Theright to educationis a universal entitlement toeducation, recognized in theInternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rightsas ahuman rightthat includes the right to free, compulsoryprimary educationfor all, an obligation to developsecondary educationaccessible to all, in particular by the progressive introduction of free secondary education, as well as an obligation to develop equitable access tohigher education, ideally by the progressive introduction of free higher education. The right to education also includes a responsibility to provide basic education for individuals who have not completed primary education. In addition to these access to education provisions, the right to education encompasses the obligation to rule outdiscriminationat all levels of the educational system, to set minimum standards and to improve quality of education.
Educationnarrowly refers to formal institutional instructions. Generally, international instruments use the term in this sense and the right to education, as protected byinternational human rights instruments, refers primarily to education in a narrow sense. The 1960UNESCOConvention against Discrimination in Education defines education in Article 1(2) as: "all types and levels of education, (including) access to education, the standard and quality of education, and the conditions under which it is given."[6]
In a wider senseeducationmay describe "all activities by which a human group transmits to its descendants a body of knowledge and skills and a moral code which enable the group to subsist".[6]In this sense education refers to the transmission to a subsequent generation of those skills needed to perform tasks of daily living, and further passing on the social, cultural, spiritual and philosophical values of the particular community. The wider meaning of education has been recognised in Article 1(a) ofUNESCO's 1974Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.[7]The article states that education implies:
"the entire process of social life by means of which individuals and social groups learn to develop consciously within, and for the benefit of, the national and international communities, the whole of their personal capabilities, attitudes, aptitudes and knowledge."[6]
