scholarly journals THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA AND NIGERIA (PART 1)

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elijah Adewale Taiwo ◽  
Avinash Govindjee
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
General Nature ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right ◽  
Legislative Measures

This is the first of the two articles dealing with the implementation of the right to education in South Africa and Nigeria. The article examines the meaning and the process of implementation of the right to education as well as the general nature of states’ obligations under the international human rights instruments regarding the right to education. The article examines the measures put in place at the international level towards realizing the right to education. While this first article examines legislative measures, the follow-up article examines the non-legislative measures, that is, administrative measures as well as other measures put in place to ensure theimplementation of the right to education. The right to education is an empowerment right which is given wide recognition in a number of important international and regional human rights instruments as well as in national constitutions. The article argues that in terms of the international human rights instruments, states are obliged to make primary, secondary and higher levels of education available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable to all in their territories. It posits that by having ratified those international agreements in which the right to education is guaranteed, both South Africa and Nigeria assumed obligations under international law enjoining themto realize the right to education and to respect freedoms in education in their respective territories. It submits that, despite the international obligations and commitments to provide education for all, there is a significant gap between what is stipulated and the practical realities in the two countries.

Right to Education in Mother Language

2021 ◽  
pp. 223-241
Author(s):  
Nima Norouzi ◽  
Hussein Movahedian
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
The Other ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Linguistic Rights ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
International Human ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

The right to use one's mother language is affected by examining the nature of this right in the international human rights system. Speaking of linguistic rights requires examining this right in the context of general human rights and the rights of minorities. On the one hand, the right to use one's mother tongue is rooted in the “right to be different,” which itself is inspired by human dignity, and, on the other hand, because the linguistic rights of the majority are better guaranteed than the linguistic rights of the minority. This chapter examines the right to use one's mother tongue in the minority system; therefore, language rights can be divided into two approaches based on tolerance, which prohibits any interference with the choice of language and its use by governments, as well as an extension-based approach that seeks to protect the right to use language in various fields such as education, court, public arena, and government institutions.

The right to education

2020 ◽  
pp. 181-194
Author(s):  
Benjamin Mallon
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Diverse World ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right ◽  
Different Levels

Chapter 14 critically analyses the idea of education as a universal human right. It outlines existing international human rights mechanisms relevant to education as a right and critically assesses their ability to make that right a reality in a diverse world with different levels of ‘peace’, stability, conflict, cultural and socio-economic contexts. While recognising that the right to education includes all people regardless of age, the chapter mainly focuses on education as a right for children and, in particular, how the right to education for children in developing countries can be affected by violent conflict. In this regard, the work of UNESCO and the influence of Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are assessed along with a range of other rights mechanisms.

The Right to Education of Persons with Disabilities: Disabled in Interpretation and Application

2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-37
Author(s):  
Claire Breen
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Disabled Persons ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Free Primary Education ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right

In July 2001, the Irish Supreme Court decided that the right to a free primary education as contained in the Irish Constitution could not be extended to a 23-year-old autistic man, Jamie Sinnott. Much of the Supreme Court judgment is an exercise in statutory interpretation. The Court considered the meaning of both ‘primary’ and ‘education’ in the context in which it appeared in the Constitution – that of the rights of parents regarding the education of their children. Whilst it was happy to find that the type of on-going care and support required by Jamie Sinnott could be classified as education, nevertheless, the majority of the Irish Supreme Court limited the meaning of ‘primary’ education to that required by children and thereby excluding the care and support, which it recognised as ‘education’, required by profoundly handicapped adults. The impact of the Court's exercise in statutory interpretation is that, in Ireland, the right to free primary education is to be defined with regard to age and not needs. This paper examines the decision of the Irish Supreme Court against the background of the general right to education as provided for in international human rights law in an effort to ascertain the extent to which the Supreme Court decision, as it reflects Irish domestic law regarding the provision of free primary education, correlates with Ireland's international human rights obligations. In so doing, it will reveal the limited extent to which the rights of disabled person have been ‘integrated’ into the general right to education. To that end, Part 1 of this article will focus upon the Sinnott Case as it provides an effective summary of domestic law regarding primary education as contained in the Constitution, statute and case law as well as being the benchmark for the rights of disabled persons to education in Ireland. Part 2 will consider the provisions of international human rights law regarding that pertain to the rights of disabled persons. Part 3 will consider the right to education as provided for in international human rights treaties by comparing the provisions regarding the general right to education, provisions regarding primary education, and provisions regarding persons with disabilities. Part 4 concludes this article by drawing together the right to education and the rights of disabled individuals in an analysis of language and interpretation in an effort to determine the extent to which the rights of individuals, such as Jamie Sinnott are protected by both national and international law.

Inclusive Education: A Hidden Priority

2021 ◽  
pp. 109-126
Author(s):  
Gauthier de Beco
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right

This chapter examines the right to inclusive education. It explains how the CRPD has incorporated the goal of inclusive education into international human rights law and what it expects from States Parties for the realisation of the right to inclusive education. It subsequently explores the Convention’s new emphasis on the right to education while looking at the measures to be adopted in order to achieve inclusive education. It continues by examining the renewed commitment to inclusiveness with regard to education in the field of international human rights law. The chapter upholds that inclusive education is universal and that the right to inclusive education applies to all children alike even if it has disability-specific aspects. It finally investigates what this right actually means for education systems as well as the remaining challenges in its implementation.

Conceptualizing the Right of Children to Adaptable Education

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 486-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shulamit Almog ◽  
Lotem Perry-Hazan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Educational Rights ◽  
Social Interests ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right

The contention put forward here is that a conceptualization of the right to adaptable education, derived from international human rights law, may be a key factor in interpreting and reviving the notion of multiculturalism in education. We will begin by analyzing two interrelated dimensions of the right to adaptable education: adaptability to the children’s circles of cultural affiliations and adaptability to the children’s preferences. We will continue by describing the need to balance between the right to adaptable education and other features of the right to education - available education, accessible education and acceptable education - as well as with parental rights and social interests. We will conclude by suggesting that the right to adaptable education, as it is defined by international human rights law, can be employed both as a safeguard against denying children educational rights by using the pretext of multiculturalism and as a means for furnishing the notion of multiculturalism with honed, multilayered relevance.

International Human Rights Law and the Access of Children of Asylum Seekers to Social Assistance in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ademola Oluborode Jegede ◽  
Puleng Letuka ◽  
Tivoneleni Edmund Lubisi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right ◽  
International Instruments

There is a massive presence of asylum seekers in South Africa. Amongst this population are children who need social assistance from the state distributed as ‘grants’, due to their dependence, vulnerability and developmental requirements. South Africa is a state party to international instruments on human rights and has a regulatory framework including the Constitution which allows for the application of these instruments and guarantees the right to social security for everyone. This article focuses on whether the existing corpus of international instruments on human rights and relevant domestic regulatory frameworks may allow children of asylum seekers the access to social assistance in South Africa. While demonstrating that the access to social assistance for children of asylum seekers is implied under international human rights instruments, the article establishes that this has not found expression in the application of existing legislation on social assistance in South Africa. By deploying an appropriate interpretive approach, courts may respond to this normative gap and thereby assist in guaranteeing the access of these children to social assistance in South Africa.

Beyond the Minimalist Critique: An Assessment of the Right to Education in International Human Rights Law

2021 ◽  
pp. 092405192110572
Author(s):  
Ramindu Perera
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Education Model ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right ◽  
Equal Educational Opportunities

The minimalist critique of human rights advanced by legal historian Samuel Moyn argues that human rights are ineffective in addressing material inequality because, rather than striving for equality, they focus on ensuring sufficient protection levels. This article analyses the right to education model which international human rights bodies have expanded to demonstrate the overstretched nature of the minimalist critique. By examining how the right to education provisions of international human rights treaties are interpreted by various United Nations human rights mechanisms, the article argues that the international human rights system has advanced a model of right to education that reaches beyond the notion of sufficiency. The works of these bodies are analysed in light of the privatisation of education. In defining the connection between the equality and liberty dimensions of the right to education, international human rights bodies have prioratised ensuring equal opportunities over the liberty to private education. The aim of the right to education is not merely to provide basic literacy to the poor but also to assure equal educational opportunities to all.

A discriminating education system: religious admission policies in Irish schools and international human rights law

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Mawhinney
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Children And Parents ◽  
Admission Policies ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right ◽  
Human Rights Standards ◽  
Insight Into

Irish equality legislation permits discrimination in favour of co-religionists in admission policies to state-funded schools. This article examines whether Irish policies and practice in the area of pupil admissions meet and satisfy international human rights standards. In doing so it draws on material from interviews with parents and a survey to schools to provide an insight into how religious admission polices impact on the lives and rights of individuals. It concludes that by providing exemptions from equality legislation to religious schools, in a situation where these schools are in a near-monopolistic position, the Irish State is disregarding its responsibility to protect the right to non-discrimination, the right to education and the right to freedom of religion of those children and parents who do not adhere to the ethos of these religious bodies.

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