Poste - Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children

2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
ensure that school discipline is administered in a
manner consistent with the child’s human dignity and
in conformity with the present Convention.
3. States Parties shall promote and encourage
international cooperation in matters relating to
education, in particular with a view to contributing to
the elimination of ignorance and illiteracy through the
world and facilitating access to scientific and technical
knowledge and modern teaching methods. In this
regard, particular account shall be taken of the needs
of developing countries.
Interpretation 1 : The right to education is to be achieved
“on the basis of equal opportunity,” stressing the general
principle of article 2 (non-discrimination). The
Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed
concern that specific groups of children are often
discriminated against in education, including girls, rural
children, minority groups, disabled children and children
in detention.
The Committee has made clear that all forms of corporal
punishment are unacceptable forms of discipline in
schools and elsewhere. The phrase “in conformity with
the present Convention” underlines the fact that the
obligation under article 19 to protect children from all
forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse
applies to schools and other educational establishments
as well as to the family home and child care institutions.
Paragraph 3 requires states to encourage international
cooperation in education, which is one of the key
components of development for both individual children
and countries as a whole. A significant proportion of
development aid should, therefore, be directed at
assisting education programs in developing countries.
Article 29
Aims of Education
1. States Parties agree that the education of the child
shall be directed to:
(a) The development of the child’s personality,
talents and mental and physical abilities to their
fullest potential;
(b) The development of respect for human rights
and fundamental freedoms, and for the
principles enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations;
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(c) 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;
(d) The preparation of the child for responsible life
in a free society, in the spirit of understanding,
peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and
friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national
and religious groups and persons of indigenous
origin;
(e) The development of respect for the natural
environment.
2. No part of the present article or article 28 shall be
construed so as to interfere with the liberty of
individuals and bodies to establish and direct
educational institutions, subject always to the
observance of the principles the principles set forth in
paragraph 1 of the present article and to the
requirements that the education given in such
institutions shall conform to such minimum standards
as may be laid down by the State.
Interpretation 2 : Article 29 reflects a consensus of world
opinion about the fundamental purposes of education. It
does not detail the tools of learning such as literacy,
numeracy, problem solving and so on, but addresses
learning’s basic aims: to develop children’s full potential
(including their personalities, talents and mental and
physical abilities), to prepare children for responsible life
in a free society and to enshrine the values of respect for
all others and for the natural environment.
Paragraph 2 explicitly preserves the rights of individuals
and groups to arrange their own forms of education as
long as these fulfil the aims of education set out in the
article and any official minimum standards.
Introduction
This section looks at primary- and secondary-level
education in Canada, excluding early childhood
education, preschool and kindergarten. It does not
include international cooperation in the field of education
or post-secondary education, which is not generally
applicable for children under 18 years of age.
An effort was made to present a picture of public
education across Canada, but due to limited time and