The Right to Education: A Foundation for Equal Opportunities

Increased educational attainment is linked to better health, higher incomes, and significant economic growth. Education also plays a fundamental role in empowering people to fight for their rights. However, 57 million children remain out of school globally; girls, children in poverty, and children with disabilities are especially at risk of exclusion. This chapter evaluates to what extent constitutions protect the right to education for all, including whether they specify it will be tuition-free, compulsory, and guaranteed at the primary, secondary, and/or tertiary levels. Further, looking at court cases, this chapter assesses the potential consequences of constitutional silence on education, as well as how courts in lower-resource settings have taken steps to more fully realize education rights as their economies grow.