Governments must not delegate responsibility of basic
education to private sector, UN expert says
GENEVA (12 February 2015) - “Free, quality basic education
is a fundamental human right for all, and governments must not delegate this
responsibility to the private sector,” today said the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the right to education, Kishore Singh.
The expert’s call comes after African education authorities
discussed, among other issues, the possibility of reducing States’ spending on
education by promoting the expansion of private education at the Sub-Saharan
Africa Regional Ministerial Conference on Education Post-2015 held in Kigali,
Rwanda, this week.
“I am deeply concerned that some governments are actively
encouraging the growth of private education in basic education,” Mr. Singh
said. “Education is not a privilege of the rich and well-to-do; it is an
inalienable right of every child. Provision of basic education free of costs is
a core obligation of States.”
“Privatisation in education negatively affects the right to
education both as entitlement and as empowerment. Moreover, it depletes public
investment in education as an essential public service and can lead to abusive
practices,” the expert stressed, recalling his 2014 report* to the UN General
Assembly.
“Now more than ever, governments should be expanding public
educational opportunities for the marginalised groups, especially children from
poor families,” the Special Rapporteur stressed.
Mr. Singh noted that, in the context of the UN Post-2015
Development Agenda, “education deserves to be a high priority, receiving a high
degree of public investment in recognition of the fact that it benefits both
the individual and society.”
“I call upon governments to stand against the idea of
privatising basic education and to strengthen their public systems. Free basic
education is the cornerstone of the right to education and must not be
undermined through privatisation,” he said.
(*) Check the full report (A/69/402):
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Education/SREducation/Pages/AnnualReports.aspx
ENDS
Kishore Singh (India), the Special Rapporteur on the right
to education since August 2010, is a professor specialized in international law
who has worked for many years with UNESCO for the promotion of the right to
education, and advised a number of international, regional and national bodies
on right to education issues. Throughout his career, Mr. Singh has supported
the development of the right to education in its various dimensions and worked
to promote better understanding of this right as an internationally recognized
right. Learn more, log on to:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Education/SREducation/Pages/SREducationIndex.aspx
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest
body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that
address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of
the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not
UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from
any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
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