Education is necessary for everyone in their daily lives and skills. If there’s a lack of education, it causes illiteracy that denies people the ability to acquire the knowledge and important skills they need to overcome their day-to-day challenges and enhance their future as well as that of the society. The wide-spread disparity of education around the world both in quality and accessibility raises the question of whether it is a human right or a privilege. However, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights declares “education a human right”. Moreover, the international human rights law obligates states to respect, protect and fulfil the right to education. In this light, governments have laid down measures to ensure a better education system and equal access to all. This characterization of education is everyone’s right supported by equality initiatives make education a right and not a privilege according to equal access and individuals rights, government commitment, and in order to improve peoples’ abilities in daily life.
Is Education a right or a privilege?
Education is essential for every person today considering the advancement of every aspect of life in the twenty-first century. Consequently, lack of education is the greatest liability for any country, since without education people cannot acquire the knowledge and skills they require to manage day-to-day problems as well as shape their future. In effect, education plays a fundamental role in developing virtuous generations of individuals that can contribute to societal development. Despite the essential benefits of education in shaping both individuals and societies future, “over 61 million children, mostly girls, do not attend school” (Humme, 2013). Ordinarily, the lack of education has contributed to generational poverty among many communities around the world. This is primary because lack of proper education results in large-scale illiteracy which in turn denies the people the essential and necessary skills needed to foster creativity and innovation to support the economic development and growth. Unfortunately, despite the unquantifiable essence of education in the society, many governments around the globe are yet to make it accessible for all because of disparities in education. Nevertheless, the characterization of education is everyone’s right supported by equality initiatives make education a right and not a privilege according to equal access and individuals rights, government commitment, and in order to improve peoples’ abilities in daily life.
As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) declares, “human rights are inherent to every human being, irrespective of their nationality, ethnic or national origin, race, religion or any other status”. As inherent, human rights cannot be granted or taken away. They form the foundation of freedom, peace and justice in the country. Moreover, every human right is universal, indivisible, interdependent as well as interrelated and it is founded on principles of equality and non-discrimination. As one of the strongest advocates and a watchdog for human rights, the United States like many other nations has not managed to guarantee the right to education to all as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The US education systems still experience problems of discrimination and student segregation. In this light, Goodlad states, “White students attend better schools furnished with essential learning facilities compared to their Hispanic, Asian, and black counterparts who attend less developed institutions with fewer facilities and inexperienced teachers, a problem that significantly affects their performance” (Goodlad, 2004).
It is extremely important that education is accessible to everyone. Education has proven to be a powerful tool in realizing the full potential of individual as well as ensuring human dignity and in enhancing personal and societal wellbeing. As such, equal access to education is instrumental not only for social, economic and economic growth, but also in achieving long-term peace and sustainable development. Most importantly, education is an essential tool for freeing marginalized groups from the chains of poverty as well as an indispensable means of realizing other rights. Unfortunately, equal access to education both in quantity and quality is yet to be achieved in every part of the world. Emily (2004), states that “Poor minority students still don’t have comparable access to effective teachers, measured by preparation and experience”. However, the US government like other multiple race nations has made tremendous efforts in formulating policies to enhance equal access to education for all children irrespective of race or ethnicity. Currently, unlike in the past, integration efforts have changed the racial composition in American schools. For example, “most districts schools currently have 35% blacks and 55% whites” (Emily, 2004). As such, the quality initiatives to desegregate students manifest a consideration of education as a right and not a privilege.
As stipulated in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, “every human being has the right to education.” As a right, education encompasses essential entitlements and freedoms. Every person has the right to free as well as compulsory primary education. Everyone has the right to available and accessible secondary education and equal access to higher education. Despite these entitlements, most countries do not classify right to education as a fundamental right, a criterion that often makes it difficult for people to fight for their educational rights resulting in many either receiving poor services or failing to attend schools. However, the right to education should be guaranteed and without discrimination in all cases. The states must protect, respect, and fulfil the right to education for all persons (UDHR). In respecting, the states must not interfere in any way with the enjoyment of the right to education. In protecting, the states must ensure no one else interferes with the enjoyment of the right to education through legal and regulation measures. The states must fulfil the right to education by laying down appropriate measures towards the achievement of the right. As such, “people can hold governments accountable for violation of rights to education with organizations like the UN regarding the right to education as an inherent right regardless of race, gender, and religion among other social factors” (Globalpartinership, 2017). Furthermore, the right to education grants the parents the freedom to choose schools that conform to their moral and moral convictions on behalf of their children. Consequently, parents can choose education for their kids, and all children have the right to have equal opportunities in their educational development. These insights, in whole, make education a right and not a privilege.
As the primary administrator of the state, the government has primary obligation enforcing the right to education. Besides respecting, protecting and fulfilling the right, the government is obligated to refrain from taking retrogressive measures that may repeal the current guarantees to the right to education. However, there is less attention given to elementary education particularly in the developing nations. As a result, “a substantial number of children either drop or acquire sub-standard knowledge a situation that cast doubts on the government’s commitment to provide education” (OECD, 2015). Nevertheless, several government have observed their obligation in guaranteeing the right to education by making efforts to strengthen the standards of elementary education. For instance, India has the Right to Education Act (2009) that makes elementary school education “a fundamental right for kids aged 4-14 years” (Mavlankar, 2018). Equally, the Act allocates about 25% in private schools for the socially impaired children with other initiatives meant to improve enrollment in both public and private schools. The combination of the increasing states observance of their obligation in guaranteeing the right to education and their education efforts to cement learning as a basic requirement for all citizens qualify education as a right rather than a privilege.
Education disparities exist in many countries in the world. The problem ranges from discrimination and inadequate education policies as well as the lack of enforcement of initiatives meant to foster equal access to education. Nevertheless, governments around the world have made crucial steps towards ensuring a better education system and equal access to all. As such, these efforts make education a right and not a privilege.