The Right To Education

Article 26 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is one I remember reading about for class the other day and decided to research violations of this in the news. Article 26 deals with the right to education. I will personally admit that this is a right that I take for granted every day. I do not think twice about how lucky I am to be able to attend school and when I walk to class I don’t think about those people my age in the world who are not able to go to school. The exact details of the article are below presented below:

(1) 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 generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

I found an article entitled “Student flees Taliban in 'Pakistan's Switzerland,' in which there is a story about a girl, Hina Khan, who had to flee her home because the Taliban was threatening her and her family just because she was a girl attending school. Death threats were made against her, other students and teachers every day simply because they went to a girls' school in Pakistan targeted by Taliban militants. Granted I’m not a girl, I still could not imagine being in a position like that, having my life and my families lives put in danger just because I was attending school and getting an education. Clearly this a violation of the Article 26 and I’m surprised Pakistan has not done anything to put a stop to such threats at this school. Things have gotten so bad that she and her family had to move 100 miles away to a safer part of Pakistan just so she could continue getting an education. Hina said in the article that “[t]hey do not even go to school now (her friends), as authorities gave in to militant demands to shut all girls' schools. As many as 200 schools, mostly for girls, have been destroyed since November 2007 when the Taliban began their campaign to take control of the Swat Valley and surrounding areas.” It just doesn’t seem right for the Pakistan authorities to give into the terroristic demands of the Taliban.

A second article I found dealing with the right to education was entitled, “Slovak education system fails Romani children.” This article deals with segregation in the school systems of Slovakia. Large numbers of Romani children are being segregated into Roma-only schools while others are being placed in 'special' schools despite not having any mental or learning disabilities. This is also a clear violation of Article 26, specifically part 2. I can’t imagine being denied the right to education because I was a certain nationality. The article said that “studies revealed that up to half of Romani children in special schools or classes had been placed there incorrectly, while 10 per cent could immediately be integrated into mainstream schools and classes.” I think it’s wrong for these children to be placed in classes where their full learning potential is not going to be filled just because they are a certain nationality.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/02/03/pakistan.girls.school/index.html

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/slovak-education-system-fails-romani-children-20071114

See you tomorrow :)

- Joe