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.
In this decision, the Supreme Court of India interpreted the right to education to include the right to the provision of a safe environment in schools, and imposed an obligation on schools to comply with certain fire safety precautions which were detailed in the judgment.
Bridge International Academies (BIA) is a large and expanding business that provides for-profit private education in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and India. With support and investment coming from global edubusiness Pearson, the World Bank, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and high profile actors such as Mark Zuckerberg and the Gates Foundation, the claims that BIA makes regarding its services are impressive, portraying the company as providing a magic bullet solution to educational inequalities and a high quality alternative to insufficient and inadequate govern
Violence in schools and other educational settings is a worldwide problem. Students who are perceived not to conform to prevailing sexual and gender norms, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), are more vulnerable. Violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, also referred to as homophobic and transphobic violence, is a form of school-related gender-based violence.
The Special Rapporteur examines the right to education in the digital age and, specifically, how to uphold the norms and principles that underlie the right to education while embracing digital technologies, which are revolutionising teaching and learning processes and transforming the landscape of higher education. He considers issues related to marginalisation and exclusion, as well as the quality of education, especially human values in education. Concerns are expressed about the digital divide and about how it affects fundamental principles, such as equality of opportunity.
In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a public school funding system based primarily on local property tax revenues does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause nor does it violate the right to education because, although education is an ‘important service’ it is not a fundamental right, as recognised by the U.S. Constitution.
On Tuesday 2 December 2015 a full bench of the Supreme Court of Appeal delivered a beautiful, globally significant judgment. In essence it said that the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) failure to provide learners in Limpopo with their textbooks directly infringed on their rights to basic education, equality and dignity and amounted to unfair discrimination. The DBE’s appeal in the Limpopo textbooks saga was therefore dismissed and Basic Education For All’s (BEFA) cross appeal was upheld.
On 24 November 2015 the Department of Basic Education (“DBE”) will argue before the Supreme Court of Appeal that delivery of textbooks to each learner in South Africa for each of their subjects before the beginning of the school year is an “impossible standard of perfection”.
Overview of the measures supporting the rights, status and working conditions of the teaching profession reported on by Member States.
South Africa’s education system is widely accepted to be in crisis. An alarming number of its children are functionally illiterate and innumerate. Many schools lack equipment, infrastructure and even basic necessities like furniture.
In this context, could improving access to textbooks make any real difference?