NORRAG SPECIAL ISSUE The Right to Education Movements and Policies: Promises and Realities About NSI NORRAG Special issue (NSI) is an open-source periodical. It Network for international policies and cooperatio n in education and training seeks to give prominence to authors from different countries NORRAG Réseau sur les politique s et la coopératio n and with diverse perspectives. Each issue is dedicated to a internationales en éducation et en formation special topic of global education policy and international cooperation in education. NSI includes a number of concise 20, Rue Rothschild l P.O. Box 1672 articles from diverse perspectives and actors with the aim to 1211 Geneva 1, Switzerland bridge the gap between theory and practice as well as advocacy +41 (0) 22 908 45 47 and policy in international education development. [email protected] NSI is produced by NORRAG and is supported by the NORRAG Special Issue 01, January 2018 Open Society Foundations (OSF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The content and Coordination perspectives presented in the articles are those of the Dr. Arushi Terway individual authors and do not represent views of any of these organizations. Production Paul Gerhard About NORRAG NORRAG is a global membership-based network of Design concept international policies and cooperation in education, Anouk Pasquier Di Dio established in 1986. NORRAG’s core mandate and strength is to produce, disseminate and broker critical knowledge and to Copy editing build capacity for and with a wide range of stakeholders. These Amy Henderson stakeholders inform and shape education policies and practice, both at national and international levels. By doing so, NORRAG NORRAG is supported by: contributes to creating the conditions for more participatory, better informed, and evidence-based policy decisions that improve equal access to and quality of education. NORRAG is an associate programme of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva More information about NORRAG, including its scope of work and thematic areas, is available at www.norrag.org @norrag @norrag.network Published under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ISSN: pending The Right to Education Movements and Policies: Promises and Realities Guest editors Archana Mehendale, Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India Rahul Mukhopadhyay, Visiting Faculty, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India 3 3 Foreword The year 2018 marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal (NSI) is dedicated to examining international frameworks and Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted by the national policy as well as the challenges of fulfilling the right to global community in 1948. Amongst other fundamental human education in practice. rights, we have yet to realise the right to education as outlined in Article 26 of the UDHR: Since its inception in 1986, NORRAG has been charged with the task of disseminating knowledge, providing critical analysis 1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be and perspective, and facilitating dialogue on global education free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. and education cooperation policy. Over the last 30 years, under Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and the leadership of our distinguished colleague Kenneth King, professional education shall be made generally available Professor Emeritus of the University of Edinburgh, 54 issues and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the of NORRAG News (NN) were published. NORRAG Special Issues basis of merit. (NSI) will build on this achievement and will aim to further decentralise and amplify the voices of the Global South in 2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the critical analyses of education policy and practice. human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote The inaugural issue of NSI on the Right to Education Movements understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, and Policies: Promises and Realities aims to highlight the global racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of and national level experience and perspective on guaranteeing the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. the right to education, as outlined in international frameworks, national constitutions, legislation, and policy, when creating 3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education the required administrative structures to ensure that the right that shall be given to their children.1 is respected, protected, and fulfilled for all. As with other NORRAG activities, we attempt to bridge the gap between both Commitment to ensuring the right to education for all has theory and practice and advocacy and policy in international since been affirmed in several international frameworks and, educational development. We pursue this intellectual project by most recently, within Sustainable Development Goal 4: Ensure generating a platform in which an informed dialogue between inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong researchers, policy actors, and advocacy groups may take place. learning. The Issue is divided into six parts, each focusing on a specific However, according to UNESCO, 264 million children and theme of right to education policy and practice. In part 1, youth are still out of school around the world, and this is only authors take a global perspective in highlighting the experience, accounting for the primary (61 million) and secondary school opportunities, and challenges with the implementation of (203 million) age population. In particular, the poorest and most global normative and legal frameworks for on ensuring the marginalised, including ethnic and religious minorities, persons right to education for all. Part 2 delves more deeply into the with disabilities, girls, and populations experiencing conflict, are historical evolution and reconceptualisation of education often systematically unable to access and complete a full cycle for the progressive expansion of the right to education. of quality education. The first volume of NORRAG Special Issue Beyond the global discussion, authors bring contextualised 4 perspectives from India, South Africa, and China. In the third National Law School of India University, Bangalore, where she part of the Issue articles present the challenges encountered helped to design and launch the Post Graduate Diploma in at the national level in Brazil, South Africa, and India, with Child Rights Law. the implementation of international frameworks, legal standards, policy goals and domestic legislation on right to Rahul Mukhopadhyay is currently a visiting faculty member education. In part 4, contributions exemplify the engagement with the School of Education, Azim Premji University. He of various stakeholders, from regulatory bodies to parents and also works with the Connected Learning Initiative under the community, in ensuring and holding the government to account Centre for Education Innovation and Action Research (CEIAR), for the provision of the right to education. Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He has worked on several projects on education in India related to the right to education, Within part 5, authors with diverse perspectives highlight the changing nature of the public and the private in school imperative debates and experiences concerning private sector education, strengthening of institutional capacity, quality in engagement in the provision of education and in guaranteeing education, and education governance. the right to education to all. The concluding part of the Issue brings attention to the challenges faced by specific The guest editors, Professor Mehendale and Dr. Mukhopadhyay, marginalised populations in accessing their right to education— would like to acknowledge with gratitude the support extended street children in Brazil, refugees, Roma populations in Europe, by a number of individuals and institutions in the preparation of mobile populations in India, and indigenous peoples of this Issue. The Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and the Canada. Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, made it possible for them to embark on this exciting and highly stimulating engagement. We are pleased that Professors Archana Mehendale and Rahul Colleagues from these, namely Shubhangi Wankhede, Sunita Mukhopadhyay serve as the guest editors for the inaugural issue Badrinarayan, Gitanjali Somanathan, and Professor. Padma of NSI: Sarangapani, have been extremely generous with their time and support. They sincerely appreciate the professional support Archana Mehendale is a Professor at the Centre for Education, provided by Abhigna A.S. and Aparna Tulpule who helped Innovation and Action Research, Tata Institute for Social with the editing of this Issue. Baidehi Sengupta and Sankar Sciences. She also serves as a Lecturer at the University of Ram Barman deserve specific mention for assistance with the Geneva in the Master of Advanced Studies on Child Rights interview with Prof. Krishna Kumar, as does, Dr. Manish Jain, program. She was a member of the CABE committee, which Ambedkar University Delhi, who also helped with this interview. drafted the Right to Education legislation in India, and has previously worked with the Centre for Child and the Law,