatečný, the lowest.

The system of education in the country is broken down into pre-primary, primary and lower secondary, higher secondary, post-secondary (non-tertiary) and tertiary education. Education in the Czech Republic follows the standards of UNESCO’s 1997 International Standard Classification of Education.

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports administers education in the country, determining national education policy and the long-term policy objectives of education at all levels. It also accredits all study programs and grants those accreditations based on a decision by the Accreditation Committee.

Public, private, state and denominational schools make up the educational institutions. Public education in the Czech Republic is offered free of charge to all children, including foreigners attending primary and secondary schools.

Education policy in the country has undergone significant reforms in the last two decades. The Education Act controls the quality and administration of schools by establishing a self-evaluation program in a two-level structure.

Framework Educational Programmes (FEPs) govern every aspect of education, including its objectives, length, conditions for implementation, and special needs of some students. These FEPs are published by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. Furthermore, each school delineates its potential under the School Educational Programme.

The Czech Republic has one of the lowest participation rates of higher education in the European Union. Still, enrollment in higher education has doubled since the 1990s. It is worth noting that higher education is free for all, and institutions are able to approve their own programs accredited by the independent Accreditation Commission. Bachelor, master and doctoral degrees are awarded to qualified students.

The Czech Republic has increased investments in education but still lags in financing near the average levels of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Public funding is the major source of expenditure for these investments, and even an increase in private funding is not enough to replace public funding. Budget cuts have strained the government’s resources and affected the ability to provide quality education for all, mostly affecting non-teaching staff.

OECD has also noted that though the Czech Republic has made significant efforts to provide quality and equitable education to students, there is much room for improvement. Low performance, socioeconomic background of students, disadvantaged schools, student dropout rates and the benefits of education have all been assessed and analyzed by the OECD.

The Czech Republic has made important efforts to improve its education system and brought many necessary reforms in establishing a relatively autonomous national education policy. Inclusivity and equity need to be an important part of the process. By following the recommendations of OECD and continuing to address the educational needs of its students, this small nation can make a big difference in students’ lives.

– Mohammed Khalid

Photo: Flickr