New York, US (PANA) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Mr. Kishore Singh, has urged African governments to ensure that free and quality basic education is a fundamental human right for all, stressing that they should not delegate this responsibility to the private sector.
“Education is not a privilege of the rich and well-to-do; it is an inalienable right of every child. Provision of basic education free of costs is a core obligation of states,” Mr. Singh said at the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Ministerial Conference on Education Post-2015 in Kigali, Rwanda.
The UN expert expressed his deep concern that some governments were actively encouraging private basic education.
He recalled his 2014 report to the UN General Assembly, which emphasised the importance of preserving education as a public good and not a profit-making business and underscored the principles of non-discrimination, equal opportunity, social justice and equity.
“Privatisation in education negatively affects the right to education both as entitlement and as empowerment. Moreover, it depletes public investment in education as an essential public service and can lead to abusive practices,” he stressed.
The UN expert also noted that, in the context of the UN post-2015 development agenda, “education deserves to be a high priority, receiving a high degree of public investment in recognition of the fact that it benefits both the individual and society.
The statement disclosed that African education authorities at the Kigali conference discussed the possibility of reducing states’ education spending.
