Time to recognise the right to education as a fundamental human right

In the Constitution of Bangladesh, two categories of human rights are enshrined. The first generation of human rights, otherwise known as "Civil & Political Rights" has been acknowledged as fundamental rights given to the citizens of this country.

The second generation of human rights has been contained within the Constitution as the fundamental principles of state policy. These are the ones which concern "Economic, Social and Cultural Rights."

The right to education falls under the second category, and accordingly, it is not judicially enforceable. As this right is not justiciable, education remains merely a privilege given to the citizens and not a right in Bangladesh.

As the country awaits a new education law, it is time to push for a change in the Constitution regarding the status of this right. But why is it necessary for us to do so?

Firstly, making the right judicially enforceable means granting the right to be executed in its full form. Keeping economic, social, and cultural rights out of the reach of courts is arbitrary and results in curtailing the capacity of the courts to protect marginalised and vulnerable groups in society. Indeed, the absence of judicial enforceability exposes the whole system to opportunities for malpractice.

Children going to school. File photo

Secondly, international human rights instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 26), International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (Article 13), and Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 28), have recognised education as a human right for all by pronouncing that primary education should be compulsory and free to all and that parties to these instruments should make national laws to create an equal and educated society.

Additionally, SAARC principles recognise education as a fundamental right. Neighbouring countries and SAARC member states have started to accept the right to education as a fundamental human right. Five of the eight member states, namely India in 2002, Afghanistan in 2004, Maldives in 2009, Pakistan in 2010 and Nepal in 2015, have accepted the right to education as a fundamental human right in their constitution.

Except for Afghanistan and Pakistan, the other three countries also have corresponding national educational legislation. Only Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Bangladesh do not include education in their constitution as a fundamental right. What message does this send to the world regarding our commitment to ensuring and protecting the right to education?

Furthermore, the status of fundamental rights is essential for the education sector to diminish discrimination of all sorts. Even after allocating so much budget in the education sector, members belonging to the transgender community, disabled individuals, ethnic minorities, Urdu-speaking Bangladeshi-born people, children of sex workers and other marginalised groups seldom enjoy the privilege of education.

According to data procured from research conducted by Manusher Jonno Foundation in 2016, only 28% of marginalised people have received formal education. The organisation asserts that the government, the market and the society are equally to be blamed for this low rate. As a result, it has become critical to ensure the judicial enforceability of the right to education so that these people can seek proper remedy from the judicial system.

Again, the right to education must be guaranteed and protected at all costs to build a just and equal society and, in the long run, uphold the rule of law.

Finally, while it is the goal of the government to attain a 100 percent adult literacy rate by the fiscal year 2031, it was only 75.6 percent as of 2021. In order to achieve this target, the right to education needs to fall under the category of fundamental human rights.

The author is a Law graduate from UAP-UMSAILS LLM Programme.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.