Education is not a privilege. It is a human right.

Education as a human right means:

1. the right to education is legally guaranteed for all without any discrimination.
2. states have the obligation to protect, respect, and fulfil the right to education.
3. there are ways to hold states accountable for violations or deprivations of the right to education.

What are human rights?

 Human rights are inherent to all human beings, regardless of

nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or
any other status. They cannot be given or taken away.
 Human rights are the foundation for freedom, justice and peace in the
world.
 They are formally and universally recognized by all countries in
the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948, UDHR). Since the
adoption of the UDHR, many treaties have been adopted by states to
reaffirm and guarantee these rights legally.
 International human rights law sets out the obligations of states to
respect, protect, and fulfil human rights for all. These obligations
impose specific duties upon states, regardless of their political,
economic, and cultural systems.
 All human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and
interrelated (Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, 1993, para.
5).
 Equality and non-discrimination are foundational and cross-cutting
principles in international human rights law. This means that all human
rights apply to everyone.

Where is the right to education guaranteed?

  International human rights law guarantees the right to education.
The Universal Declaration on Human Rights, adopted in 1948, proclaims
in Article 26: 'everyone has the right to education'.
 Since then, the right to education has been widely recognised and
developed by a number of international normative instruments
elaborated by the United Nations, including the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966, CESCR), the Convention
on the Rights of the Child (1989, CRC), and the UNESCO Convention
against Discrimination in Education (1960, CADE).
 The right to education has also been reaffirmed in other treaties
covering specific groups (women and girls, persons with
disabilities, migrants, refugees, Indigenous Peoples, etc.) and contexts
(education during armed conflicts). It has also been incorporated into
various regional treaties and enshrined as a right in the vast majority of
national constitutions

Why is the right to education fundamental?

Both individuals and society benefit from the right to education. It is

fundamental for human, social, and economic development and a key
element to achieving lasting peace and sustainable development. It is a
powerful tool in developing the full potential of everyone and ensuring
human dignity, and in promoting individual and collective wellbeing.
In brief:
 it is an empowerment right
 it lifts marginalised groups out of poverty
 it is an indispensable means of realising other rights
 it contributes to the full development of the human personality

What is the content of the right to education?

 The right to education encompasses both entitlements and freedoms,
including the:
 right to free and compulsory primary education
 right to available and accessible secondary education (including technical and
vocational education and training), made progressively free
 right to equal access to higher education on the basis of capacity made
progressively free
 right to fundamental education for those who have not received or
completed primary education
 right to quality education both in public and private schools
 freedom of parents to choose schools for their children which are in
conformity with their religious and moral convictions
 freedom of individuals and bodies to establish and direct education
institutions in conformity with minimum standards established by the state
 academic freedom of teachers and students

What are the 4As?

The 4A s were developed by the first UN Special Rapporteur on the right to

education, Katarina Tomaševski, and adopted by the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its General Comment 13 on the right
to education (1999, para.6). To be a meaningful right, education in all its
forms and at all levels shall exhibit these interrelated and essential features:
 1. Available–Education is free and there is adequate infrastructure and
trained teachers able to support the delivery of education.
2. Accessible–The education system is non-discriminatory and accessible
to all, and positive steps are taken to include the most marginalised.
3. Acceptable–The content of education is relevant, non-discriminatory
and culturally appropriate, and of quality; schools are safe and teachers
are professional.
4. Adaptable–Education evolves with the changing needs of society and
challenges inequalities, such as gender discrimination; education
adapts to suit locally specific needs and contexts.

What are states' obligations?

When a state has ratified a treaty that guarantees the right to education, it
has obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil this right. Some obligations are
immediate. Others are progressive.
Obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil:
 respect: refrain from interfering with the enjoyment of the right (e.g., the
state must respect the liberty of parents to choose schools for their children)
 protect: prevent others from interfering with the enjoyment of the right
usually through regulation and legal guarantees (e.g., the state must ensure
that third parties, including parents, do not prevent girls from going to school)
 fulfil: adopt appropriate measures towards the full realisation of the right to
education (e.g., the state must take positive measures to ensure that
education is culturally appropriate for minorities and indigenous peoples, and
of good quality for all)
Immediate and progressive obligations:
As with other economic, social and cultural rights, the full realisation of the
right to education can be hampered by a lack of resources and can be
achieved only over a period of time, particularly for countries with fewer
 resources. This is the reason why some state obligations are progressive, for
instance, the introduction of free secondary and higher education.
However, no matter how limited resources are, all states have immediate
obligations to implement the following aspects of right to education:
 ensure minimum core obligations to meet the essential levels of the right to
education, which includes prohibiting discrimination in access to and in
education, ensuring free and compulsory primary education for all, respecting
the liberty of parents to choose schools for their children other than those
established by public authorities, protecting the liberty of individuals and
bodies to establish and direct educational institutions
 take appropriate steps towards the full realisation of the right to education to
the maximum of its available resources. A lack of resources cannot justify
inaction or indefinite postponement of measures to implement the right to
education. States must demonstrate they are making every effort to improve
the enjoyment of the right to education, even when resources are scarce
 not take retrogressive measures. This means that the state should not take
backwards steps or adopt measures that will repeal existing guarantees of the
right to education. For instance, introducing school fees in secondary
education when it had formerly been free of charge would constitute a
retrogressive measure

What are the responsibilities of other stakeholders?

States have the primary duty to ensure the right to education. However, other
actors play a key role in promoting and protecting this fundamental right.
According to international law, other actors have responsibilities in upholding
the right to education:
 the role of multilateral intergovernmental agencies, such as UNESCO, OHCHR,
UNICEF, is of particular importance in relation to the realisation of the right
to education in providing technical and financial assistance
 international financial institutions should play greater attention to the
protection of the right to education in their policies, credit agreements,
structural adjustment programmes and measures taken in response to the
debt crisis
 private businesses also have the responsibility to respect human rights and
avoid infringing on the rights of others. For more information, see UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights , Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights' General Comment 24, Committee on the Rights of the
Child's General Comment 16, and our page on Privatisation
 civil society plays a crucial role in promoting the right to education and
holding the state accountable for its obligations
 parents have the responsibility to ensure that their children attend
compulsory education. They cannot deny their children access to education

What are violations of the right to education?

 Violations of the right to education may occur through direct action of

States parties (act of commission) or through their failure to take steps
required by law (act of omission). Concrete examples are given in
paragraph 59 of General Comment 13.
 Whilst the vast majority of countries have ratified international treaties
that recognise the full right to education, it is still denied to millions
around the world due to lack of resources, capacity, and political will.
There are still countries that have not integrated the right to education
into their national constitution or provided the legislative and
administrative frameworks to ensure that the right to education is
realised in practice. Most of the children and adults who do not fully
enjoy the right to education belong to the most deprived and
marginalised groups of society which are often left behind in national
policies.
 What can you do to help realise the right to education?

 raise awareness on the right to education. If individuals knows their rights

they are empowered to claim them
 monitor the implementation of the right to education and report regularly on
deprivations and violations
 advocate and campaign for the full implementation of the right to education,
holding the state accountable
 seek remedies when there are violations of the right to education