© Gideon Mendel/Corbis/ActionAid

Welcome to the Right to Education Project (RTE)

69 Million children are still out of school, more than 700 million can't read. We work to change these numbers by holding governments to account. The Right to Education Project conducts research, builds capacity, develops resources for advocacy, and collaborates with a wide network of human rights and education practitioners.

In 2011 we are focusing on:

• Developing right to education indicators
• Researching minimum ages for leaving school, employment, marriage & criminal responsibility 
• Developing resources on analysis of constitutional provisions of the right to education 
• Developing resources on protecting the right to education in emergencies 

ActionAid's Promoting Rights in Schools

Inspired by education and human rights frameworks, ActionAid and the Right to Education Project jointly developed a tool for measuring the right to edcuation at the school level to inform policy and advocacy work.  Promoting Rights in Schools focuses on ten core aspects of the right to education, expressed in a charter of ten rights, and through a human rights based approach, empowers communities to identify gaps in the implemenation of the right to education through:

• A charter of 10 core edcuation rights
• Surveys to idnetify gaps in protection at the school level
• Tips on research methodology and follow up activities.

The school-level reports will feed into a national-level baseline report, which will be used to advocate for change.  This work draws from our experience of developing human rights indicators on the right to education.

At What Age? ...are school children employed, married and taken to court?

Trends over time

RTE's 2011 report analyses the legal minimum ages across 187 countries, focusing on four key areas - completing compulsory education, entering employment, getting married and being accorded criminal responsibility. At What Age? draws on 18 years of reporting under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and raises questions regarding the cross-section of these issues and their affect on the right to education.  Join our online forum to discuss strategies for addressing incoherent legislation.