August 17, 2010: Global March welcomed the news from UNESCO of the appointment of Dr Kishore Singh as the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, a prestigious position in the UN system. The mandate entrusted to the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education gives prominence to Education For All (EFA) as well as to Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2 and 3 relating to the right to education and gender equity.
The challenges ahead of Dr Singh include ensuring full compliance with the core obligation of providing primary education free of charge for all and making access to basic education universal and progressing on other EFA goals. Among the many considerations that will fall to his office are the legal and policy questions necessary to ensure quality in education; the challenge of overcoming inequalities in education in law and in fact, as well as eliminating disparities in education; greater emphasis on the inclusive dimensions of the right to education and on intensifying normative action for its achievement; and the legal and policy framework for resource mobilisation and investment in education.
The right to education is not only a human right but is also essential for the exercise of all other human rights. The fulfilment of the right to education is thus at the heart of the EFA process. More needs to be done to give it much-needed impetus. Speaking following the announcement, Global March Chairperson Kailash Satyarthi said:
“We look forward to working with Dr Singh in his new function as the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education. He will be dealing with issues of vital importance to our work in terms of enforcing universal primary education; improving access; overcoming inequalities in education systems to ensure inclusion particularly for girls, child labourers and at-risk children; adapting education systems to their specific needs, of child labourers and former working children; and ensuring adequate resources to implement and sustain education for all children.”
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