Kazakhstan's Education: No Child Left Behind?

When dealing with human rights, a lot of cynical or merely apathetic
people tend to hide behind the “survival of the fittest” theory, that
the strongest and most deserving will survive, while the rest of the
unfortunate shall merely perish, and for the better of society to that
end. This makes us have to again answer the question, “What are our
most basic human rights?” Are they merely food and shelter, are they
access to medical care, to education, to freedom from any persecution?
While a lot of these questions are open ended, and subject to
perception, I am a firm believer that every person, regardless of
their strength or what they can contribute, should be given a fair
chance at survival. What they do with that chance is up to them, and
we cannot affect whether or not they pander it away or use it for
something positive and beneficial. Also, who do these burdens and
responsibilities fall upon? Is the lack of a human’s rights to things
the rest of us enjoy a social problem, or is it something left to
their own to solve? A social problem must be acknowledged as an issue
with a solution, and it must affect a lot of people. The analysis of
human rights also presents a problem for sociology, in which cultural
relativism and the fact-value distinction has largely destroyed the
classical tradition of natural-law for rights discourse. This
fundamental theory in universal rights was prominent in the works of
Marx, Durkheim and Weber. With education being one of the most crucial
things a society can do to advance, it makes sense that is should also
be an inalienable right universally. The UN recently decided to step
in in Kazakhstan, where they told officials that more emphasis needed
to be placed on education so no one is left behind, “particularly
those belonging to vulnerable groups such as persons with
disabilities, refugees or migrants.” Officials were placing much
needed stress upon the fact that, with Kazakhstan’s recent growth
economically and politically, education needed to be the next and most
important improvement for the nation, as literacy numbers are still
low and children with disabilities still have no real access to
educational programs that will enable them to progress and succeed.
Children without disabilities have only recently been integrated into
the educational system, and the UN is calling for an end to the
segregation between the handicapped and the able bodied children.
“Whenever their physical conditions permit, the integration of these
children in regular schools is crucial not only to ensure their right
to education, but also to promote their full integration into society
as a whole” said Mr. Singh,  the official reporter on the right to
education in Kazakhstan.

http://www.washingtonbanglaradio.com/content/93334511-kazakhstan-should-invest-more-education-un

September 23, 2011