The right to higher education and rethinking merit - Briefing note compendium

In this briefing note compendium, UNESCO IESALC presents the findings of a thematic consultation dedicated to rethinking merit and critically discussing the structural barriers surrounding this concept. The briefing note compendium presents experts’ views on the various challenges associated with merit and some ideas to restart the debate and promote the right to higher education from a social justice perspective.

Within this compendium is a paper published by Delphine Dorsi entitled 'Capacity or Merit? Rethinking notions in access to higher education', pp.18-19.

Technology and education in light of human rights

In her 2022 Report on the impact of the digitalisation of education on the right to education, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education clarified that any introduction of digital technologies in education must be framed around the right of every person to public, free, quality education and the commitments of states in this regard both under international human rights law and Sustainable Development Goal 4.

New beginnings: The right to equality and early childhood care and education

While South Africa has seen important advances in the provision of early childhood care and education (ECCE), about 3.2 million children still lack access to any programme. Problems of access and quality are most pronounced in the poorest communities. Even before Covid-19 forced many providers to close, these programmes were overcrowded, with poor infrastructure, and an under-paid and under-qualified workforce. ECCE is crucial for a child’s development, meaning that these inequalities are amplified in school and later life.

A human rights approach: The right to education in the time of COVID-19

One of the most serious consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the disruption of children’s education worldwide with the closure of schools for public health reasons. Projections from UNESCO Institute for Statistics show that nearly 100 million children across eight age cohorts would move below the minimum proficiency threshold in reading in 2020 due to the pandemic (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2021).

Child migration and access to Early Childhood Care and Education: Limitations in legal frameworks and other concerns

Early childhood, defined as the period from birth to eight years old, is a crucial time for the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional growth of children. Access to quality early childhood care and education (ECCE), therefore, can be vital in laying the foundations for children’s long-term development, well-being, learning, and health. Despite this, universal and equitable access to free, quality, and compulsory pre-primary education is one of the major education challenges. One out of two children does not receive pre-primary education.

Working paper | Public education works: five lessons from low- and middle-income countries

In recent decades, governments have made considerable efforts to provide education for all. However, a large gap remains between international commitments, such as the Sustainable Development Goal 4, and the actual achievement of equitable quality education for all. As a result, certain actors often critique public education as ineffective and inefficient, and thus incapable of addressing this issue. They argue for privatisation as a solution, deeming private providers as more innovative and effective than public ones.

Dès le départ : construire des sociétés inclusives grâce à une éducation de la petite enfance inclusive

L’éducation de la petite enfance peut offrir de nouvelles opportunités aux enfants défavorisés, à condition que les programmes fassent de l’inclusion un principe directeur. Si la communauté internationale s’est d’ores et déjà engagée en faveur de l’éducation inclusive, les efforts consentis par les différents pays pour étendre cet objectif à la petite enfance sont très variables.

Documento de política 46 - Desde un comienzo: forjar sociedades inclusivas mediante la educación inclusiva en la primera infancia

La educación de la primera infancia tiene el potencial de ampliar las oportunidades de los niños desfavorecidos, siempre que en los programas la inclusión sea el principio rector. Si bien la comunidad internacional se ha comprometido a impulsar la educación inclusiva, los esfuerzos por extender este objetivo a la primera infancia varían de un país a otro.

Policy Paper 46 - Right from the start: build inclusive societies through inclusive early childhood education

Early childhood education has the potential to expand opportunities for disadvantaged children, provided that programmes use inclusion as a guiding principle. While the international community has committed to inclusive education, countries vary in their efforts to extend this goal to early childhood. Universal access is the basis of inclusion, and countries must address barriers related to socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender, language, disability and remoteness.

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