Human Rights and Equality in Education : Comparative Perspectives on the Right to Education for Minorities and Disadvantaged Groups

Thousands of children from minority and disadvantaged groups will never cross the threshold of a classroom. What can human rights contribute to the struggle to ensure that every learner is able to access high quality education? This brilliant interdisciplinary collection explores how a human rights perspective offers new insights and tools into the current obstacles to education. It examines the role of private actors, the need to hold states to account for the quality of education, how to strike a balance between religion, culture and education, the innovative responses needed to guarantee girls' right to education and the role of courts. This unique book draws together contributors who have been deeply involved in this field from both developing and developed countries which enriches the understanding and remedial approaches to tackle current obstacles to universal education. HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALITY IN EDUCATION Contents Notes on contributors Foreword Human rights and equality in education: Introduction Conclusion Part I. The role of public and private actors in education 1. Public rights and private schools: state accountability for violations of rights in education Introduction Background: the Irish primary school system The Louise O’Keeffe case: national litigation The Louise O’Keeffe case: Strasbourg litigation Conclusion 2. The dynamics of regulating low-fee private schools in Kenya Introduction Growth and expansion of low-fee private schools in Kenya Regulation of low-fee private schools in Kenya Discussion on the regulation of APBET schools Conclusion 3. Education at the margins: the potential benefits of private educational initiatives for disadvantaged groups Introduction The equality of individuals Overcoming the legacies of racism, sexism and colonialism Pedagogical innovations from the margins Providing more innovative forms of cost-effective education that improve access and quality Conclusion Part II. Balancing the right to freedom of religion and culture and the right to education 4. Calling the farce on minority schools Introduction The right to education under the RTE Act and the first phase of litigation The second phase of RTE litigation: the clamour for minority status What is a minority institution and who is the competent authority? The need for clearer criteria for minority schools Conclusion 5. The challenge of Afrikaans language rights in South African education Introduction The nature of the problem The constitutional position Finding resolution Conclusion Part III. Gender equality in education: moving beyond access to primary education 6. Women and education: the right to substantive equality Introduction Development goals and human rights Substantive equality for women to, in and through education Conclusion 7. Equality and the right to education: let’s talk about sex education The obstacles to sex education CEDAW’s commitment to sex education The CEDAW Committee’s approach to sex education Strengthening sex education in CEDAW Conclusion Part IV. Litigating for quality and equality in education Conceptualising and enforcing the right to quality education for minorities and disadvantaged groups: reflections on the Campaign 8. for Fiscal Equity litigation Introduction: achieving access to quality education for all Conceptualising the right to quality education: the value of a human rights-based assessment of quality Enforcing the right to quality education: implications for the role of the court Conclusion 9. From the classroom to the courtroom: litigating education rights in South Africa Introduction Leaving the legacy behind Players and powers: who gets to set school policies? Blackboards, books and buildings: litigating education ‘inputs’ Conclusion 10. Human rights and equality in education: Conclusion Index Thousands of children from minority and disadvantaged groups will never cross the threshold of a classroom. What can human rights contribute to the struggle to ensure that every learner is able to access high quality educationThis brilliant interdisciplinary collection explores how a human rights perspective offers new insights and tools into the current obstacles to education. It examines the role of private actors, the need to hold states to account for the quality of education, how to strike a balance between religion, culture and education, the innovative responses needed to guarantee girlśђة right to education and the role of courts. This unique book draws together contributors who have been deeply involved in this field from both developing and developed countries which enriches the understanding and remedial approaches to tackle current obstacles to universal education Thousands of children from minority and disadvantaged groups will never cross the threshold of a classroom. What can human rights contribute to the struggle to ensure that every learner is able to access high-quality education? This book explores how a human rights perspective offers new insights and tools into the current obstacles to education. It examines the role of private actors, the need to hold states to account for the quality of education, how to strike a balance between religion, culture and education, the innovative responses needed to guarantee girls' right to education and the role of courts. The book draws together contributors who have been deeply involved in this field from both developing and developed countries which enriches the understanding and remedial approaches to tackle current obstacles to universal education. "Thousands of children from minority and disadvantaged groups will never cross the threshold of a classroom. What can human rights contribute to the struggle to ensure that every learner is able to access high quality education? This brilliant interdisciplinary collection explores how a human rights perspective offers new insights and tools into the current obstacles to education. It examines the role of private actors, the need to hold states to account for the quality of education, how to strike a balance between religion, culture and education, the innovative responses needed to guarantee girls' right to education and the role of courts."--Page 4 of cover