Commentary on the Right to Education
An Expository of Article 12 of the Maputo Protocol
Copyright (c) 2023 Onuora-Oguno Azubike
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
The right to education is identified as a crucial and classical right. This classification is premised on the fact that it provides the basis on which an individual has the potential to transform their status and build their desired personality. Additionally, it is the basis on which society is projected to be transformed and set on a better pedestal, with individuals playing positive roles. The recognition of the right, though emanating from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) received only tacit recognition through other treaties. The Maputo Protocol recognises the right to education, as it flows from the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. This commentary, therefore, examines the right to education as enshrined in the Maputo Protocol with the aim of restating the grounds covered in the protection of female children and women and exposing lost opportunities. Finally, it makes recommendations on how the lost ground can be covered and give better content and scope to the right to education.
Keywords:
How to Cite
References
Addaney, M. & Onuora-Oguno, A. C. (2017). Education as A Contrivance to Ending Child Marriage in Africa: Perspectives from Nigeria and Uganda. Amsterdam Law Forum, 9(2), 110–130. Online: https://doi.org/10.37974/ALF.297
Anyanwu, C. & Onuora-Oguno, A. (2013). An Overview of the Girl Child Access to Education in Africa. In B. Kombo, R. Sow, & F. J. Mohamed (Eds.), Journey to Equality: 10 Years of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa (pp. 74–77). Colourprint Ltd. Online: https://soawr.org/wp-content/uploads/JourneytoEquality.pdf
Audrey, O. (2012). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In J. A. Banks (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of Diversity in Education. SAGE Publications. Online: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452218533
Ayodele, J. B., & Adedokun, M. O. (2012). Towards Achieving Functional Adult Literacy in Nigeria. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 8(5), 209–235. Online: https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2012.v8n5p%p
Bantekas, L. & Oette, L. (2013). International Human Rights Law and Practice. Cambridge University Press. Online: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139048088
Beiter, K. D. (2006). The Protection of the Right to Education by International Law. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Online: https://brill.com/display/title/11557
Bowen, J. & Hobson, P. R. (1974). Theories of Education: Studies of Significant Innovation in Western Education Thoughts. Wiley.
Coomans, F. (2007). Identifying the Key Elements of the Right to Education: A Focus on Its Core Content. Online: https://bit.ly/3PDzPPY
Egbewole, W. O. & Alatise, T. N. (2017). ‘Realizing Socio-Economic Rights in Nigeria and the Justiciability Question: Lessons from South Africa and India. International Journal of Politics and Good Governance, 8(3), 1–24. Online: http://www.onlineresearchjournals.com/ijopagg/art/246.pdf
Fafunwa, A. B. (1974). History of Education in Nigeria. George Allen & Unwin Ltd.
Gawaya, R., & Mukasa, R. S. (2005). The African Women’s Protocol: a new dimension for women’s rights in Africa. In K. Kingma & C. Sweetman (Eds.), Gender, Development, and Advocacy (pp. 42–50). Oxfam GB. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1hj56hg.7
Hodal, K. (2017, October 11). Revealed: the 10 worst countries for girls to get an education. The Guardian. Online: https://bit.ly/43VDeOL
Human Rights Watch. (2021, September 29). Africa: Rights progress for pregnant students. Online: https://bit.ly/3NkZlXE
Ikejiani, O. (Ed.). (1965). Education in Nigeria. Praeger.
Ikpeze, O. V. (2015). Non-justiciability of Chapter II of the Nigerian constitution as an impediment to Economic Rights and Development. Developing Country Studies, 5(18), 48–57. Online: https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/DCS/article/view/25478
Kenyatta, J. (1979). Facing Mount Kenya. The Tribal Life of the Gikuyu. Mercury Books.
Mbaziria, C. (2009). Litigating socio-economic rights in South Africa: A choice between corrective and distributive justice. Pretoria University Law Press. Online: https://bit.ly/3pgeP7t
Nduka, O. (1975). Western Education and the Nigerian Cultural Background. Oxford University Press.
Ngugi, W. T. (1981). Decolonising the Mind. The Politics of Language in African Literature. James Currey.
Ojobo, J. A. (2008). Education: A catalyst for Women Empowerment in Nigeria. (2008 Ethiopian Journal of Education and Sciences, 4(1), 93–108. Online: https://doi.org/10.4314/ejesc.v4i1.42995
Omondi, S., Waweru, & Srinivasan, D. (2018). Breathing Life into the Maputo Protocol: Jurisprudence on the Rights of Women and Girls in Africa. Equality Now. Online: https://bit.ly/437cxFC
Onuora-Oguno, A. (2015). Seeking Solace from a Distance, Jettisoning National Courts: Reliance on Supra National Judicial Bodies to Realize Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) in Nigeria. Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting, 109, 30–32. Online: https://doi.org/10.5305/procannmeetasil.109.2015.0030
Onuora-Oguno, A. C. (2018). Craving for the Message but shooting the Messenger: RBA to teacher Welfare and Quality in Basic Education in Nigeria. In A. C. Onuora-Oguno, W. O. Egbewole, & T. M. Kleven (Eds.), Education Law, Strategic Policy and Sustainable Development in Africa: Agenda 2063 (pp. 101–120). Palgrave Macmillan Cham. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53703-0_5
Onuora-Oguno, A. C. (2019). Development and the Right to Education in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan Cham. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90335-4
Onuora-Oguno, A. & Abdulraheem-Mustapha, M. A. (2018). Beyond the Law to Socio-Legal Interventions: the Boko Haram Insurgency and the Nigerian Child. In J. M. Iyi & H. Strydom (Eds.), Boko Haram and International Law (pp. 371–389). Springer, Cham. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74957-0_16
Onuora-Oguno, A. C., Ike, C., & Barau, C. (2018). Deliberative and struggle theories of rights realisation: examining the protection of women in Nigeria. Journal of Law, Society and Development, 5(1), 1–16. Online: https://doi.org/10.25159/2520-9515/7068
Onuora-Oguno, A. C. & Shannika, S. (2018). Post Conflict rehabilitation of the Child towards the Africa 2063: Link between Psychology and Law. In O. Bialostocka (Ed.), New African Thinkers. HSRC Press.
Sefoka, I. M. & Odeku, K. O. (2021). Critical analysis of the right to education for pregnant school-going teenage girls in South Africa. African Journal of Gender, Society and Development (Formerly Journal of Gender, Information and Development in Africa), 10(3), 73–85. https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2021/v10n3a4
Serra, G. (2022, April 16). 33 teaching staff seriously attacked and one killed on school grounds since 2016. Independent Online. Online: https://bit.ly/46pQeO0
Singh, K. (2016). Right to education. India International Centre Quarterly, 42(3/4), 119–130.
Skelton, A. (2012). How far will the courts go in ensuring the right to a basic education? Southern African Public Law, 27(2), 392–408. Online: https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC154768
Tomaševski, K. (2001). Removing obstacles in the way of the right to education. Novum Grafiska AB. Online: https://bit.ly/441gxIQ
Usman, M. (2022, January 20). How Kano girl was abducted and killed by her school teacher. Daily Nigerian. Online: https://dailynigerian.com/how-kano-girl-abducted-killed/
World Bank. (2022). Girls’ Education. Online: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/girlseducation
Zewide, G. (1994). Education and Gender Equity in Africa: The Case of Ethiopia. Journal of Education Finance, 19(4), 109–112. Online: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40703883