Education
The right to education is described by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as ‘both a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights.’ It is a basic right guaranteed by a variety of international instruments, as set out further below. The right to education should be accorded without distinction and should be accessible for all.
However, despite international obligations to make education readily accessible, minority groups are not always afforded this right. Although they may attend school, classes may be in a language they are unfamiliar with. Curriculums may also exclude information about their history, tradition and language, thus failing to protect their identity. Children facing such problems may be unable to participate fully due to linguistic problems and may face potential expulsion either for lack of participation or failure to attend classes in which they feel unable to contribute. In addition, there may be physical restrictions to education due to a lack of accessibility. Children from minority groups may have to travel large distances to attend school and this can be both time consuming and expensive, and/or the costs of school uniforms and textbooks can be prohibitive. Failure to address these problems also prevents access to education. The inclusion of minority groups in the decision-making process would allow for education authorities to better understand the needs of these groups and to adjust the curriculum appropriately.
International instruments protecting the right to education:
- Article 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
- Article 13 International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights
- Article 28 Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Article 17 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
- Article XII OAS Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man
- Protocol 2, Article 1 European Convention on Human Rights
Relevant jurisprudence:
- Ashoka Kumar Thakur v. Union of India and Others, January 2006
- American update the Supreme Court and affirmative action, December 2003
- Brown v. Board of Education, May 1954
- Kjeldsen, Busk Madsen and Pedersen v. Denmark, December 1976
- Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, June 1978
- Seide v. Gillette Industries Ltd, September 1980
- Campbell and Cosans v. United Kingdom, February 1982
- Mandla and another v Dowell Lee and another, March 1983
- Family H. v. United Kingdom, March 1984
- Bilka – Kaufhaus GmbH v. Karin Weber von Hartz, May 1986
- R. v. East Sussex County Council, ex parte T, May 1994
- Motala and Another v University of Natal, February 1995
- Valsamis v. Greece, November 1996
- Eaton v. Brant County Board of Education, February 1997
- André Simpson v. the United Kingdom, February 1998
- Wittmann v. Deutscher Schulverein, Pretoria and Others, May 1998
- R v. Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Mbandaka, October 1998
- Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York, January 2001
- Coster v. the United Kingdom, January 2001
- Cyprus v. Turkey, May 2001
- Baqi & Ors v. Akram & Ors, October 2002
- Autism-Europe v. France, November 2002
- Arsenault-Cameron v. Prince Edward Island & Ors, January 2003
- Grutter v. Bollinger, June 2003
- Gratz v. Bollinger, June 2003
- Doucet-Boudreau v. Nova Scotia (Minister of Education), November 2003
- Gosselin (Tutor of) v. Quebec (Attorney General, Supreme Court of Canada), March 2005
- Jean and Bosico Children v. The Dominican Republic, September 2005
- D.H. and others v. The Czech Republic, February 2006
- R and Headteachers of Y, February 2007