This indicator assesses whether the State has adopted laws and/or policies that guarantee the right to education of students  from rural and remote areas, including the provision of the necessary equipment and support for them to attend school, including ECCE centres/pre-primary schools.

This indicator assesses whether the State has adopted laws and/or policies to guarantee the right to education of girls and women, including the provision of the necessary equipment and support to enable female students to attend school, including ECCE centres, without any discrimination.     

The right to equality and non-discrimination are core human rights and the basis for ensuring the right to education for all. The international human rights legal framework contains international instruments to combat specific forms of discrimination.

The States have the obligation to make primary education compulsory. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (General Comment No. 36 (paras. 36, 39) recommends that education should be free and compulsory from pre-school to secondary.

Ensuring free education in national legislation and aligning legal frameworks with the legal requirements of the right to education and the commitments to Sustainable Developmental Goal 4 is one of the most important challenges towards the full realisation of the right to education. States have the obligation to make primary education free and compulsory. While free primary education shall be immediately realised, the other levels of education can be made progressively free.

In some countries, the key dimensions of the right to education may not be explicitly enumerated in legal provisions, but they can be addressed through policies that are not legally binding.  These policies could have been revised and adopted at different periods depending on the changing context. Additionally, some levels of education, such as early childhood care and education, may not be covered in the legislation, but they could be integrated as part of either education policies or separate policies that focus on the 'care' and 'education' of young children.

Military training in and around educational institutions puts at risk not only the infrastructure of schools and universities but also the safety of students, teachers and staff, both in and while traveling to and from school.  They could also raise fears and increase a general climate of insecurity and instability that may prevent students from going to school, parents from sending their children from school, and teachers from going to work - thus having an impact  on absenteeism or drop-out rates. 

The government should be able to requisition public facilities (libraries, sports facilities, community centers) to ensure the continuity of learning activities for students that are not able to continue their studies because of  attacks on education. Classes should be relocated to other public spaces that ensure the safety of students, teachers and personnel and guarantee the continuity of education. 

Schools and universities (even those that have been abandoned or evacuated because of the dangers presented by armed conflict) should not be requested by armed forces, including during armed conflict, at the risk of hindering access and availability of education by causing the discontinuity of learning activities. Also, the military use of educational facilities increases the likelihood of attack and may change the school/university from a civilian object to (legitimate) military target. 

Armed forces may be designated to provide security to schools and universities in conflict affected areas to ensure access and availability of education. If this is the case, inform clearly what constitutes the mandate of the armed forces.