The book has drawn an interdisciplinary pool of authors, some of whom are natives of South Asian countries and others who have been involved extensively in the region through their affiliations with various international organizations. The book represents children's issues in six South Asian countries: India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh. The authors in the book critically examine issues facing children in South Asia, reveal inadequacies of governmental policies and programs for children, and offer vision for a better childhood for South Asia's children. The United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNCRC, serves as a framework for the book.

This unique two-part volume focuses on extensive ethnographic examination of the lived experience of children in the political, culture and economic contexts of the countries in South Asia. Part I present ethnographic studies of childhood experience.

Child labour is a serious and contentious issue throughout the developing world and it continues to be a problem whose form and very meaning shifts with social, geographical, economic and cultural context. While the debate about child labour practice in developing countries appears to be motivated by growing competition in labour intensive products brought about by globalization, studies on this issue are both sparse and lopsided. This important book aims to shed light on this debate by documenting the experience of South Asian developing countries which have experienced rapid income and export growth. Based on evidence from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, this volume aims to improve our understanding about the link between trade, growth and child labour practices, as well as management of child labour in developing countries.

With the exception of Sri Lanka, South Asian countries have not achieved quality basic education – an essential measure for escaping poverty, inequality, and social exclusion. In The Political Economy of Education in South Asia, John Richards, Manzoor Ahmed, and Shahidul Islam emphasize the importance of a dynamic system for education policy. The Political Economy of Education in South Asia documents the weak core competency (reading and math) outcomes in government primary schools in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, and the consequent rapid growth of non-government schools over the last two decades. It compares the training, hiring, and management of teachers in South Asian schools to successful national systems ranging from Singapore to Finland. Discussing reform options, it makes the case public good and public priorities are better served when both public and non-government providers come under a strong public policy and accountability framework. The Political Economy of Education in South Asia draws on the authors' broad engagement in education research and practice in South Asia, as well as analysis by prominent professors of education and NGO leaders, to place basic education in a broad context and make the case that universal literacy and numeracy are necessary foundations for economic growth.

"The Atlas of South Asian Children and Women will help policy makers, development workers and researchers to understand the extent of South Asia's complex problems of human survival and development. The Atlas is illustrated with full-colour maps and charts that provide the most recent data from the seven countries of South Asia at national and sub-national levels. The accompanying text assesses, analyzes--and suggests remedial action--for these key components: The poor rates of survival, growth and development of South Asia's children and women; The inedequate access to food, health and care for the majority of women and children; and - South Asia's potentially adequate, yet often underused, human, economic and organizational resources. Previously, no single reference source has compiled this wide range of data on South Asian children and women. This comprehensive publication also helps to identify statistical gaps and inconsistencies that can be remedied by further research efforts. The Atlas of South Asian Children and Women was prepared by the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia"--Page 4 of cover.

The literacy is the most potent factor so far as the social characteristic having deep bearing on the development of overall personalities of an individual is concerned. The competence with knowledge not only makes us feel as responsible citizens, it also

This series collects stories written in English from around the world. The writers in this volume of stories from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are Romesh Gunesekera, M. Athar Tahir, Chitra Divakaruni, Anu Kumar, Anne Ranasinghe, Ruskin Bond, Anita Desai, Vijita Fernando, and Amara Bavani Dev.

This text discusses the concept of child rights as expressed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, & the problems & prospects of realising these radical international standards in the context of current realities in the South Asian region.

This handbook is an important reference work in understanding education systems in the South Asia region, their development trajectory, challenges and potential. The handbook includes the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries for discussion---Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka---while also considering countries such as Myanmar and the Maldives that have considerable shared history in the region. Such a comparative perspective is largely absent within the literature given the present paucity of intra-regional interaction. South Asian education systems are viewed primarily through a development lens in terms of inequalities, challenges and responses. However, the development of modern institutions of education and the challenges that it faces requires cultural and historical understanding of indigenous traditions as well as indigenous modern thinkers and education movements. Therefore, this encompassing referenc e work covers indigenous education traditions, formal education systems, including school and preschool education, higher and professional education, education financing systems and structures, teacher education systems, addressing huge linguistic and other diversities, and marginalization within the formal education system, and pedagogy and curricula. All the countries in this region have their own unique geographical, cultural, economic and political character and histories of interest and significance, and have responded to common issues such as overcoming the colonial legacy, language diversity, or girls’ education, or minority rights in education, in uniquely different ways. The sections therefore include country-specific perspectives as far as possible to highlight these issues. Internationally renowned specialists of South Asian education systems have contributed to this important reference work, making it an invaluable resource for researchers and students of education interested in South Asia.

Fourteen-year-old Hasina is forced to flee everything she knows in this gripping account of the crisis in Myanmar. For Hasina and her younger brother Araf, the constant threat of Sit Tat, the Myanmar Army, is a way of life in Rakhine province—just uttering the name is enough to send chills down their spines. As Rohingyas, they know that when they hear the wop wop wop of their helicopters there is one thing to do—run, and don’t stop. So when soldiers invade their village one night, and Hasina awakes to her aunt's fearful voice, followed by smoke, and then a scream, run is what they do. Hasina races deep into the Rakhine forest to hide with her cousin Ghadiya and Araf. When they emerge some days later, it is to a smouldering village. Their house is standing but where is the rest of her family? With so many Rohingyas driven out, Hasina must figure out who she can trust for help and summon the courage to fight for her family amid the escalating conflict that threatens her world and her identity. Fast-paced and accessibly written, Crossing the Farak River tackles an important topic frequently in the news but little explored in fiction. It is a poignant and thought-provoking introduction for young readers to the military crackdown and ongoing persecution of Rohingya people, from the perspective of a brave and resilient protagonist.