The Right to Education – Its Meaning, Significance and Limitations
| Author | Manfred Nowak |
| Published date | 01 December 1991 |
| Date | 01 December 1991 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/016934419100900404 |
NQHR4/1991
THE
RIGHT
TO
EDUCATION -
ITS
MEANING,
SIGNIFICANCE
AND
LIMITATIONS
Manfred Nowak
IHistoryof theRight to Education
There are many ironies in history. One of them relatesto thedevelopment of
the right to education in international law.Like other economic, social and
cultural rights,
it
has
its origins in the Socialistconcept of humanrights, and
it
was promoted on the international level by Socialist States. But onlynow,
when these States are gradually disappearing, seriousefforts for the inter-
national implementation of these rights are undertaken.
Although compulsory primary education was praisedas a majorachieve-
ment alreadyduring the age of Enlightenment in Europe,the right to education
did not figure amongthe civil liberties enumerated in domestic Billsof Rights
proclaimed by most European and American nations in thelate 18th and 19th
centuries. The main reason for this omission issimply that inthe liberal
concept of human rights, civil liberties wereunderstoodas "negative" rights
directed againstState interference. Inthe Socialist concept, on the contrary,the
right to education, together with the right to work and theright to social
security, figured among the most prominent human rights which were
conceived as individual rights that required positive action by theState and
society.
Thanks tothe insistence of representatives of Socialist States in theUnited
Nations the Universal Declaration
of
Human Rights of 1948 does not only
contain the classical civil and political rights,but also the most important
economic, social and culturalrights.Article 26 guaranteesto everyonethe right
to education and provides in considerable detail that
•Lecturer attheVerwaltungsakademie desBundes,Vienna. Thispaper waspresented tothe
International Workshop of WorldUniversityService on"Education forAll" on6September
1991, New Delhi,India. For theDeclaration of thismeeting and information aboutWorld
University Service, see Appendices I and II of this NQHR.
418
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