The child's right to education towards universal application?

Abstract

Educating today's children is an investment in our greatest resource. It is the key to a better future where people can live in a multicultural society based on mutual understanding. Education is crucial for human development, it enables people to make better life choices. The child's right to education was first introduced in 1924 as part of the Geneva declaration on the Rights of the Child. This right has developed over the years as the importance of educating children continues to increase. Children are guaranteed free and compulsory education by various legal instruments with the hope of ensuring education for all by 2015. All children have a right to good quality education without discrimination. Basic education should be provided free of charge to all children including: girls, children with special needs as well as children belonging to minority or indigenous groups. Even though children are guaranteed this right, there are several barriers to education as well as inequalities which violate this right. These may be social, economic, political or even cultural. In order to overcome these barriers, more international cooperation and aid is required. Also, national governments must give basic education the priority it deserves. Targets have been set in order to achieve universal primary education by 2015. Some progress has been made, however; we are half way to the target date with over I 00 million children still being denied the educational opportunities promised under the several human rights instruments. Tunisia has achieved substantial progress in enrolment ratios as well as in completion ratios. Gender parity has been reached in Tunisia and Malta. The latter achieved universal primary education in 1946. In both Malta and Tunisia, a trend of gender disparity in favour of girls has been observed. Children are the future, and the future is in our hands. Therefore unparalleled efforts must be made in order to ensure that the right to education is universally applied.