This country factsheet on the Gambia intends to assist practitioners to identify the key national policies relevant to the right to education, analyse their strengths and weaknesses and detect the gaps between policies and practice, in order to use the empirical data collected to define a human rights advocacy strategy.
It provides an overview of: the obligations of the government to realise the right to education; the instruments (policies, budget…) and mechanisms (commissions, courts…) that exist in the country to implement the right to education; recommendations made by various national and international stakeholders (UN Agencies, NGOs…) on the right to education. This factsheet does not give a comprehensive overview of the policies in the country, but only a snapshot of some key aspects affecting the right to education.
This country factsheet on Liberia intends to assist practitioners to identify the key national policies relevant to the right to education, analyse their strengths and weaknesses and detect the gaps between policies and practice, in order to use the empirical data collected to define a human rights advocacy strategy.
It provides an overview of: the obligations of the government to realise the right to education; the instruments (policies, budget…) and mechanisms (commissions, courts…) that exist in the country to implement the right to education; recommendations made by various national and international stakeholders (UN Agencies, NGOs…) on the right to education. This factsheet does not give a comprehensive overview of the policies in the country, but only a snapshot of some key aspects affecting the right to education.
In this decision, the Constitutional Court of South Africa held that an eviction order obtained by an owner of private land on which a public school was located could not be enforced where it would impact students’ right to basic education and the best interests of the child under the South African Constitution (sections 28 and 29). The Court held that a private landowner and non-sate actor has a constitutional obligation not to impair the right to basic education under section 29 of the Constitution. The Court also held that, unlike other socio-economic rights protected by the Constitution, the right to basic education is immediately realisable and any limitation of this right must be 'reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom'.
This case involves the interpretation of the scope of the constitutional right in South Africa to basic education and in particular whether the provision of school textbooks to all basic education learners for the whole academic year is an essential component of this right.
This country factsheet on Sierra Leone is intended to assist practitioners identify the key national laws and policies relevant to the right to education; analyse their strengths and weaknesses; and detect the gaps between laws and policies, and practice; in order to use the empirical data collected to help define a human rights-based advocacy strategy.
It provides an overview of the obligations of the government to realise the right to education: the instruments (laws, policies, and budget) and mechanisms (commissions, courts, etc) that exist in the country to implement the right to education, and recommendations made by various national and international stakeholders (UN Agencies, NGOs…).
Parallel Report submitted by the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, with the support of the Africa Network Campaign on Education For All, the Privatisation in Education Research Initiative, the Right to Education Initiative, the Global Campaign for Education and Education International to the Pre-sessional Working Group of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the occasion of the consideration of the List of Issues related to the Periodic Reports of Ghana. This report highlights the issue of privatisation in education in Ghana.
This country factsheet on Tanzania and Zanzibar is intended to assist practitioners identify the key national laws and policies relevant to the right to education; analyse their strengths and weaknesses; and detect the gaps between laws and policies, and practice; in order to use the empirical data collected to help define a human rights-based advocacy strategy.
It provides an overview of the obligations of the government to realise the right to education: the instruments (laws, policies, and budget) and mechanisms (commissions, courts, etc) that exist in the country to implement the right to education, and recommendations made by various national and international stakeholders (UN Agencies, NGOs…).
This country factsheet on Kenya is intended to assist practitioners identify the key national laws and policies relevant to the right to education; analyse their strengths and weaknesses; and detect the gaps between laws and policies, and practice; in order to use the empirical data collected to help define a human rights-based advocacy strategy.
It provides an overview of the obligations of the government to realise the right to education: the instruments (laws, policies, and budget) and mechanisms (commissions, courts, etc) that exist in the country to implement the right to education, and recommendations made by various national and international stakeholders (UN Agencies, NGOs…).
The African continent has the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the world, according to the United Nations. Every year, thousands of girls become pregnant at the time when they should be learning history, algebra, and life skills. Adolescent girls who have early and unintended pregnancies face many social and financial barriers to continuing with formal education.
All girls have a right to education regardless of their pregnancy, marital or motherhood status. The right of pregnant—and sometimes married—girls to continue their education has evoked emotionally charged discussions across African Union member states in recent years. These debates often focus on arguments around “morality,” that pregnancy outside wedlock is morally wrong, emanating from personal opinions and experiences, and wide-ranging interpretations of religious teachings about sex outside of marriage. The effect of this discourse is that pregnant girls – and to a smaller extent, school boys who impregnate girls– have faced all kinds of punishments, including discriminatory practices that deny girls the enjoyment of their right to education. In some of the countries researched for this report, education is regarded as a privilege that can be withdrawn as a punishment.
Attacks on education by the insurgent group Boko Haram have caused horrific and long-term suffering for female students and teachers in northeastern Nigeria. Boko Haram has abducted over 600 girls and young women from school during the nine-year conflict, with some held in captivity for years, and many experiencing harmful repercussions long after they return home.
The 106-page report, “‘I Will Never Go Back to School’: Impact of Attacks on Education for Nigerian Women and Girls,” is based on interviews with 119 victims and eyewitnesses of attacks on schools and education, including survivors of the three largest school abductions in Nigeria: Chibok (April 2014), Damasak (November 2014), and Dapchi (February 2018). Women and girls speak out about their terrifying experiences, including forced conversion to Islam, forced “marriage,” rape, and other physical and psychological violence, in the report.