EDUCATION AS HUMAN RIGHT: SOME ISSUES ON THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION

EDUCATION AS HUMAN RIGHT: SOME ISSUES ON THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION




BY


Ma’azu Mohammed Yusif
Department of Political Science
Bayero University, Kano



Being a paper presented in Human Rights Training Workshop for Social Workers Organised by Community Action for Popular Participation held on 28th August, 1998 in Bayero University, Kano


Introduction
Within the last fifteen years, most countries in Africa have implemented IMF/WB Economic recovery programme. This economic policy is variously called Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), Economic Recovery Programme (ERP), or Economic Rehabilitation Programme (ERP). A common trait in all countries implementing the programme is that the governments withdraw most social services to the people. The implication of this is that the state is no longer responsible for education of its citizens, for health care of its people, for rehabilitation of the disabled, etc. The consequence of this is that voluntary organisations are building up, taking over the responsibilities which government is supposed to perform. The question which these organisations do not ask is whether it is not mandatory and legally binding on the state to provide these services? Thus, it is not wrong if one says that one idea which is not common knowledge among the people and may be the Human Right Community as well is the recognition of the right to social protection as a human right.
Education is one of such services which is the responsibility of the state to provide. The objective of this paper is to raise some issues of international law on the meaning of right to education.
Conceptualising the Right to Education as Human Right
Education is about the processes of teaching and learning, of imparting knowledge and skills for the development of individual and the society as a whole. Because of its significance for the development of society right from the beginning of history of human society it becomes partly the responsibility of the state. Like health care and other social services, education is a social protection given to people for progress of the society.
The right of people to social protection through social services is not a new idea in human right instruments.
Indeed, the earlier documents enunciating human rights did not at once recognise social services as rights of the people. These included the Bill of Rights in England in 1689, the American Declaration of independence of 1776 and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizens of 1789, which all set to promote civil and political rights and to reduce the influences of governments, rather than to improve the lives of the people. Even the concept of the right to life and to the pursuit of happiness which first appeared in the American Declaration came because of an irrepressible desire for freedom and not as a counterpart to social obligations imposed on the government.
However, by September, 1787 the preamble of the constitution of the United States of America declared that one of its objectives was to promote general welfare of the people.
Thus, the stage was then set of the legally birding responsibilities of the state to provide social services for the welfare of citizens. The recognition of social rights can be directly attributed to the philosophy of Enlightenment. This philosophy warrants the community’s interest in social protection for two reasons. First, in order to rationalise the political action of the time, it was necessary to consider the problem of the fight against poverty from the standpoint of states social responsibility. Second, the philosophy accepts the idea that all men are entitled to social happiness as a result of the efforts of government. Thus, the philosophy put the responsibility of collective happiness upon the state, which includes granting equal social prerogatives to citizens.
A booster to the development of this idea could further be traced n the works of two famous theoreticians. The first of these is Thomas Paine and the second is Marques de Condorset. Both accept the idea that civil and political rights must be combined with a comprehensive system of social services, which is aimed at the overall development and happiness of all the people. Thomas Paine, in particular drew up the first programme for a systematic organisation for the distribution of public funds for social services.
The Meaning of the Right to Education as Human Right
There is no definitive legal international instrument, which gives precise meaning of the ‘right’ to education. However, there are Human Right Conventions and Recommendations, particularly those within the framework of the United Nations, including UNESCO and ILO, which may help us to gain understanding of education as human right.
The most important sources of Human Right documents, on which we can find this explanation are:
UNESCO convention against discrimination in Education of 1960.
United Nations Declaration of the Right of the Child, 1959
Articles 13 and 14 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966
Articles 15 and 16 of the ILO convention on social policy (Basic Aims and Standards), of 1962
Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948
The Lima Declaration on Academic Freedom and Autonomy of Institutions of Higher Learning.
The POZNAN Declaration on Academic Freedom
All these conventions (1 - 5 above) have been ratified by a clear majority of the existing states in the World. The last two declarations were adopted by the participants who were non-governmental organisations and individuals involved in the conferences which discussed the issues.
In this respect, the ideas canvassed in the above conventions and declarations include:
"In order that the child population may be able to profit by existing facilities for education and in order that the extension of such facilities may not be hindered by a demand for child labour, the employment of persons below the school-leaving age during the hours when the schools are in session shall be prohibited in areas where educational facilities are provided on a scale adequate for the majority of the children of school age".
"Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made equally accessible to all on the basis of merit". (Article 26(1) of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948).
In International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966, Article 13(2) stated that.
a. "Primary education shall be compulsory and available, free to all;
b. Secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education;
c. Higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education;
d. Fundamental education shall be encourage or intensified as far as possible for those persons who have not received or completed the whole period of their primary education;
e. The development of a system of school at all levels shall be actively pursued, an adequate fellowship system shall be established, and the material conditions of teaching staff shall be continuously improved".
Some more silent, though equally important issues in other instruments are non-interference by state in higher institution of learning in order to allow free development of researches, provision of adequate funding of education by state, not less than 15 percent of National Budget and non-discrimination in every aspect of school system.
However, state responsibility differs according to the ratification of the instruments by the state concerned. We can distinguish between obligations to respect, to protect and to fulfil.
The commitment to respect requires the states to abstain from certain interferences, for example, states are not allowed to discriminate in the admission of pupils to educational institutions.
The acceptance to protect the right to education means that governments are to adopt measures necessary to prevent other interests from violating these ‘rights’
The obligation to fulfil the right to education means that governments are to take positive measures to defend the ‘rights’, for example, governments are to provide adequate funding for development of education, to give the teaching staff good conditions of service to enable them do their work, etc.
Violations
In International Laws and Conventions, because is dealing with different nations, there are limitations, restrictions and exceptions to implementation of the Law. Therefore, if we want establish violation of states obligation of the right to education, from what criteria can we do the judgement.
However, in modern human rights principles, especially those developed within the framework of the UN, there are also machineries of practice developed. For example, the UN committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights directed for application of free and compulsory primary education for all, within a reasonable number of years, and any country which failed to do so within certain number of years violated the covenant. On other provisions of the covenant, every policy and action by the state which reduces access to secondary and higher education or the performance of the education system is deemed to have violated the covenant.
Furthermore, in order to access the degree of compliance by states, some indicators are developed. These include public expenditure on education, literacy rates, book production, enrolment ratios, completion and drop out rates, interference in higher institutions, etc.
By a careful examination of these indicators and other peculiar development it is possible to make an objective assessment of the violations of the right to education by the state.
In Nigeria, it is obvious that the right to education not only is violated but is flagrantly denied with arrogant statements by government officials. If we take higher education as an example, there is abundant evidence to judge denial of the right to education to people of Nigeria.
Conclusion
I understand that there are non-governmental organisations coming to the rescue of the state. This is being encouraged by the new philosophy of market in political, social and economic management of the society.
However, the people must understand that their action is only for humanitarian purposes. Not as an alternative to state. Because that will amount to supporting the new programme of colonisation which foreign capital is promoting.
At another level, a new agenda of struggle must be evolved, especially by social workers to defend the right of social services to the people. In the present economic arrangement in Nigeria for example, that will be the finest programme of struggle against oppression.