Expanding the Right to Education: New Humanity and OIDEL defend educational pluralism in public funding
New Humanity Office in Geneva, in collaboration with the NGO OIDEL, submitted two written statements to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education and the Intergovernmental Working Group preparing an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These contributions raise concerns about narrowing the right to education to state-run models only. They advocate for public funding to also support non-governmental schools—especially where these institutions are best positioned to meet the cultural, pedagogical, or linguistic needs of specific communities or minority groups.
1. Public education and funding: recognizing educational diversity
The first statement calls for a more inclusive understanding of public education. It argues that public funding mechanisms should not be limited solely to state institutions, but extended to any school that contributes to the public good to guarantee the right to an education that is accessible, acceptable, adaptable, and appropriate for all children. By excluding non-governmental schools from funding, many children risk being left behind simply because their most suitable educational option is not state-funded.
2. Framing the Right to Education: upholding parental choice and educational pluralism
The second document highlights that international legal instruments, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, do not mandate that compulsory education be provided only by state-run schools. Instead, they uphold the principle of educational pluralism and the right of parents to choose the form of education that best aligns with their values and their children’s needs. The statement calls for these principles to be explicitly recognized in any future legal instruments or protocols.