Human Rights Law

[Name of the Student]

[Student ID]

[Name of University]

[Date of Submission]
Issue 1:

MEMORANDUM
TO: Government of Anglonia

FROM: Name of Student

DATE: 5th May, 2017

RE: Provision of Free of Charge Secondary Education to all the Boys in Anglonia

Legal Issues

The Government of Anglonia has made primary education free for all in accordance with

the adaptation of National Education Strategy however, in view of the constrained resources, the

Government of Anglonia has suggested to improve the secondary education system by providing

free education to all the boys only since the concept has been long developed that girls are

supposed to stay at home and take care of the families.

Statement of the Facts

Anglonia is a poor country with limited funding allocated towards the education sector.

However, in the recent times, the Government has initiated certain bold decisions to enhance the

education system of the country. With the limited resources, the Government is implementing

the law pertaining towards free of charge access to secondary education by all the males of the

country since there is not enough budget to offer free education to all the boys and girls yet.

The Normative regional as well as International instruments have laid down certain

obligations towards the states in correspondence with the basic right to education. It helps in the

2
promotion and development of the right of each individual to appreciate the accessibility towards

quality education without any exclusion or discrimination1. The Government of all the states are

obliged to act upon these instruments both in a legal and political aspect in addition to the

provision of the good quality education that has to be implemented in an appropriate manner

with proper monitoring in order to improve the effectiveness of the imposed educational

strategies2. The significance of the basic right to educate has been emphasized by the United

Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) stating that education

epitomizes the interdependence and indivisibility of all the rights of the humans3.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) has specified

two articles towards the basic right to education; article 13 and article 14. Article 13 (a) is

directed towards the implication of free primary education to all which has already been

implemented by the Government of Anglonia whereas Article 13 (b) of ICESCR which is also

regarded as the longest provision of the entire Covenant is focused upon the easy accessibility of

the secondary education by all the students on the basis of the right to education in the light of

the International human rights law4. The basic right to education was originally expressed in

Article 26 (Part 1) of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights that foresee education

should be free, at least within the elementary and developing stages of life. Primary education

was made compulsory and secondary and higher education shall be made available to all with

regards to merit on the basis of the capacity of the Government.

1
Cogan, J. and Derricott, R., 2014. Citizenship for the 21st century: An international perspective on education.
Routledge.
2
Kaiser, F., Maassen, P., Meek, L., van Vught, F., de Weert, E. and Goedegebuure, L. eds., 2014. Higher education
policy: An international comparative perspective. Elsevier.
3
Prinsloo, N., 2014. The possibility of declaring education as an essential service in terms of the Labour Relations
Act (Doctoral dissertation, North-West University).
4
Saul, B., Kinley, D. and Mowbray, J., 2014. The international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights:
commentary, cases, and materials. OUP Oxford.

3
 In accordance to Article 13 (b) Secondary education incorporates the core elements of

four As including availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability that are common in

accordance with the provision of education at all levels. Moreover, according to Article 13 (b)

section 12 the content of the secondary education would differ amongst the State parties and with

the progression of time, it would also focus upon the completion of basic secondary education as

well as the consolidation of the basic foundations for learning over longer periods of time5. The

statements of the Article 13 would also direct the students towards vocational and acquisition of

higher level of educational opportunities. In addition to this, Article 13 (2) (b) refers towards

different forms of the secondary education thereby demanding flexibility of the curriculum in

terms of diversified delivery systems that would each cater towards the needs of all the students

in different cultural, economic and social settings6.

The Committee of the CESCR also inspires towards the alternatives that are available for

the educational programs with regards to the regular secondary schooling setup that would

encourage the general availability of the secondary education by all in accordance with the

appropriate resources. It has to be taken in consideration that the generally available and

accessible phrase predominantly signifying the fact that secondary education is not completely

dependent on the individual capacity rather secondary education would be equally distributed

throughout the State that would be accessible to all the students under all the given

circumstances. In accordance to the above mentioned statement, the phrase under any given

circumstances reinforces the power of the State Parties with regards to the adaptation of different

5
Heymann, J., McNeill, K. and Raub, A., 2015. Rights monitoring and assessment using quantitative indicators of
law and policy: International covenant on economic, social and cultural rights. Human Rights Quarterly, 37(4),
pp.1071-1100.
6
Jackson, L.A., 2014. The international covenant on economic social and cultural rights: A critical examination of
the relative importance of resource constraints on benchmarks and benchmarking processes in the African context
(Doctoral dissertation, University of Cape Town).

4
innovative methods and techniques towards the delivery of the secondary education with regards

to contrasting social as well as the cultural reforms7.

Discussion

In view of the limited resources available for the Government of Anglonia, the

progressive introduction of the free secondary education have emphasized upon the priorities of

the Government towards the improvement of the educational system in the country and in order

to do so, the Government has taken some harsh decisions pertaining towards the provision of free

secondary education to all the males in the country since the budget would not be able to sustain

the provision of the education to the female population as well. In addition to this situation and in

accordance with the prevailing situation of the country’s economic as well as social progress

which has been on hold for a very long time therefore, in such circumstances, the focus of the

Government towards the educational sector has been phenomenal and this step would encourage

the economically deprived families and children to support this step in order to improve the

educational setup thereby enhancing the nationwide goal of Anglonia.

The quality of the education would help in uplifting the poverty thereby increasing the

economic stability and sustainability of the overall country. It has been regarded that the

acquisition of the secondary education has demonstrated strong beliefs regarded towards the

better health, employment through better earning opportunities for the children throughout their

lives. The implementation of the secondary education would not only enhance the technical and

vocational skills but would also empower the youth with skills needed for sustainable growth

incorporating the elements of provision of basic human rights as well as ensuring accessibility to

7
Joseph, S. and Castan, M., 2013. The international covenant on civil and political rights: cases, materials, and
commentary. Oxford University Press.

5
the protection of the health and well-being of the country. On the other hand, the economic

conditions of the Anglonia have been prone with respect to the economic crisis as a result of

which many children had to leave the schools and enroll themselves in laborious activities to

support their families and with the secondary education being privatized; only handful children

in Anglonia were able to afford the education.

The breaches within the implementation of the free of charge secondary education by the

Government of Anglonia are directed towards the fact that there would be the interpretation of

many of the Human Rights Activists demanding equality and no discrimination regarding the

provision of the free of charge education to both the males as well as the females. In addition to

this, there are certain other breaches that could be made in accordance with the statements of the

Article 13 of the CESCR towards the provision of the easy access of secondary education to all8.

The major concern is the discrimination factor in between the girls and the boys which is the

result of the conventional thoughts and development of ideas that educating the girls is the waste

of both the time and the money since they are obliged to stay at homes and take care of the

families while the men go to work and earn for the entire houses. The breach would be made in

terms of the four core elements of As, with specific regards towards the easy accessibility issues

since the Article 13 is based upon the provision of secondary education to all the children

whereas Anglonia Government is only basing its focus on educating the male in the society.

In order to avoid such breaches, the Government of Anglonia must take certain actions to

direct its entire focus upon the provision of quality education in addition to the limiting the

transportation costs for all the students. Moreover, the school-related costs must also be covered

8
Langford, M., 2013. Global justice, state duties: the extraterritorial scope of economic, social, and cultural rights
in international law. Cambridge University Press.

6
or reduced in order to facilitate the poor families to enroll their children into the secondary

schooling system instead of making them work as labours. In addition to this, the provision of

uniforms and books must also be provided by the Government of Anglonia to support the

educational system. The infrastructure must be maintained to facilitate the learning process

within the remote as well as the rural areas of the country. In addition to this, the Government

must ensure the implementation of all of the policies in an effective manner to sustain the growth

of the educational system that would ultimately help in the progression of the funding in the long

term that would ensure the provision of the free of charge secondary education to all the students

irrespective of the gender discrimination. This progression would be able to cover the potential

breaches with respect to the adaptability phenomenon of the Article 13 of the CESCR.

With the limited funding, the Government of Anglonia must direct its focus on the

quality education by ensuring the teachers for adequate adaptation of different teaching skills and

techniques in order to commensurate their prime roles and responsibilities. In order to do so, the

teachers must be provided with adequate non-financial incentives in order to promote healthy

learning. These non-fiscal benefits may include adequate housing facilities for the teachers in

order to promote education in the remote areas.

Conclusion

In accordance with the obligations that are directed towards the educational sector of

Anglonia in the light of the UN instruments, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

(ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the

UNESCO Convention, it has been regarded that the initiation towards the provision of the free of

charge secondary education is viewed and appreciated as a good step by the Government of

Anglonia however, the fact that this facility is only provided to the males in the country has

7
awakened many question regarding the predominant discrimination in the Anglonia and in order

to avoid these restrictions as well as the to avoid any unforeseen breaches of the International

Laws, the Government of Anglonia must focus on the quality of education. In addition to this,

with regards to the limited funding, the Government must progressively look for the provision of

free secondary education to the girls as well in order to comply with the Article 13 of the CESCR

that emphasizes upon the availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability of the

secondary education for all the children in the country.

8
 Issue 2: (To be looked at in relation to the European Convention on Human Rights
(ECHR) and its Protocol 1)

Introduction

In Anglonia, majority of population speak the Anglonian language, but there is

population in minority who speak the Ruskinian language, which has been recognised as a

minority language. The government’s education policy is that the state run secondary education

does not and will not provide education in the Ruskinian language in any part of the country. All

secondary education will be provided in Anglonian. Thus, Ruskinian children can receive

primary education in their own language in some state schools in the region where their language

predominates, but they cannot continue their secondary education in the Ruskinian language in

any state school. (see Appendix)

With this consideration in mind, this paper will look at this issue by reference to pertinent

Council of Europe instruments and case law, in order to explain whether or not the education

policy set by the Anglonian Government related to linguistic minorities would be a problematic

issue in terms of fulfilling the “right to education” approach as declared in the Protocol 1 of the

European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Grounds for Claiming Use of a Specific Language in Secondary Education

In presence of large number of speakers of a certain language in any country, the public

or government authorities have the responsibility to facilitate countrymen by providing adequate

education service in the language they speak. As an instance, if speakers of a particular language,

9
such as Ruskinian language, are in high number in local administrative regions, local authorities

are responsible for provide them best services in their language9.

The situation in Anglonia in terms of its education policy indicates that the concerned

authorities reject to use a minority language, which is typical related to a variety of international

instruments as a “minority right”. It clearly points out that the linguistic minority has been

disadvantaged because they cannot participate in any part of the political environment. It has

been declared by the United Nations Human Rights Committee10 that the absolute use of a

particular language, such as the Anglonian one, in the education sector can be biased against the

linguistic minorities, and it needs to be justified clearly in the situations.

The European Convention and Human Rights (ECHR)

It has been found that there has been the prevalent belief in the European countries which

is also a misperception that minorities with respect to speaking specific language instead of the

state official language have no right to education in their language. These countries frequently

claim that this belief has been clearly declared by the ECHR.

The decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the Ponomaryovi v. Bulgaria

Linguistic Case, Ponomaryovi v. Bulgaria11, is frequently referred by concluding that there is an

absolute right through which the State can ascertain the official language in educational institutes

and refused there existed as per the right to education which is the Article 2 of Protocol 112, even

9
Gulara Guliyeva, 'Education, Languages And Linguistic Minorities In The EU: Challenges And Perspectives'
(2013) 19 European Law Journal.
10
Rosa Freedman, United Nations Human Rights Council, The : A Critique And Early Assessment (1st edn,
Routledge 2013).
11
SPINOSI, PATRICE. "COUR EUROPÉENNE DES DROITS DE L'HOMME EUROPEAN COURT ON
HUMAN RIGHTS." (2009).
12
M Craven, The International Covenant On Economic, Social And Cultural Rights: A Perspective On Its
Development. (1st edn, Clarendon Press 1995).

10
by combining with the proscription of discrimination (article 14) a right to education in a specific

language13.

Indeed, this is not a correct interpretation of the decision, because the Court given the

contextual background related to Belgium social and political environment, the complete

linguistic-based rule which principally integrated monolingual Dutch (and French). For this very

reason, such a decision was free from any bias. It indicated that had some facets been arbitrary,

albeit an official language is involved in it, then it would have led to unfair treatment under

Article 14 applied to the Protocol 1 and its Article 2.

It is very interesting that in a rather uncommon situation, it seems that the European

Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) pointed out that a particular language may automatically be

required by the public education, in unfamiliar situations, albeit initially the Article 2 of the

Protocol 1 does not say anything about any dimension based on the language to the right.

In a case, Cyprus v. Turkey, Northern Cyprus has set its linguistic policies which were

explained as so inadequate with respect to situations as to establish a breach of the ECHR

Protocol. In this case, the court held that children of Greek-Cypriot parents, just like in Anglonia,

want their children benefit from the secondary schooling in the country in Greek language, but as

per the state policy they were compelled to relocate to the schools located in the southern area,

although children in their 12 years of age could get and finish their secondary schooling in

English or Turkish in the northern area.

Until recently, it had been assumed by the majority of the law experts and scholars that

this would be enough. Nevertheless in the same time, the ECtHR took a strict stance by declaring

13
Christina M. Lyon, 'Interrogating The Concentration On The UNCRC Instead Of The ECHR In The Development
Of Children's Rights In England?' (2007) 21 Children & Society.

11
that right to education cannot be refuted, because the State is responsible in any case to provide

all the necessary education in such languages in which they want according to the Article 2 of

Protocol 114. So, the language is not specified by this provision wherein secondary schooling

needs to be organised well in such a manner that the aspect of right to education is recognised in

Anglonia.

Nevertheless, the Court’s opinion is that the way for the Greek-Cypriot parents, and of

course for Ruskinian parents, to continue education of their children are just idealistic because

the minority children have previously received their primary education in a Greek-Cypriot school

there. So, the concerned public agencies need to understand the situations and the rights of

people and children by being aware of the ground reality that parents wants the secondary

education of their children should be in the Greek language. So, it cannot be claimed that the

delivery of secondary schooling in Anglonia as per the traditional linguistic and cultural custom

because it is not sufficient to effectively abide by the responsibility declared in the Protocol 115.

With these considerations in mind, it is clear that the Article 2 of Protocol 1 has been

breached by the Anglonian Government with respect to minority population speaking Ruskinian

language in so far as no proper secondary education is available to them in their own language.

The reasoning given by the ECtHR has not satisfied, as it acknowledges that the Protocol

1 of the ECHR lacks the linguistic factor, but then utters there is a linguistic factor for secondary

schooling as agencies operating in Northern Cyprian had have primary schooling in the Greek

language, and hence not to halt offer it following primary school “contradicted” the right to

education.

14
Nikolas Kyriakou and Nurcan Kaya, Minority Rights (1st edn, Minority rights group international 2011).
15
Nikolas Kyriakou and Nurcan Kaya, Minority Rights (1st edn, Minority rights group international 2011).

12
Conclusion

In fact, the in a unilingual country business of government is easy, which is highly

difficult in a nation with bilingual and multilingual aspects. Nevertheless, it does not pursue that

policies, procedures and legislations managing education which requires the use of the language

officially declared by the State always will give the identical outcomes as definite

monolingualism. In contrast, it is also possible that if people speaking another mother tongue

absolutely and persistently use the national language, it may have a very adverse consequences,

which include these people might be withdrawn from political power and in some measure from

the national life.

References

13
Cogan, J. and Derricott, R., 2014. Citizenship for the 21st century: An international perspective

on education. Routledge.

Craven M, The International Covenant On Economic, Social And Cultural Rights: A Perspective
On Its Development. (1st edn, Clarendon Press 1995)

Freedman R, United Nations Human Rights Council, The : A Critique And Early Assessment (1st
edn, Routledge 2013)

Guliyeva G, 'Education, Languages And Linguistic Minorities In The EU: Challenges And
Perspectives' (2013) 19 European Law Journal

Heymann, J., McNeill, K. and Raub, A., 2015. Rights monitoring and assessment using

quantitative indicators of law and policy: International covenant on economic, social and

cultural rights. Human Rights Quarterly, 37(4), pp.1071-1100.

Jackson, L.A., 2014. The international covenant on economic social and cultural rights: A

critical examination of the relative importance of resource constraints on benchmarks

and benchmarking processes in the African context (Doctoral dissertation, University of

Cape Town).

Joseph, S. and Castan, M., 2013. The international covenant on civil and political rights: cases,

materials, and commentary. Oxford University Press.

Kaiser, F., Maassen, P., Meek, L., van Vught, F., de Weert, E. and Goedegebuure, L. eds., 2014.

Higher education policy: An international comparative perspective. Elsevier.

Kyriakou N and Kaya N, Minority Rights (1st edn, Minority rights group international 2011)

Langford, M., 2013. Global justice, state duties: the extraterritorial scope of economic, social,

and cultural rights in international law. Cambridge University Press.

14
Lyon C, 'Interrogating The Concentration On The UNCRC Instead Of The ECHR In The
Development Of Children's Rights In England?' (2007) 21 Children & Society.

Prinsloo, N., 2014. The possibility of declaring education as an essential service in terms of the

Labour Relations Act (Doctoral dissertation, North-West University).

Saul, B., Kinley, D. and Mowbray, J., 2014. The international covenant on economic, social and

cultural rights: commentary, cases, and materials. OUP Oxford.

15
 Appendix
Anglonia is considering becoming a party to the ECHR and its Protocol 1. However, they are
concerned about how this might impact on their education policy towards linguistic minorities in
their country.

The majority of people in Anglonia speak the Anglonian language. However, Anglionia has a
minority population who speak the Ruskinian language, recognised as a minority language by the
state. In the area where the Ruskinian language is mainly used, some primary schools are
available in which children are taught in Ruskinian. There also exist a number of schools
offering education in Anglonian in this area. However, the state run secondary education does
not and will not provide education in the Ruskinian language in any part of the country. All
secondary education will be provided in Anglonian. Thus, Ruskinian children can receive
primary education in their own language in some state schools in the region where their language
predominates, but they cannot continue their secondary education in the Ruskinian language in
any state school.

16