Education and Human Rights

8/2/2019 Education and Human Rights

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EDUCATION & HUMAN RIGHTSNecessity of Education in safeguarding rights of children

By Shubharth Shukla


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EDUCATION and HUMAN RIGHTSShubharth Shukla

II nd Year, B.A.LL.B. (Hons) RDVV, Jabalpur

Dated 28.01.2012

Abstract

With the development of human intellectual ability, there has been a radical growth towards

awareness of human rights. Human rights, even though, regarded as unbiased to individuals

sex, status, race etc., are often subjected to discrimination, thus has been a constant subject

for discussions and reflections. Education too, being one such basic right, has been a subject

of constant scrutiny. This paper covers the aspects of the right to education and its relative

connectivity with human rights of children. It aims at developing a better understanding of

importance of basic education and of human rights education among children thereby

promoting the idea of immediate need for strict steps towards the implementation of thesame.


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INTRODUCTION

The concept of human rights has worked its way through the subsoil of human consciousness

with speed and strength, and has become one of the greatest driving force of our time. More

and more people over the world realize, more clearly that there should be increase in

monitoring of human rights violation.

The human rights movement is genuinely worldwide. With incredible scientific progress

humans they have reached at a stage where humans are biggest threat to each other .

In the zoo of Lusaka1, There is a cage, where it is written The worlds most dangerous

animal, Inside the cage there is no animal but a mirror, in which visitors see themselves and

realize that they are the part of human rights violation .

To define human Rights is very difficult as human rights may be summed up as in one word

Liberty . But Issaih Berlin2

said that there are more than 200 definition of liberty. Butaccording to Abraham Lincoln

3the world never had a good definition of liberty.

No doubt it still a world of brutalities, where human rights of people are violated everyday.

There are various governments which are the most successful economically are authoritarian

ones and veneration for human rights promises to be a cult of slow growth, because human

rights cannot exist in a cultural and economic vacuum . It is interesting to note that in many

of communist ruled states human rights are fully respected, because the bill of rights has been

fully entrenched in the Indian constitution.

The purpose of Bill of Rights is to withdraw certain subject from vicissitudes of politicalcontroversy and to establish a legal principle to be applied by the court. West Virginia State

Board of Education VS Barnette4.

The permanence of the core of human rights has also been ensured in India by our supreme

court in Keshavanand bharti VS State of Kerala5.

Repression of human rights can only be stopped when each and every citizen of India would

get educated and aware about his rights and duties. If Right to Life is a fundamental right

then it is the duty of other person not to violate his right.

1Capital of Zambia.

2British social and political theorist of Russian-Jewish origin

3

16

th

President of united states.4319 U.S. 624, 638

5AIR 1973 SC 1461


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IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

Education can be defined as the technique of transmitting civilization or transmitting value an

principle to the next generation. Education has been a pre- requisite for an ideal society . If

we dream of utopia the education will be a necessary requirement which must be satisfied.

The Indian psyche remains wholly untouched by any thought of the need for wider and more

value based education .

Education has never been a high priority in any of the Indian political parties. No Country

could become a developed nation without having higher literacy level.

Article 45 of our Constituion enacts

THE STATE SHALL ENDEAVOUR TO PROVIDE, WITH IN A PERIOD OF TEN

YEARS FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THIS CONSTITIUTION , FOR FREE AND

COMPULSORY EDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN UNTIL THEY COMPLETE THE

AGE OF FOURTEEN YEARS.

The literacy rate in South Korea is 98% . It is because of its uncompromising emphasis on

education .Its economic development is very fast. It is only through education at all levels,

that India country ever be transformed into a great nation.

When Lee Kuan Yew6

was asked on BBC, what he attributes the phenomenal success of

Singapore his anwer wasEducation

When President Mitterand7

started his term he included education as a priority of priorities

The British Prime Minister Mr. John Major8

in his speech said education is the key to a

Mobile dynamic and diverse society

President bush Sr. also called for Revolution in American Education , during his tenure.

Education is the rock on which India must build her political salvation . Our country will be

built not on bricks but on brain, not on cement but on enlightment. If we cannot afford

education ,we cannot afford to remain a civilized society9.

6First Prime Minister of Republic of Singapore.

7

21

st

President of France.8Prime Minister of U.K.

9 By N.A.PALKHIVALA in his convocation address of S.N.G.T womens university.


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HUMAN RIGHTS: why and how we need them?

Human rights affect the daily lives of each and every individual. They are basic to the growth

and development of all persons, communities as well as nations. Therefore awareness needs

to be kindled among the masses regarding human rights.

Education, exercises in assimilating, creating and disseminating knowledge, is a powerful

means to influence and bring attitudinal change among the people in general, and

professional groups in particular. Being a tool to spread awareness, information and

knowledge amongst its recipients, education can play a crucial role at each level for the

promotion of human rights culture. Article 26 states that everyone has the right to education.

Elementary education shall be free and compulsory. The second part of Article 26 also states

to promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, social or religious

groups and to further the activities of the United Nations for maintenance of peace.

The oft-quoted words, Sa vidya ya vimuktaye10 emphasises that learning is real when itbecomes the cause of liberation. Education being an embodiment of learning is a powerful

tool of social revolution and natural development. Education implies the development of all

those capacities and abilities of the individual which make him capable of controlling his

environment and also fully realising his potentials. Precisely perceived as a medium to bring

in desirable changes at micro and macro level, education has the magical capacity to realise

the dream of a just society as conceptualised by Gandhi.

Education on human rights is of utmost importance in India but has been limited in its scope.

Education should promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedom.

10That is Knowledge which liberates.


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HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA

The situation of human rights in India is complex, resulting from the country's large size,

tremendous diversity, status as a developing country. Also sovereign, secular, democratic

republic, and its history as a former colonial territory. The Constitution of India provides for

Fundamental rights. Although human rights problems do exist in India, the country is

generally not regarded as a human rights concern, unlike other countries in South Asia.11

In its report on human rights in India during 2010, Human Rights Watch,12

stated India had

"significant human rights problems". They identified lack of accountability for security forces

and impunity for abusive policing including "police brutality, extrajudicial13

killings, and

torture" as major problems.

CHILDREN RIGHTS

Children's rights are the human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of

special protection and care afforded to the young, including their right to association with

both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-

paid education, health care and criminal laws appropriate for the age and development of the

child. Childrens rights law is defined as the point where the law intersects with a child's life.

That includes juvenile delinquency14

, due process for children involved in the criminal justice

system, appropriate representation, and effective rehabilitative services; care and protection

for children in state care; ensuring education for all children regardless of their origin, race,

gender, disabilities, or abilities, and; health care and advocacy.

CONVENTIONS ON THE RIGHTS OF CHILD

The United Nations' 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, or CRC, is the first legally

binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rightscivil, cultural,

economic, political and social rights. Its implementation is monitored by the Committee on

the Rights of the Child. The CRC is the most widely ratified human rights treaty with 190

ratifications The CRC is based on four core principles, namely the principle of non-

discrimination, the best interests of the child, the right to life, survival and development, and

considering the views of the child in decisions which affect them.

11United States Library of Congress

12

International NGO that conducts research and advocacy on human rights.13Foreign courts jurisdiction.

14Young criminal.


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RIGHT TO EDUCATION- A HUMAN RIGHT

Every woman, man, youth and child has the human right to education, training and

information, and to other fundamental human rights dependent upon realization of the humanright to education. These have been explicitly set out in the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights, the International Covenants and other international human rights treaties and

Declarations, and serve as powerful tools to be put to use in realizing the right to education

for all.

This right entitles every individual15

to: free and compulsory elementary education and to

readily available forms of secondary and higher education.

INTERNATIONAL LAW AND RIGHT TO EDUCATION.

The right to education has been recognised in the Article26 of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights16

(UDHR) in 1948. The right to education has been enshrined in a range of

international conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social And

Cultural Rights17

(ICESCR, 1966), The Convention on the Elimination Of All Forms Of

Discrimination Against Women18

(CEDAW, 1979) and more recently, The Convention On

The Rights of The Child19

(CRC, 1989). It has also been incorporated into various regional

treaties. Many countries have also made provisions for the right to education in their national

constitutions.

PROVISIONS GUARANTEED BY HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

"The State Parties recognize the right of everyone to education. Education shall enable all

persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and

friendship among racial, ethnic or religious groups20

"State Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and shall make primary

education compulsory and available free to all; make available and accessible to every child;make higher education accessible to all; make educational and vocational information and

guidance available and accessible to all children21

.

15Woman, man, youth, children with disregard to their status.

16The international bill of Human Rights.

17Multilateral treaty adopted by U.N. General Assembly.

18International convention adopted by U.N.General Assembly.

19

Human rights treaty setting out the civil ,political, economic, social health and cultural rights of children.20ICESCR, Article 13

21Convention on the rights of the child, Article 28 and 29


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GENDER INEQUALITY IN EDUCATION

Gender inequality in education is extreme. Girls are less likely to access school, to remain in

school or to achieve in education. 2/3 of the world's 781 million illiterate adults are women.

There is an urgent need for affirmative action to challenge this rights abuse, and such action

is encouraged through international law. For instance, general comment 13, paragraph 32 of

the ICESCR22

allows for the adoption of temporary special measures intended to bring about

de facto equality for men and women and for disadvantaged group so long as such measures

do not lead to the maintenance of unequal or separate standards for different groups and

provided they are not continued after the objectives which they were taken have been

achieved. Discrimination within the education system must also be abolished, and education

materials and processes must not only refrain from reinforcing gender discrimination, theyshould actively combat it.

GOVERNMENT COMMITMENTS

"Education should be recognized as a process by which human beings and societies can reach

their fullest potential. Education is critical for promoting sustainable development and

improving the capacity of the people to address environment and development issues.

Governments should take active steps to eliminate illiteracy and to expand the enrolment ofwomen in educational institutions, to promote the goal of universal access to primary and

secondary education"23

"We commit ourselves to the goals of universal and equitable access to quality education .

making particular efforts to rectify inequalities relating to social conditions and without

distinction as to race, national origin, gender, age or disability24.

Education is a human right and an essential tool for achieving the goals of equality,

development and peace25

.

22Multilateral treaty adopted by U.N. General assembly.

23

Agenda 21, Chapter 36, para3;Chapter3,para2;Chapter24 para 3.24Copenhagen declaration, commitment 6

25Beijing platform for action,para 69,80,81,and82.


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CASES

Mohini Jain (Ms) v State of Karnataka26

. The Supreme Court established for the first time

that education is a fundamental right. It observed that the Article 21, of the Constitution ofIndia, guarantees the right to life, which includes the right to live with dignity. The court also

secured the right of every citizen to have access to free and compulsory education.

Then in the case ofUnniKrishnan V State of Andhra Pradesh27

: the universities asked the

SC to review its decision in Mohini Jain V State of Andhra Pradesh. Thus the SC in this case

partly overruled the Mohini jain case and held that although the right to education is

fundamental but it limited the age-group of 6-14 yrs because it also took consideration of the

states financial capacity.

In TMA PAI foundation v State of Karnataka

28

an 11 judge constitutional bench of the SCheld that the decision in Unnikrishnans scheme relating to the grant of admission and fixing

of fees was not correct and was thus to that extend overruled.

CONCLUSION

Any education to be effective needs to be contextualized too. Thus it is not enough to teach

abstract principles of human rights taken from United Nations documents or our

Constitutions. Our historical context as nation as well as local contexts need to be reflected in

human rights education. The contextualizing of human rights is essential for nurturing of

peace. Creative reflections on local situations from a human rights perspective would help the

schools greatly, to become the societies most important peace makers. Some say that we

Indians should have less rights than people living in Western countries. They say, the human

rights concepts are Western. Only people who have all the rights could say this to people who

have much less rights. We keep masses of humanity without rights and condemn the growing

consciousness of rights as a Western one. Human rights are for everyone .

26

(1992)3 SCC 66627(1993)1 SCC 645

28AIR 2003 SC 355


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We the peopleby Nani palkhiwala

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Constitution of India- by J.N.Pandey

Microsoft Encarta dictionary

Wikipedia

Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2009

Hindustantimes.com

Times of India .com

Pdhre.com

Documents

Education and Human Rights