The Right to Education

Education is both a right in itself and a key to other rights, because it enables people to understand and claim their freedoms. Compulsory schooling spread in the nineteenth century: Prussia introduced school regulations in 1763, Massachusetts passed the first US compulsory attendance law in 1852, and England made elementary schooling compulsory in 1880.

UDHR Article 26 declared that elementary education should be free and compulsory, and the CRC adds that education should develop each child's personality and talents and promote respect for human rights. Barriers remain, including poverty, conflict, discrimination against girls and children with disabilities, and the cost of uniforms and transport.

Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani schoolgirl who campaigned for girls' education, was shot by the Taliban in 2012 and survived to become the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2014, sharing it with Indian child-rights activist Kailash Satyarthi. Debates continue over how to ensure quality as well as access.