Landmark court decision on right to education
That education is a human right is no big news, however, the fact that a court has declared that education is an enforceable right sets precedents for future cases. This is what happened on the 27th October 2009, when the ECOWAS court read their decision in public (ECW/CCJ/APP/08/08) stating that the right to education is justiciable and can be litigated before the ECOWAS court.
The Court said that the right to education can be enforced before the Court and dismissed all objections brought by the Federal Government (FG), through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), that education is "a mere directive policy of the government and not a legal entitlement of the citizens."
"One implication of the decision is that governments especially in the West African sub-region can no longer regard education as a matter of policy or fundamental objective but a legal entitlement. It means countries like Nigeria which still do not recognize a legal right to education will have to adjust or reform their legal rules, in line with the decision". (Dr. Kolawole Olaniyan, AI)
"This is the first time an international court has recognized citizens' legal right to education, and sends a clear message to ECOWAS member states, including Nigeria and indeed all African governments, that the denial of this human right to millions of African citizens will not be tolerated." (SERAP's Solicitor Femi Falana).
The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote D’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo.
The ECOWAS court has declared that they have jurisdiction to adjudicate on violations of rights contained within the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights when the denial of these rights take place in countries signatories of such charter.
Read more:
SERAP vs Federal Republic of Nigeria and Universal Basic Education Commission
