A/HRC/26/27
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
2 May 2014
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Twenty-sixth session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education,
Kishore Singh
Assessment of the educational attainment of students and the
implementation of the right to education*
Summary
The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 17/3.
It centres on the assessment of the educational attainments of students and the
implementation of the right to education. The Special Rapporteur on the right to education
underlines the importance of developing and applying national assessment systems which
are in compliance with international human right norms, so that education meets the
essential objectives assigned to it in human rights conventions. He considers that such a
human rights-based, holistic approach is essential for fostering the humanistic mission of
education rather than its mere instrumental role, using a narrow scope of assessments linked
to mathematical literacy and language skills only. The report also places emphasis on skills
development as an integral part of basic education and on the need for innovative
assessment modalities of technical and vocational education and training, particularly in
developing countries, in response to the rising aspirations of youth, while not losing sight of
the human rights perspective.
The report concludes with recommendations to strengthen human rights-based,
holistic approaches to national assessments of the educational attainments of students.
*
Late submission.
GE.14-14089
*1414089*