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Lifelong learning and the right to education 2016, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur recalls that the normative bases of lifelong learning exist in international human rights treaties. The Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960) lays down the obligation of States with regard to continuing education. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted in 1966, includes similar provisions. According to article 13 (2) (d) of the Covenant, individuals "who have not received or completed the whole period of their primary education" have a right to fundamental education, or basic education as defined in the World Declaration on Education for All (1990). The enjoyment of the right to fundamental education is not limited by age or gender; it extends to children, young people and adults, including older persons. Fundamental education, therefore, is an integral component of adult education and lifelong learning. Because fundamental education is a right of all age groups, curricula and delivery systems suitable for students of all ages must be devised.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Issues and challenges to the right to education in the digital age 2016, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Nicholas Carr provides profound insights into the deleterious impact of digital devices on our mind and spirit, and sheds light on how this scuttles humanist values in education: "How sad it would be, particularly when it comes to the nurturing of our children's minds, if we were to accept without question the idea that 'human elements' are outmoded and dispensable." Meditative thinking, the very essence of our humanity, might become a victim of this.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Issues and challenges to the right to education in the digital age 2016, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Rights of the Child has called upon States to establish copyright exceptions that benefit children with visual or other impairments, reinforcing the obligation set out in article 30 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for States to ensure that laws protecting intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with disabilities to cultural materials.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Issues and challenges to the right to education in the digital age 2016, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- In the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular article 28, States parties recognized the need to achieve the right to education progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity. Specifically, they committed to promoting and encouraging international cooperation in matters relating to education, in particular with a view to facilitating access to scientific and technical knowledge and modern teaching methods. In article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, States parties recognized the right of persons with disabilities to education and committed to ensuring an inclusive education system at all levels. They also committed to taking appropriate measures to train professionals in disability awareness and the use of augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, educational techniques and materials to support persons with disabilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Issues and challenges to the right to education in the digital age 2016, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Misuse of technology can lead to cyberbullying, criminal activity and even to terrorism. Educators must prepare their students to face new risks. The need to protect children from the potentially harmful effects of online content has been underlined by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Most serious is the risk of sexual abuse or exploitation, but less serious risks include advertisements, spam, sponsorship, disclosure of personal information, and content that is aggressive, violent, hateful, biased, racist, pornographic, unwelcome and misleading. The State must take measures to protect children from online harassment, including bullying or "grooming" for sexual purposes. Finally, care must be taken to ensure children do not become involved in illegal activities, financial scams or terrorism.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Issues and challenges to the right to education in the digital age 2016, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- There are critical questions relating to human values and the education system. For example, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed concern about the risks that access to the Internet, whether at school or at home, pose for children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Issues and challenges to the right to education in the digital age 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Children with disabilities face several barriers in accessing information and communications technologies, as they may need adaptive technologies to use computers, tablets and mobile telephones. Moreover, online digital content may need to be converted into another format. Children in developing countries who do not attend schools rarely have access to computers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Lifelong learning and the right to education 2016, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- In this context, the Special Rapporteur underlines the need for further elucidation of the concept of lifelong learning, taking into consideration its three key pillars: education, training and learning. A holistic approach to quality education, giving paramount importance to the humanistic mission of education rather than its instrumental role, and the mere pursuit of material values, should be central to reflection. It is important to recall that the "full development of the human person" is a key objective of the right to education, assigned to it by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and by the international conventions in the field of human rights. Pursuit of that objective is a continuously unfolding process covering the entire life and depending on educational and learning opportunities. The Special Rapporteur considers that it is the primary function of education to kindle in children a love for learning and a longing for lifelong learning for the sake of personal fulfilment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Protecting education against commercialization 2015, para. 106
- Paragraph text
- The questioning of the privatization of education in Ghana by both the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (see CEDAW/C/GHA/Q/6-7) and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (see CRC/C/GHA/Q/3-5) is a welcome development. In October 2014, the Committee on the Rights of the Child asked Ghana to provide detailed information on the reasons behind the increase in private education, which limits access to quality education for children who cannot afford private school tuitions (ibid.). The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has asked the Government of Uganda to provide information on the impact of the growth of private education on the right to education of girls and children living in poverty (see E/C.12/UGA/Q/1).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Protecting education against commercialization 2015, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- The State is primarily responsible for respecting, fulfilling and protecting the right to education. The liberty of parents and guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions and the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions provided for in article 13 (3) and (4) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is not unfettered. Such freedom in education is subject to compliance with minimum standards in education, to which all private educational institutions are required to conform. The failure to ensure that private educational institutions conform to the minimum educational standards required in articles 13 (3) and (4) constitutes a violation of the right to education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Protecting education against commercialization 2015, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- According to a report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), "only the State … can pull together all the components into a coherent but flexible education system". Any State in which a significant number of individuals are deprived of the most basic form of education is, prima facie, failing to discharge its obligations under the Covenant. If the Covenant were to be read in such a way as not to establish such a minimum core obligation, it would be largely deprived of its raison d'être.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Protecting education against commercialization 2015, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Like Ghana, Kenya and Uganda too are allowing education to be commercialized and are encouraging for-profit schools, such as the Bridge International Academies. This violates these States' international legal obligations to provide free basic education for all. It also contravenes the Children Act 2001 of Kenya (reinforced by the Basic Education Act 2013), by which every child is entitled to free basic education and the Government is responsible for providing such education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Assessment of the educational attainment of students 2014, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- In this respect, it is important to recall that the UNESCO constitution assigns to education the mission of promoting the "ideals of humanity" and fostering the "intellectual and moral solidarity" of humankind. Both UNESCO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have the institutional mission of preparing children for the responsibility of the future and these ideals should constitute the bedrock of national curricula. Moreover, education should be designed and provided in such a way that it "promotes and reinforces the range of specific ethical values" enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The need for "new ethics for our common humanity" has been voiced in propositions for planning for the post-2015 development agenda. This should find a prominent place in reflections on modernizing the curriculum for assessing the educational attainments of students accordingly, as an integral part of the humanistic mission of education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Assessment of the educational attainment of students 2014, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- The aptitude of students should be given serious consideration in assessing their attainments. The evaluation of the abilities and aptitudes of children in consultation with parents and teachers can be useful in enabling them to realize their potential, leading to better attainments. In Lithuania, for example, evaluation in primary and basic education is driven by the concept of the assessment of pupils' achievement and progress, encouraging positive personal features and creativity and improving personal achievements. The main idea is assessment for learning, not assessment of learning.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Assessment of the educational attainment of students 2014, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- In this context, it is important to note that, whereas parents and guardians are at liberty to choose private schools for their children, pursuant to article 13 (3) and (4) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, education in such schools must conform to the educational objectives set out in article 13 (1) of the Covenant and "such minimum educational standards as may be laid down or approved by the State". Those minimum standards may relate to issues such as admission, curricula and the recognition of certificates. In their turn, those standards must be consistent with the educational objectives set out in article 13 (1).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Privatization and the right to education 2014, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education prohibits discrimination in education that is based upon, inter alia, "national or social origin", "economic condition" or "birth" and has the purpose of nullifying or impairing equality of treatment in education. It provides that "Discrimination includes any distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference" (article 1). The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has interpreted articles 2 (2) and 3 (relating to non-discrimination) of the International Covenant in the light of the UNESCO Convention. The Special Rapporteur would like to specially mention that "social origin" and "property" are grounds on which discrimination is prohibited under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. "Property" as a key element in capacity to pay is an impediment to universal access to education by every child.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Assessment of the educational attainment of students 2014, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- It is the teacher who conveys the national curricula to students and assesses their performance. Teachers should be able to develop in children a love of learning. They should be able to kindle in children and adults the capacity for critical thinking, as well as nurturing in them ethical and moral values. Four pillars of education - learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be - propounded by the Delors Report - are central to the teaching-learning process.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Privatization and the right to education 2014, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- The increasing privatization of fee-paying, for-profit schools in Morocco, for example, entails discrimination and inequalities in education for disadvantaged children by creating a system that favours the "haves" over the "have-nots", with the risk of developing a two-speed education system. Besides, research shows that the scheme of "vouchers purported to provide economically disadvantaged parents the means to select a private school in fact promotes group differentiation".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Assessment of the educational attainment of students 2014, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- States have the primary responsibility for ensuring that their national education systems meet the objectives assigned to education in international human rights treaties. Beginning with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, schools must provide education which is respectful of human rights values, democratic citizenship and cultural diversity. According to the principles contained in article 29 (1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the education of the child shall be directed to "the development of respect for the child's parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own." The education to which every child has a right is one which is "designed to provide the child with life skills, to strengthen the child's capacity to enjoy the full range of human rights and to promote a culture which is infused by appropriate human rights values." Yet, as the Committee on the Rights of the Child has stated, national and international programmes and policies on education that really count the elements embodied in article 29 (1) seem all too often to be either largely missing or present only as a cosmetic afterthought.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Privatization and the right to education 2014, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Privatizing education aggravates growing disparities in access to education, further marginalizing the poor. Available experience shows that the voucher system to help children from poor households to gain access to fee-charging private schools has failed in quality education and the Special Rapporteur would like to support the proposition in the OXFAM briefing paper entitled "Working for the Many: Public Services Fight Inequality" that it be discontinued. Similarly, user fees in education are counterproductive, since they take money out of the pockets of ordinary working families, bankrupting them when they need help the most and preventing them from sending their children to school.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Education
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Assessment of the educational attainment of students 2014, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Assessing the peacebuilding role of education is also important, especially in conflict situations and in the phase of post-conflict reconciliation. "Education in the twenty-first century needs above all to teach children what is arguably the single most vital skill for a flourishing multi-cultural society - the skill of living peacefully with other people … No country can hope to establish lasting foundations for peace unless it finds ways of building mutual trust between its citizens - and the place to start is in the classroom." An important consideration in assessing the educational attainments of students is whether their behaviour patterns reflect their understanding of, and commitment to, learning to live together.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Report on the Post-2015 Education Agenda 2013, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- Almost no agency of the United Nations system is without some interest in education. The right to education is an integral part of the institutional mission of UNESCO, and is a high priority. Both UNESCO and UNICEF have been tasked with the mission to prepare children for the responsibilities of the future. Education is also important in the work of UNDP as an indispensable tool for poverty reduction strategies. Technical and vocational education and training and skills development have importance in the work of several agencies, such as the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the World Bank, as well.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Report on the Post-2015 Education Agenda 2013, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- The right to education for women and girls should be driven by a rights-based approach. That is essential for putting an end to multiple forms of discrimination from which women and girls suffer. A rights-based approach implies that educating women and girls should, a priori, be viewed as a human rights imperative, rather than being undertaken solely because of potential benefits to their children or to society. "Greater equity, including between men and women and among other groups, is not only essential in itself, but also important for promoting human development. One of the most powerful instruments for this purpose is education".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Justiciability of the right to education 2013, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- A large number of cases address the rights of minorities and their language rights. The European Court of Human Rights, for instance, has held that the right to education did not guarantee the right to education in a particular language, or for the State to subsidize education of a particular type. However, article 14 read in conjunction with article 2 of Protocol No. 1 was violated because the legislation prevented children from having access to French-language schools in certain areas solely on the basis of their parents’ residence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Justiciability of the right to education 2013, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Jurisprudence based on national legislation can also lead to affirmative action to support the right to education. In South Africa, based on the allegation by the Eastern Cape District School Association that failure by the provincial Government to pay necessary hostel, transport, and boarding subsidies, impaired rural children of the district from attending school, the South African Human Rights Commission found this to be a violation of the rights of affected learners to basic education, and recommended that payments of these subsidies be made.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Justiciability of the right to education 2013, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Regional human rights treaties also include provisions on the right to education. In Europe, the First Protocol (1952) to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms states that “no person shall be denied the right to education”. The Revised European Social Charter (1996) has provisions for free primary and secondary education. The Charter of the Organization of American States (1948) provides numerous rights related to education. The Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the area of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (San Salvador Protocol, 1999) defines the right to education in detail in articles 13 and 16. Finally, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (1981) provides that every individual shall have the right to education, and the African Charter on Rights and Welfare of the Child provides in article 11 that every child should have the right to education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Justiciability of the right to education 2013, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Discriminatory practices against Roma with mental disabilities were found to violate the right to education under the European Convention on Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights held that Roma children must be integrated into mainstream classes; their right to education was violated by the placement of a Croatian national of Roma origin in Roma-only classes rather than ethnically “mixed classes”., In another case referring to schools for Roma children only, the Equal Treatment Authority of Hungary concluded that authorities responsible for the local system that segregated students violated the principle of equal treatment. Moreover, adjudication shows how the right to basic education of children living in rural areas can be defended.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Justiciability of the right to education 2013, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Thus, justiciability of right to education also has its bases in national legal systems which provide “grounds” for the “right of action”, mentioned above. An example is the Constitution of South Africa, which provides in section 38 (Enforcement of rights) that “Anyone listed in this section has the right to approach a competent court, alleging that a right in the Bill of Rights has been infringed or threatened, and the court may grant appropriate relief, including a declaration of rights.” Fundamental rights in India constitute “basic and essential feature” of the Constitution, and any citizen can directly approach the Supreme Court of India in cases of breach or violation. The Brazilian Association of Judges, Prosecutors and Public Defenders for Children and Youth also has a strong commitment to human rights, in particular the right to quality education and its enforcement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Report on the Post-2015 Education Agenda 2013, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur believes that the right to education must be emphasized in the post-2015 development agenda for many reasons. Education is a fundamental building block for human development and is invaluable for individual and social transformation. Education enables children to prepare for democratic citizenship and responsibilities of the future. Education is central to poverty eradication strategies and the achievement of global commitments for sustainable development. Growth in the human development index employed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is associated with growth in public spending on education: education is the best investment a country can make. Education is essential for the empowerment of women, making them agents of change and of social transformation. Education is crucial for conflict prevention, peacebuilding and promoting solidarity. Education is an inalienable human right of every child, boys and girls alike. All development goals have educational dimensions and the right to education provides indispensable leverage for development.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Justiciability of the right to education 2013, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Rich jurisprudence exists regarding State obligations to respect the fundamental principle of equality of opportunity in education. In his 2011 report to the Human Rights Council on the promotion of equality of opportunity in education, the Special Rapporteur highlighted a number of leading cases. The fair and equal right of access to education has been widely adjudicated. The United States Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education, that separate educational facilities for white and black children are “inherently unequal”. Even where physical facilities and other objective factors are equal, a segregated school system denies equal educational opportunities to the minority group.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph