Right to education demands financial commitment: UN expert


OHCHR | Geneva | Updated: 23-01-2023 11:27 IST | Created: 23-01-2023 11:27 IST
Right to education demands financial commitment: UN expert
Representative image Image Credit: ANI

The right to education demands robust financial commitment from States in addition to political commitment, a UN expert said today.

“The right to education for all will remain an empty promise unless adequate financial resources are available to UNESCO, the international agency leading education, as well as in all national budgets,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Farida Shaheed, at the end of a five-day official visit to UNESCO.

Shaheed stressed that States have the primary responsibility of ensuring the right to education. She expressed concern at the growing role of the commercial sector in both international and national arenas.

“In our post-Covid era, the digitalisation of education should not be at the expense of children and other learners through data-mining for example”, Shaheed said. She commended UNESCO on initiating much-needed discussions on necessary paradigm shifts in how education is conceptualised, realised and assessed in a way that is meaningful to address today’s realities.

“The right to education is a right to life-long learning. Beyond issues of availability and access, we must ensure quality, relevant content, nurturing a sense of global citizenship, spaces for open discussions as well as respect for diversity, inclusion, and human rights,” the UN expert said.

“I was very pleased to have explored areas for potential synergies, complementarities and future collaborations between UNESCO and my mandate,” Shaheed said.

The Special Rapporteur will submit a full report on her visit to the Human Rights Council in June 2023.

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