The age and (im)maturity make children a vulnerable group of the population, one provided with special protection by international and national legal acts. The presentation is build on the premise that education is not a privilege but the right of every child. Today, the right to education is subjected to various threats, especially in the last two years. This right was marked very strongly by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following international documents (such as the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, Convention on the rights of the child, European Convention on human rights, and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights …) assure that society and states should fulfill children’s right to education. Also, following international documents, constitutions, and national acts, primary education shall be compulsory and available free for all, and no person shall be denied the right to education.
Today, the right to education is viewed as a fundamental human right, a specific child right, and a common good. Education is both a human right in itself and an indispensable mean for realizing other human and child rights (for example, the right of the child to be heard, not to be discriminated against). Education plays a crucial role in shaping a child’s life both before and after they reach adulthood.
Most countries have, at least partly if not entirely, closed their schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 2 April 2020, country-wide closures of schools were present in 194 countries, impacting 1,598,099,008 learners. Such a situation has caused the so-called “educational crisis”. Namely, distance online teaching depends on modern technology (for example, computer, telephone, a good Internet connection), which unfortunately could not be provided to all children. This violates children’s rights to adequate educational opportunities. The right to education has also been enormously curtailed for children needing learning support (for example, children with special needs, children of migrants, Roma, children in hospitals, and ghost children). Even talented pupils may have been deprived of their challenges at school.
The purpose of the presentation was also to provide an overview and insights into children’s right to education with regard or relation to other rights (for example, right to privacy, right to be heard, freeedom of conscience, right to play and relax…).
Particular emphasis was also given to the question of the school’s liabiliy. The school may be liable for damage caused to a pupil as a result of negligence in the performance of their educational duties by failing to provide them with essential basic knowledge or by delivering it inadequately.