Education has been formally recognized as a human right since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. This has since been affirmed in numerous global human rights treaties, […] [which] establish an entitlement to free, compulsory primary education for all children; an obligation to develop secondary education, supported by measures to render it accessible to all children, as well as equitable access to higher education; and a responsibility to provide basic education for individuals who have not completed primary education (UNESCO and UNICEF, 2007:7).
UNESCO; UNICEF. 2007. A Human Rights-Based Approach to Education for All: A Framework for the Realization of Children’s Right to Education and Rights within Education. Paris: UNESCO; UNICEF.
"The right to education encompasses both entitlements and freedoms, including the:
- right to free and compulsory primary education
- right to available and accessible secondary education (including technical and vocational education and training), made progressively free
- right to equal access to higher education on the basis of capacity made progressively free
- right to fundamental education for those who have not received or completed primary education
- right to quality education both in public and private schools
- freedom of parents to choose schools for their children which are in conformity with their religious and moral convictions
- freedom of individuals and bodies to establish and direct education institutions in conformity with minimum standards established by the state
- academic freedom of teachers and students"