The right to education - Asia Pacific Knowledge Base on Open and ...

16World <strong>education</strong> reportNTERNATIONAL YEAR FOR THE CULTURE OF PEACEI (2000) has reminded the world of the conditionsthat ultimately need <strong>to</strong> be established if alasting peace is <strong>to</strong> be realized. <strong>The</strong>se conditionsare stated in the Preamble of the Universal Declarationof Human Rights: ‘Recognition of the inherentdignity and of the equal and inalienable<strong>right</strong>s of all members of the human family is thefoundation of freedom, justice and peace in theworld’. As the new century unfolds, young andold alike will be called upon <strong>to</strong> examine theirunderstanding of and commitment <strong>to</strong> these <strong>right</strong>s.It is in this spirit that the present report focuseson the <strong>right</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>education</strong>, both as a <strong>right</strong> in itselfand as a means of promoting peace and respectfor human <strong>right</strong>s generally. <strong>The</strong> s<strong>to</strong>ry of how this<strong>right</strong> originally came <strong>to</strong> be expressed in the nowfamiliarterms of Article 26 of the Universal Declarationof Human Rights (Box 1.1) is <strong>to</strong>ld inAppendix I (pages 93–107). <strong>The</strong> report itself isconcerned with developments since then, in particularthe successive commitments <strong>to</strong> implementationof this <strong>right</strong> that have been agreed by theinternational community over the years since theDeclaration was proclaimed, and in broad termsthe progress that has actually been made <strong>to</strong>wardsits implementation.Readers who are not familiar with the backgroundof how the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights was drawn up are encouraged <strong>to</strong>read Appendix I first. <strong>The</strong> unique spirit of cooperationand <strong>to</strong>lerance for sometimes very differentpoints of view that went in<strong>to</strong> the preparationof the Declaration is itself a wonderfulexample of what <strong>education</strong> everywhere shouldaim <strong>to</strong> foster, indeed, of what Article 26 of theDeclaration aims <strong>to</strong> promote.Before taking up the whole s<strong>to</strong>ry of what hashappened in regard <strong>to</strong> the <strong>right</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>education</strong> sincethe Universal Declaration was proclaimed, it willbe useful in this introduc<strong>to</strong>ry chapter <strong>to</strong> deal withcertain general questions about this <strong>right</strong> and howprogress <strong>to</strong>wards its implementation can beassessed.A multi-faceted <strong>right</strong>As spelled out in the three separate paragraphs ofArticle 26, the <strong>right</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>education</strong> has several differentfacets, both quantitative and qualitative.Moreover, questions concerning its implementationare <strong>to</strong> a considerable extent bound up withquestions of interpretation. ‘Everyone has the<strong>right</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>education</strong>’, the Declaration proclaims. Butwhat does this mean? <strong>The</strong> <strong>right</strong> <strong>to</strong> any kind of <strong>education</strong>?At any time? Who shall provide it?That these questions are not easy <strong>to</strong> answer isin part a measure of the changed circumstances inwhich the <strong>right</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>education</strong> has come <strong>to</strong> beapplied. When the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights was drawn up, only a minority ofthe world’s young people had access <strong>to</strong> any kindof formal <strong>education</strong>, let alone a choice among differentkinds, and little more than half of theBox 1.1<strong>The</strong> <strong>right</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>education</strong>:Article 26 of the Universal Declarationof Human Rights1. Everyone has the <strong>right</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>education</strong>. Educationshall be free, at least in the elementaryand fundamental stages. Elementary <strong>education</strong>shall be compulsory. Technical and professional<strong>education</strong> shall be made generallyavailable and higher <strong>education</strong> shall be equallyaccessible <strong>to</strong> all on the basis of merit.2. Education shall be directed <strong>to</strong> the full developmen<strong>to</strong>f the human personality and <strong>to</strong> thestrengthening of respect for human <strong>right</strong>s andfundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding,<strong>to</strong>lerance and friendship among allnations, racial or religious groups, and shall furtherthe activities of the United Nations for themaintenance of peace.3. Parents have a prior <strong>right</strong> <strong>to</strong> choose the kind of<strong>education</strong> that shall be given <strong>to</strong> their children.Source: Universal Declaration of Human Rights Adopted andProclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on theTenth Day of December 1948, Final Authorized Text. New York,United Nations, 1950.