Education has been considered a human right through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. Article 26(1) of UDHR proclaims: 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. Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 (ICESCR) provides that the state parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education. Education is also a right of children and it is a duty of states to ensure primary education, according to the Article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 (CRC).
Although the covenants and conventions are specific, how many state parties have recognised education as a fundamental right of their citizens? Regarding these international instruments, we know that Bangladesh is a state party of these three core international conventions. Now the need is to know whether or not primary education is a fundamental human right for citizens here.
The 86th amendment to the Constitution of India adopted in 2002, provides for free and compulsory education for all children from six to fourteen and recognises the same as a fundamental right. Article 21A of the Indian Constitution provides that "The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine." Interestingly, the Act makes it obligatory for the state to ensure that every child gets free elementary education. Furthermore, the Indian Constitution does not only include the provision but also make the government accountable for ensuring that a child attends school. Right to education has been accepted as a fundamental right along with a constitutional guarantee in Article 17(2) of the Interim Constitution (2007) of Nepal. Article 14 section 1 of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines provides that the state shall "protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education, of all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all."
Article 17 of the Constitution of Bangladesh mentions free and compulsory education. It articulates that "the State shall adopt effective measures for the purpose of (a) establishing an uniform, mass-oriented and universal system of education and extending free and compulsory education to all children to such stage as may be determined by law and (b) relating education to the needs of society and developing properly trained and motivated citizens to serve those needs; removing illiteracy within such time as may be determined by law." However, Article 17 is a fundamental principle, but not a fundamental right for the citizens of Bangladesh. Hence, the government of Bangladesh holds no strict accountability regarding this issue. Citing the facts of India, Nepal and the Philippines, a strong argument can be placed for amendment to the country's constitution for making primary education a fundamental right for all.
The writers are lecturers, Department of Law, Notre Dame University Bangladesh
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