C. Alleged violation of Article 11 (education)
46. Article 11 of the Charter posits that States Parties have the obligation to provide free
and compulsory basic education without any discrimination.” In realizing the right to
education, the State must ensure, inter alia, the availability, accessibility and
acceptability of the education provided to children. Availability is assessed in terms
of quality; accessibility is determined in terms of equal opportunity, economic and
physical
accessibility
and
acceptability is inferred from
the quality of education
provided.”® A State Party is not only obliged to provide education but also to ensure
that the education so provided is of acceptable quality. In the context of Article
11(2)(a) of the Charter, education should be directed towards the development of
child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.
The Committee has noted the importance of education in relation to the
responsibility of the child in its decision of the Children of Nubian Descents Case.”
Children have responsibility to their family, society and country under Article 31 of
the Charter; and, as such, they can discharge these obligations only when they get
the necessary education. Furthermore, education is a tool to enhance the protection
of children from dangerous and hazardous labour.°° As the Commission
has
accentuated that the failure to provide access to institutions of learning would
amount to a violation of the right to education under the African Charter on Human
and Peoples’ Rights.*'
47.The responsibility of a State in realizing the right to education includes the obligation
to
protect,
fulfill,
respect
and
promote.
The
protection
mandate
entails
a
responsibility up on the State to protect children’s right to education from being
violated by third parties. To this end the State Party should set minimum standards
for all educational institutions®? including the daaras. Article 11(5) of the Charter
moreover states that:
States Parties to the present Charter shall take all appropriate measures
to ensure that a child who is subjected to schools or parental discipline
Shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of
the child and in conformity with the present Charter.
48.The Respondent State, however, has failed to provide free and compulsory
education to all children in accordance with the Charter. Consequently, the talibés
27 See also Article 28 of the
28 Committee on Economic,
1999, para 6.
?8 The Institute for Human
children of Nubian Descent
66.
%° Committee on Economic,
1999, para 1
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 13, Article 13: The Right to Education,
Rights and Development in Africa and the Open Society Justice Initiative (on behalf of
in Kenya) v the Government of Kenya, ACERWC, Com/002/2009, 22 March 2011, para.
Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 13, Article 13: The Right to Education,
*' Free Legal Assistance Group and Others v Zaire, Communications No 25/89, 47/90, 56/91, 100/93, para 11.
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 13, Article 13 The Right to Education,
1999, Para 54
13