A/71/358 market acquired through technical and vocational education and training is indeed important in the process of lifelong learning. 79. The Special Rapporteur also notes that recognition of prior learning is an important element in national qualifications frameworks. This has been recognized as a right in some countries. In France for example, the Social Modernization Act of 2002 makes access to validation of knowledge gained through experience a right for every person having at least three years of experience. In Norway, adults are entitled, by law, 35 to primary and lower secondary education and to validation of their prior learning. 36 C. A holistic approach to quality education in qualifications frameworks 80. The European Council recommendation of 20 December 2012 on the validation of non-formal and informal learning underlines that “the validation of learning outcomes, namely knowledge, skills and competences acquired through non-formal and informal learning can play an important role in enhancing employability and mobility, as well as increasing motivation for lifelong learning, particularly in the case of the socioeconomically disadvantaged or the low qualified”. 37 Validation has been presented as “a cornerstone in lifelong learning policies because of its potential to broaden access to, and increase participation in, lifelong learning”. 38 81. Recalling his earlier report to the Human Rights Council on the assessment of the educational attainment of students and the implementatio n of the right to education (A/HRC/26/27), the Special Rapporteur emphasizes that, in laying down the qualifications frameworks, a holistic approach to quality education is crucial so that this characterizes the assessment of knowledge, values, competencies and skills acquired with respect to each of the conceptual key pillars underlying lifelong learning: education, training and learning. Fostering the humanistic mission of education, rather than limiting it to its instrumental role and the mere pursuit of material values, should be central to any qualifications frameworks and assessment mechanisms. It is important to integrate that mission into all processes of lifelong learning and human values and foster those, along with the rights and responsibilities not only of individuals but also of all providers of education, training and learning. In this respect, the Special Rapporteur welcomes “growing international recognition of education for sustainable developmen t as an integral __________________ 35 36 37 38 16-14910 Act No. 61 of 17 July 1998 relating to Primary and Secondary Education and Training (Education Act), chap. 4A. Available from www.unesco.org/education/edurights/media/ docs/42874aff99686718ce8c5a880e7851f51cf53633.pdf. See www.vox.no/English/Validation-of-prior-learning/. Preambular para. 1. See also European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, “2010 update of the European inventory on validation of non -formal and informal learning: final report”, available from http://libserver.cedefop.europa.eu/vetelib/2011/77643.pdf. European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, Policy Handbook: Access to and Participation in Continuous Vocational Education and Tr aining (CVET) in Europe, Working Paper, No. 25 (Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union, 2014), p. 43. 19/26