UNIVERSITY OF CASTILLA-LA MANCHA

Albacete’s Faculty of Education

Subject: Contemporary trends in education
Teacher: Antonio Cebrián Martínez
Academic year: 2017-2018

UNESCO: “RIGHT TO EDUCATION”

Student:
Antonio Morcillo Martínez
Optional Extra Project
Master degree in Primary Education
2nd course group B
 CONTENTS
1. ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………….. 2
2. THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION (ARTICLE 13) ………………….. 2
3. THE RIGHT TO SECONDARY EDUCATION ………………….. 3
4. TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ……………… 3
5. THE RIGHT TO HIGHER EDUCATION ………………………… 4
6. THE RIGHT TO FUNDAMENTAL EDUCATION ………………. 4
7. A SCHOOL SYSTEM; ADEQUATE FELLOWSHIP SYSTEM;
MATERIAL CONDITIONS OF TEACHING STAFF ………………. 4
8. THE RIGHT TO EDUCATIONAL FREEDOM …………………... 5
9. NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL TREATMENT ………… 5
10. ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND INSTITUTIONAL AUTONOMY 6
11. DISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS ……………………………………….. 6
12. LIMITATIONS ON ARTICLE 13 ………………………………… 6
13. GENERAL LEGAL OBLIGATIONS ……………………………... 6
14. SPECIFIC LEGAL OBLIGATIONS ……………………………… 7
15. VIOLATIONS ………………………………………………………. 7

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1. ABSTRACT
 Achieving the right to education for all is one of the biggest challenges of our times.
 One of the main objectives: universalize Primary Education in all countries by 2015.
 Millions of children still remain deprived of educational opportunities, many of them on
account of poverty.
 Poverty must not be a hindrance and the claim by the poor to such education must be
recognized and reinforced.
 Incorporate obligations of human rights to national legal systems as the main purpose.
 International access for Primary Education: free basic education.

2. THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION (ARTICLE 13)

 Education is both a human right and a essential means of realizing other human rights.
As an empowerment right, education is the primary vehicle by which economically and
socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and obtain
the means to participate fully in their communities.
 In this sense, Education is one of the best financial investments for states.
 The Committee is aware that for millions of people throughout the world, the enjoyment
of the right to education remains a distant goal.
 All educational institutions, whether public or private, formal or non-formal shall be
directed throughout goals of the first article.
 Interrelated and essential features in education:
 Avaibility to mostly of the population. Include buildings, programmes, sanitary
facilities, teachers with competitive salaries, use of TIC’s…
 Accessibility, accessible to everyone:
 Non discrimination.
 Physical accessibility.
 Economic accessibility.
 Acceptability: curricula and teaching methods have to be acceptable.
 Adaptability: education has to be flexible so it can adapt to the needs of changing
societies and communities and respond to the needs of students within their
diverse social and cultural settings.
 Primary Education is likely to take into account cultural values and community needs,
but it is not always like expected.
 Primary education is "compulsory" and "available free to all".

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3. THE RIGHT TO SECONDARY EDUCATION

 Secondary education includes the elements of availability, accessibility, acceptability

and adaptability.
 While the content of secondary education will vary among States parties and over time,
it includes completion of basic education and consolidation of the foundations for life-
long learning and human development. It prepares students for vocational and higher
educational opportunities.
 Article 13 recognize that secondary education demands flexible curricula and varied
delivery systems to respond to the needs and interests of students.
 Secondary education should be made generally available and accessible to all by every
appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education.
 Concept of "Progressive introduction of free education", the State must prioritize both
the provision of free primary education and the obligation to take concrete steps
towards achieving free secondary and higher education.

4. TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

 Technical and vocational education (TVE) form part of both the right to education and
the right to work.
 The introduction to technology (TIC’s) and to the world of work should not be confined
to specific TVE programmes, but should be understood as a component of general
education.
 The right to TVE includes the following aspects:
 It enables students to acquire knowledge and skills which contribute to their
personal development, self-reliance and employability.
 It takes account of the educational, cultural and social background of the
population concerned.
 Provides retraining for adults whose current knowledge and skills have become
obsolete owing changes.
 It consists of programmes which give students, with a view to the appropriate
transfer and adaptation of technology.
 It consists of programmes which promote the TVE of women, girls, , the children
of migrant workers, refugees, persons with disabilities, etc.

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5. THE RIGHT TO HIGHER EDUCATION

 Higher education also includes the elements of availability, accessibility, acceptability

and adaptability.
 While secondary education "shall be made generally available and accessible to all",
higher education "shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity".
 Higher education is not to be "generally available", but only available "on the basis of
capacity.

6. THE RIGHT TO FUNDAMENTAL EDUCATION

 Again, fundamental education includes the elements of availability, accessibility,

acceptability and adaptability.
 In general terms, fundamental education corresponds to basic education as set out in the
World Declaration on Education For All. Individuals "who have not received or
completed the whole period of their primary education" have a right to fundamental
education.
 The right to fundamental education extends to all those who have not yet satisfied their
"basic learning needs".
 It should be emphasized that enjoyment of the right to fundamental education is not
limited by age or gender; it extends to children, youth and adults, including older
people.

7. A SCHOOL SYSTEM; ADEQUATE FELLOWSHIP SYSTEM;

MATERIAL CONDITIONS OF TEACHING STAFF

 The requirement that the "development of a system of schools at all levels shall be
actively pursued" means that a State party is obliged to have an overall developmental
strategy for its school system.
 The requirement that "an adequate fellowship system shall be established" should be
read with the Covenant's non-discrimination and equality provisions.
 The general working conditions of teachers have deteriorated, and reached unacceptably
low levels.

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8. THE RIGHT TO EDUCATIONAL FREEDOM
 We can differentiate between two elements:
1. States parties undertake to respect the liberty of parents and guardians to
ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their
own convictions.
2. The liberty of parents and guardians to choose other than public schools fo
their children, provided the schools conform to such minimum educational
standards as may be laid down or approved by the State.
 Everyone, including non-nationals, has the liberty to establish and direct educational
institutions.

9. NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL TREATMENT

 The prohibition against discrimination it applies fully and immediately to all aspects of
education and encompasses all internationally prohibited grounds of discrimination.
 The adoption of temporary special measures intended to bring about de facto equality
for men and women and for disadvantaged groups isn´t a violation of the right to non-
discrimination.
 Separate educational systems or institutions for groups shall be deemed not to constitute
a breach of the Covenant. In this regard, the Committee affirms article 2 of the
UNESCO against discrimination in Education.
 The Committee confirms that the principle of non-discrimination extends to all persons
of school age residing in the territory of a State Party, including non-nationals, and
irrespective of their legal status.
 Sharp disparities in spending policies that result in different qualities of education for
persons resending in different geographic locations may constitute discrimination.
 The Committee addresses the issue of persons with disabilities in the context of the
right to education.
 States parties must closely monitor education so as to identify and take measures to
redress any discrimination.

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10. ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND INSTITUTIONAL AUTONOMY
 The Committee has formed the view that the right to education can only be enjoyed if
accompanied by the academic freedom of staff and students.
 Academic freedom includes the liberty of individuals to express freely opinions about
the institution or system in which they work, to fulfil their functions without
discrimination or fear of repression by the State.
 Autonomy is that degree of self-governance necessary for effective decision making by
institutions of higher education in relation to their academic work, standards,
management and related activities.

11. DISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS

 In the Committee´s view, corporal punishment is inconsistent with the fundamental of
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: the dignity.

12. LIMITATIONS ON ARTICLE 13

 The Covenant's limitations clause protects the rights of individuals rather than permit
the imposition of limitations by the State.

13. GENERAL LEGAL OBLIGATIONS

 States parties have to “guarantee” that the right "will be exercised without
discrimination of any kind". They also have "to take steps". These steps must be
deliberate, concrete and targeted
 States parties have "to move as expeditiously and effectively as possible" towards the
full realization of article 13.
 States parties prove that alternatives have been introduced and that they are justified to
the totality of the rights provided for the Covenant and in the context of the full use of
the State party's maximum available resources.
 States parties have to respect, protect and fulfil (Facilitate and provide)
 States have the principal responsibility for the direct provision of education.
 States parties have an enhanced obligation to fulfil (provide) regarding the right to
education, but the extent of this obligation isn´t uniform for all levels of education.

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14. SPECIFIC LEGAL OBLIGATIONS
 States ensure that curricula, for all levels of the educational system, are directed to the
objectives.
 States establish and maintain a transparent and effective system which monitors
whether or not education.
 States have to respect, protect and fulfil each of the "essential features" (availability,
accessibility, acceptability, adaptability) of the right to education.
 States parties have to prioritize the introduction of compulsory, free primary education.
They also provide primary education for all.
 States parties have to take steps towards the realization of secondary, higher and
fundamental education for all those within its jurisdiction.
 States parties are obliged to ensure that an educational fellowship system is in place to
assist disadvantaged groups. The obligation to pursue the "development of a system of
schools at all levels" reinforces the responsibility of States parties to ensure the
provision of the right to education in most circumstances
 States parties have to establish "minimum educational standards" to all educational
institutions required to conform. They also has to monitor the standards.
 States parties have an obligation to ensure that communities and families are not
dependent on child labor.
 States parties have "a minimum core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of minimum
essential levels" of each of the rights.

15. VIOLATIONS
 They may occur through the direct action of States parties (acts of commission) or
through their failure to take steps required by the Covenant (acts of omission).
 These violations include:
 The introduction or failure to repeal legislation which discriminates against
individuals or groups.
 The failure to take measures which address de facto educational discrimination.
 The use of curricula inconsistent with the educational objectives.
 The failure to maintain a transparent and effective system to monitor.
 The failure to introduce, as a matter of priority, primary education which is
compulsory and available free to all.
 The failure to take "deliberate, concrete and targeted" measures.
 The prohibition of private educational institutions.

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 The failure to ensure private educational institutions conform to the "minimum
educational standards".
 The denial of academic freedom of staff and students.
 The closure of educational institutions in times of political tension.