Promotion and protection of the right to education

Author: Yang Chengming
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-10-01
Features: Education and humanity are intertwined. H.G. Wells said in his Outline of History, "Human history is increasingly becoming a competition between education and disaster." Mr. Liang Qichao once said, "Therefore, to achieve self-strengthening in today's world, it is essential to open the minds of the people." Education is the principle that determines the rise and fall of society and individuals, a truth that has remained unchanged for millennia. Recently, M. Gers, President of Lane University, has said, "Today, a nation's wealth and poverty depend more than ever on the quality of higher education. Those who possess professional skills and great learning ability can achieve unprecedented economic success throughout their lives. However, in the coming years, those who have not received a good education will find themselves facing near-despair." The importance of the right to education stems from its significance to human survival and development. Since the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed "everyone has the right to education," this right has been recognized and protected by a series of international treaties and resolutions, gradually evolving into international customary law and general legal principles.
In foreign countries, systematic research on the right to education within international human rights law began in 1966 with the adoption of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Scholars such as Dr. Fons Coomans of Limburg University in the Netherlands, Professor Gudmundur Alfredsson and Professor Katarina Tomaseviki of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Lund University in Sweden, Dr. Manfred Nowak of the University of Vienna, Professor Asbj?rn Eide of the Human Rights Institute at the University of Oslo in Norway, Professor Norma Bernstein Tarrow of California State University in the United States, Professor Douglas Hodgson of the University of Siena, Professor Allan Rosas and Researcher Catarina Krause of the Human Rights Institute at ?bo Akademi University in Finland, have conducted specialized research on the right to education under international law. Their main research achievements include: (1) systematically introducing the international legal sources of the right to education; (2) classifying the right to education; (3) systematically introducing the historical development of the right to education; (4) systematically introducing the right to education for marginalized groups; (5) exploring the international monitoring mechanisms for economic, social, and cultural rights; and (6) providing general comments on the provisions of international treaties concerning the right to education.
In China, research on the right to education began to flourish in the mid-1980s. It can be divided into two major research groups: one as a branch of education, and the other as a branch of law, including constitutional law and legal theory. The former includes the founders of Chinese educational law, such as Professor Lao Kaisheng of the Institute of Educational Policy and Law at Beijing Normal University, Dr. Yin Li of the same institute, Professor Qin Huimin of the Institute of Educational Science at Renmin University of China, Researcher Cheng Fangping, Researcher Jiang Guohua, Researcher Zang Tiejun, and Researcher Bi Cheng of the Central Institute for Educational Sciences, Professor Yang Dongping of the Institute of Higher Education at Beijing Institute of Technology, Professor Hu Wei of the Institute of Private Education at the Shanghai Education Research Academy, Professor Mao Zuhuan of the Institute of Higher Education at University of Science and Technology Beijing, and Professor Zhang Li of the National Center for Education Development. The latter includes Professor Hu Jinhua of Renmin University of China, Professor Wen Hui of Peking University Law School, Professor Zhang Qingfu and Researcher Mo Jihong of the Institute of Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Dr. Gong Xianghe of Law School at Hunan University. The main research achievements of domestic scholars on the right to education include: (1) in-depth exploration of the concept, nature, and essence of the right to education; (2) systematically introducing the historical evolution of the right to education; (3) repositioning the legal relationships of China's right to education from the perspectives of civil society theory and the third sector theory; (4) systematically summarizing the progress, problems, and solutions in China's protection of the right to education; (5) in-depth exploration of the justiciability of the right to education; and (6) a comprehensive discussion of legal issues in private education and the right to educational equity in China.
Building on the existing achievements and level of systematic research by scholars both domestically and internationally on the right to education, the author attempts to do some "pioneering" work at the "critical" or "margin" between international human rights law and domestic law, as well as between the international and domestic protection of the right to education: (1) establishing an international standard model for the protection of the right to education. In international human rights law, the classification of the right to education is largely complete, categorizing it as: the right to basic education, the right to primary education, the right to secondary education, the right to higher education, and the right to educational choice. Early childhood education is generally not considered within the scope of international human rights law, and whether the right to human rights education is also a category of the right to education remains controversial. However, the international monitoring standards for each category of the right to education—i.e., the extent of rights enjoyed by individuals and obligations undertaken by states in each category of the right to education—have not yet been systematically studied. During the writing process, the author strives to clarify the drafting, discussion, negotiation, adoption, and revision of international treaties and resolutions on the right to education, as well as the general comments made by international bodies, in order to establish an international standard model for the protection of the right to education. (2) using the international standard model of the right to education to "measure" China's practice in recognizing and protecting the right to education. The international human rights law community has classified the right to education, and some scholars have preliminarily proposed international standards for each category of the right to education (though these are not yet systematic, comprehensive, or precise enough to be called an international standard model). However, no work has yet been published that comprehensively assesses a country's practice in recognizing and protecting the right to education using the international standard model of the right to education.
Domestically, the study of the right to education has flourished since the mid-1980s. It can be divided into two major research groups: one as a branch of education, and the other as a branch of law, including constitutional law and legal theory. The former includes the founders of Chinese educational law, such as Professor Lao Kaisheng of the Institute of Educational Policy and Law at Beijing Normal University, Dr. Yin Li of the same institute, Professor Qin Huimin of the Institute of Educational Science at Renmin University of China, Researcher Cheng Fangping, Researcher Jiang Guohua, Researcher Zang Tiejun, and Researcher Bi Cheng of the Central Institute for Educational Sciences, Professor Yang Dongping of the Institute of Higher Education at Beijing Institute of Technology, Professor Hu Wei of the Institute of Private Education at the Shanghai Education Research Academy, Professor Mao Zuhuan of the Institute of Higher Education at University of Science and Technology Beijing, and Professor Zhang Li of the National Center for Education Development. The latter includes Professor Hu Jinhua of Renmin University of China, Professor Wen Hui of Peking University Law School, Professor Zhang Qingfu and Researcher Mo Jihong of the Institute of Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Dr. Gong Xianghe of Law School at Hunan University. The main research achievements of domestic scholars on the right to education include: (1) in-depth exploration of the concept, nature, and essence of the right to education; (2) systematically introducing the historical evolution of the right to education; (3) repositioning the legal relationships of China's right to education from the perspectives of civil society theory and the third sector theory; (4) systematically summarizing the progress, problems, and solutions in China's protection of the right to education; (5) in-depth exploration of the justiciability of the right to education; and (6) a comprehensive discussion of legal issues in private education and the right to educational equity in China.
From the existing achievements and level of systematic research by scholars both domestically and internationally on the right to education, the author attempts to do some "pioneering" work at the "critical" or "margin" between international human rights law and domestic law, as well as between the international and domestic protection of the right to education: (1) establishing an international standard model for the protection of the right to education. In international human rights law, the classification of the right to education is largely complete, categorizing it as: the right to basic education, the right to primary education, the right to secondary education, the right to higher education, and the right to educational choice. Early childhood education is generally not considered within the scope of international human rights law, and whether the right to human rights education is also a category of the right to education remains controversial. However, the international monitoring standards for each category of the right to education—i.e., the extent of rights enjoyed by individuals and obligations undertaken by states in each category of the right to education—have not yet been systematically studied. During the writing process, the author strives to clarify the drafting, discussion, negotiation, adoption, and revision of international treaties and resolutions on the right to education, as well as the general comments made by international bodies, in order to establish an international standard model for the protection of the right to education. (2) using the international standard model of the right to education to "measure" China's practice in recognizing and protecting the right to education. The international human rights law community has classified the right to education, and some scholars have preliminarily proposed international standards for each category of the right to education (though these are not yet systematic, comprehensive, or precise enough to be called an international standard model). However, no work has yet been published that comprehensively assesses a country's practice in recognizing and protecting the right to education using the international standard model of the right to education.
Domestically, the study of the right to education has flourished since the mid-1980s. It can be divided into two major research groups: one as a branch of education, and the other as a branch of law, including constitutional law and legal theory. The former includes the founders of Chinese educational law, such as Professor Lao Kaisheng of the Institute of Educational Policy and Law at Beijing Normal University, Dr. Yin Li of the same institute, Professor Qin Huimin of the Institute of Educational Science at Renmin University of China, Researcher Cheng Fangping, Researcher Jiang Guohua, Researcher Zang Tiejun, and Researcher Bi Cheng of the Central Institute for Educational Sciences, Professor Yang Dongping of the Institute of Higher Education at Beijing Institute of Technology, Professor Hu Wei of the Institute of Private Education at the Shanghai Education Research Academy, Professor Mao Zuhuan of the Institute of Higher Education at University of Science and Technology Beijing, and Professor Zhang Li of the National Center for Education Development. The latter includes Professor Hu Jinhua of Renmin University of China, Professor Wen Hui of Peking University Law School, Professor Zhang Qingfu and Researcher Mo Jihong of the Institute of Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Dr. Gong Xianghe of Law School at Hunan University. The main research achievements of domestic scholars on the right to education include: (1) in-depth exploration of the concept, nature, and essence of the right to education; (2) systematically introducing the historical evolution of the right to education; (3) repositioning the legal relationships of China's right to education from the perspectives of civil society theory and the third sector theory; (4) systematically summarizing the progress, problems, and solutions in China's protection of the right to education; (5) in-depth exploration of the justiciability of the right to education; and (6) a comprehensive discussion of legal issues in private education and the right to educational equity in China.
From the existing achievements and level of systematic research by scholars both domestically and internationally on the right to education, the author attempts to do some "pioneering" work at the "critical" or "margin" between international human rights law and domestic law, as well as between the international and domestic protection of the right to education: (1) establishing an international standard model for the protection of the right to education. In international human rights law, the classification of the right to education is largely complete, categorizing it as: the right to basic education, the right to primary education, the right to secondary education, the right to higher education, and the right to educational choice. Early childhood education is generally not considered within the scope of international human rights law, and whether the right to human rights education is also a category of the right to education remains controversial. However, the international monitoring standards for each category of the right to education—i.e., the extent of rights enjoyed by individuals and obligations undertaken by states in each category of the right to education—have not yet been systematically studied. During the writing process, the author strives to clarify the drafting, discussion, negotiation, adoption, and revision of international treaties and resolutions on the right to education, as well as the general comments made by international bodies, in order to establish an international standard model for the protection of the right to education. (2) using the international standard model of the right to education to "measure" China's practice in recognizing and protecting the right to education. The international human rights law community has classified the right to education, and some scholars have preliminarily proposed international standards for each category of the right to education (though these are not yet systematic, comprehensive, or precise enough to be called an international standard model). However, no work has yet been published that comprehensively assesses a country's practice in recognizing and protecting the right to education using the international standard model of the right to education.