By viv , 15 December 2017

Case-law summary: Center for Civil and Human Rights v ŠM Primary and Nursery School

The Prešov Regional Court, one of the courts of appeals of the Slovak Republic, affirmed a lower court’s decision that schools cannot discriminate against children based on their ethnic origin or socially disadvantaged background. The Prešov Regional Court held that the defendant school was discriminating against children of Romani ethnic origin by placing those kids in separate Romani classes. It ordered that the school rectify the situation by the beginning of the next school year.

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By erica , 11 December 2017

Join our campaign to ensure that everyone has the legal right to education!

Although the majority of countries recognise the right to education through international and national law, the fulfilment of the right to education is far from being a reality. This is why we have launched a campaign to make sure the right to education is enforceable in countries around the world. Citizens should be able to take their governments to court if they violate this right. If they can’t, a vital route to accountability is missing.

By erica , 6 December 2017

Corporal punishment and the right to education

In a recent high profile decision, a high court in South Africa ruled that the corporal punishment of children on the grounds of ‘reasonable chastisement’ is unconstitutional. Around the world, lawmakers are proposing the removal of exceptions in law that protect parents from being prosecuted for assault when administering corporal punishment.

By erica , 30 November 2017

UN human rights bodies release two general comments relevant to the right to education

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which oversees states’ efforts to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the foremost treaty guaranteeing the human rights of women around the world, has published its interpretation of Article 10 of CEDAW which guarantees the right to education.

By erica , 21 November 2017

New UK parliamentary report raises serious questions over the UK’s funding of Bridge International Academies

In a milestone inquiry report released today, Members of Parliament have raised serious questions about the UK government’s funding of the American chain of schools, Bridge International Academies (Bridge), due to concerns regarding the 'poor' quality of teaching, relationships with governments, 'alleged lack of compliance with government regulations', and the 'higher cost of fees'.

By erica , 17 November 2017

The right to education of transgender people

In an ongoing case in the United States, the parents of an eight year old transgender girl, are suing their daughter’s private school for refusing to recognise her preferred gender identity and to allow her to wear the designated girls’ uniform and use the female toilets, and stop being addressed with male pronouns.

By viv , 7 November 2017

Learners with disabilities go to court in South Africa for appropriate school transport

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The South African Constitution guarantees everyone the right to a basic education, but the Department of Basic Education estimates that 597,000 children with disabilities (out of 829,000) are out of school. Many of these children are not in school because there is, quite simply, no transport that they can use to get to school. 

The mother of a child with a physical disability explains how the absence of transport is experienced:

By erica , 23 October 2017

Initial reflections on ‘Accountability in education: Meeting our commitments’

The new Global Education Monitoring Report is ground-breaking in placing accountability at the centre of its attention. As the report notes, the concept of accountability was shockingly absent from the framing of the Sustainable Development Goals–making it relatively easy for heads of state to sign up to them, as they could be confident that there were few consequences if they failed to deliver.