Right to Education (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what the right to education is, its essential characteristics and the role of the State. Also, education in Mexico.

What is the right to education?

The right to education is a fundamental human right, recognized in international conventions. It consists of having access to free and compulsory primary education for every citizen, without distinction of race, sex, creed or social class.

Besides, involves equitable access to higher education. It is especially about the elimination of any form of discrimination within the basic educational institution. More specifically, United Nations agencies talk about it as 4-A: Available (Availablein English), Acceptable, Accessible and Adaptable.

Entities such as UNESCO and the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are internationally responsible for promoting this right and making known its importance for the full development of nations.

However, the right to education is not universally respected. It is estimated that 61 million children and 758 million adults in the world are illiterate due to the absence of primary education, according to the 2016 Global Education Monitoring Report.

These figures are even more eloquent when the distinction between educational access for women and men is weighed, since in many cultures women occupy a subordinate place outside of all types of fundamental rights.

Importance of the right to education

Education is a tool for change and growth which gives human beings the opportunity to plan a better future for themselves and also for their community.

A society with plural access to education is a society better able to give itself what it needs to innovate and seek creative solutions to their traditional problems, and to enter into the economic, political and cultural exchange that the globalized world proposes in more egalitarian and less subaltern terms.

In addition, education affects other fundamental aspects of life, such as health, family and reproductive planning, work, etc. Therefore, the importance of open, free and direct access to education cannot be overemphasized.

The struggle of certain non-governmental organizations in the world is to project and execute legal obligations so that different countries provide their citizens with a minimum of educational opportunities in accordance with international standards.

Characteristics of the right to education

right to education availability — Education must be available throughout the territory, including rural areas.

Taking into consideration the 4-A scheme proposed by the United Nations, we can say that the right to education must be guaranteed, essentially, in the following way:

Availability It refers to the presence of educational establishments throughout the territory, to satisfy the educational needs of the entire population. These schools require adequate minimum infrastructure to accommodate their students during the study period exclusively and uninterrupted, and must have the teaching and pedagogical materials necessary for effective learning.
Acceptability Beyond the infrastructure, educational institutions must have an educational program that is endorsed by the appropriate government agencies, whose contents are culturally and socially appropriate for the population, of good quality and acceptable to both students and their representatives.
Adaptability Study programs must not only be normatively adequate, but must be able to adapt to changes in society, many of which will be introduced precisely by the very presence of mass education. The country's education professionals must be able to recognize, promote and guide change in study curricula taking it into account.
Accessibility Under no circumstances should students be prevented from entering the educational establishment, discriminated against therein, or subjected to conditions that violate their ability to study. On the other hand, the access roads to the educational campus must be in the best possible shape, so as not to physically impede transit to the school or from it to the place of return.

Role of the State in the right to education

The importance of education in public policy planning is universally accepted. In fact, in 1966 the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was signed, which recognized that The State is the necessary guarantor of providing the structure and resources necessary for quality education.

Various regional and global institutions explicitly subscribe to this idea. However, this does not prevent private institutions from collaborating in efforts to bring education to future generations. But the State is the highest authority and the person most responsible for supervising the content taught.

In addition, it must guarantee the maintenance of institutions and the training of minimum human resources to feed the educational system and guarantee its quality and perpetuity.

Right to education in Mexico

right to education mexico unam — The Mexican State offers public primary, secondary and university education.

The Mexican State is also committed by law, both international and national, to guaranteeing access to education for its citizens, taking into account the cultural and ethnic particularities of the enormously diverse Mexican population. And as in many other Latin American countries, this constitutes a real challenge.

The Mexican public sector supports the vast majority of basic schools (8 out of 10) and upper average (2 thirds of the total). It also supports a policy of inclusion of marginalized or rural areas through teleschools, indigenous or community preschools and primary schools, and other similar initiatives.

Thus, since 2014, the Mexican State has reported (according to Senate reports) an increase in child enrollment at early ages, between 5 and 12 years old.