ERIC ED431652: Education Is a Human Right 1998: El Barometer on Human and Trade Union Rights in the Education Sector.

363 Pages·1998·9 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
SO 029 836
ED 431 652
Education Is a Human Right 1998: El Barometer on Human and
TITLE
Trade Union Rights in the Education Sector.
Education International, Brussels (Belgium).
INSTITUTION
1998-00-00
PUB DATE
362p.; Document contains small type.
NOTE
Education International, 155, Bd Jacqmain, 1210 Brussels,
AVAILABLE FROM
Belgium.
Descriptive (141)
-- Reports
Books (010)
PUB TYPE
MF01/PC15 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
*Access to Education; *Child Labor; *Civil Liberties;
DESCRIPTORS
Developed Nations; Developing Nations; Educational
Principles; Elementary Secondary Education; Foreign
Countries; *Teacher Rights; *Unions
Education International (Belgium); International Labour
IDENTIFIERS
Organisation; Noninstructional Staff; *Right to Education;
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
ABSTRACT
In many countries, often at great personal cost, teachers
and education support staff are at the forefront of the struggle for basic
trade union and human rights. This book acknowledges their contributions. It
also draws inspiration and hope from their efforts to show that a commitment
to the interests of every child, to quality education, and to effective trade
union organization can make a difference. The report focuses on the extent to
which the right to education is available to children and adults, and the
extent educators enjoy fundamental human and trade union rights set out in
the major international declarations and conventions. Child labor in every
country where Education International has members (Africa, Asia and the
Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Caribbean) is
highlighted. The report contends that the juxtapositioning of access to
education, child labor, and trade union rights for teachers and other
education staff reflects their interrelationship and the conviction that
progress in one area cannot be sustained without progress in the others.
(BT)
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PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND
DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS
BEEN GRANTED BY
?. Vezina
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and
Improvement
EDUC
NAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
"(This document
has been reproduced as
received from the person
or organization
originating it.
El Minor changes have heen
made to
improve reproduction quality.
Points of view or opinions
stated in this
document do not necessarily
represent
official OERI position or policy.
AlLABE(1
EST-C
Af
8
El Barometer on Human
and Trade Union Rights
in the Education Sector
Education International is a world trade
union organisation for the education
the
sector. Education International is
biggest International Trade Secretariat
with more than 23 million members
from 284 member organisations in 149
countries and territories.
Baromètre de l'IE sur les droits
humains et syndicaux
dans le secteur de l'éducation
Barómetro de la IE sobre los
derechos humanos y sindicales
de la educación
en el sector
Reproduction of all or part of this pub-
lication is permitted without authorisa-
tion. However, credit should be given to
El and copies sent to the secretariat.
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Human and Trade Union Rights:
The Education International perspective
Education and human rights are inextricably intertwined.The right to education is
enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Quality education underpins sustainable development, democracy and the exer-
cise of fundamental human rights. Equally, quality education for all can only devel-
op and flourish where there is an environment of respect for human and trade
union rights.
Children's rights and their wellbeing are closely linked to those of their families,
but also to those of their teachers. In many countries, often at great personal cpst,
teachers and education support staff are at the forefront of the struggle for basic
trade union and human rights.This report seeks to acknowledge their contribu-
tions and make visible their role. It also aims to draw inspiration and hope from
their efforts - to show that a commitment to the interests of every child, to qual-
ity education and to effective trade union organisation can make a difference. In
publishing what we plan to be a regular report on human and trade union rights
in the education sector, Education International is not duplicating the invaluable
work done by Amnesty International, the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions and others. Instead we are drawing on their work, building on it and
we hope complementing it.This report focuses on the extent to which the right
to education is available to children, to young people and adults and the extent to
which educators enjoy fundamental human and trade union rights set out in the
major international declarations and conventions.
It also highlights the extent of child labour in every country where Education
International has members. Some of the information is so horrifying that if we
know about it and fail to do everything in our power to stop child labour, then we
are in fact complicit in its perpetuation.
The juxtapositioning of those three elements
- access to education, child labour
and trade union rights for teachers and other education staff
- reflects their inter-
relationship and Education International's conviction that progress in one area
cannot be sustained without progress in the others.
1998 is the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of
ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise. This
report is an acknowledgement of the continuing importance in all our lives of
those two great international standards. By highlighting education as a fundamen-
tal human right and by showing the relationship between the right to education,
child labour, and a fair deal for educators, the report is intended to be a useful tool
in the campaign for fundamental human and trade union rights, including the right
to quality education for all.
Mary Hatwood Futrell
Fred van Leeuwen
President
General Secretary
99
Zambia
atroduction
7
Zimbabwe
101
103
Pacific
/Algeria
105
AOtra I ia
13
4angladesh
107
Angola
15
109
Brunei
Benin
17
China - Hong Kong
111
Botswana
19
Cook Islands
113
Burkina Faso
21
115
Fiji
Burundi
23
India
117
25
Cameroon
Indonesia
121
27
Cape Verde
125
Japan
Central African Republic
29
Kiribati
129
Chad
31
Korea (South Korea)
131
Congo-Brazzaville
33
Malaysia
133
Congo-Kinshasa
35
Mongolia
135
COte d'Ivoire
37
137
Nepal
Djibouti
39
New Caledonia
139
Egypt
41
New Zealand
141
Eritrea 43
143
Pakistan
45
Ethiopia
Papua New Guinea
145
49
Gabon
The Philippines
147
Gambia
51
149
Samoa
Ghana
53
Singapore
151
Guinea
55
Solomon Islands
153
Guinea-Bissau
Sri Lanka
155
57
Taiwan
157
59
Kenya
Thailand
159
Lesotho
61
Tonga
161
Liberia
63
Tuvalu
163
Malawi
65
Vanuatu
165
Mali
67
Mauritius
69
167
urope
Morocco
71
Alt(ania
169
Mozambique
73
-Ailstri a
171
Namibia
75
Belgium
173
Niger
77
Bulgaria
175
Nigeria
79
Croatia
177
Rwanda
81
179
Cyprus
83
Senegal
Czech Republic
181
85
Sierra Leone
Denmark
183
South Africa
87
185
Estonia
Swaziland
89
187
Finland
Tanzania
189
France
93
Togo
Germany
191
95
Tunisia
193
Greece
195
97 Hungary
Uganda
Iceland
289
America & Caribbean
Ireland
199
Israel
201
j.:,,Otigua and Barbuda
291
Italy
203
Bahamas
293
Latvia
205
Barbados 294
Lithuania
207
Belize
295
Luxembourg
209
Canada
297
Former Yugoslav
211
Dependent Territories
299
Republic of Macedonia
of the United Kingdom
Malta
213
Dominica
301
Moldova
215
Grenada
302
Netherlands
217
Guyana
303
Norway
219
Haiti
305
Poland
221
307
Ja ma ica
Portugal
223
Saint Lucia
308
Romania
225
Saint Kitts and Nevis
309
Russian Federation
227
Saint Vincent and
310
Slovakia
231
the Grenadines
Slovenia
233
Suriname
311
Spain 235
Trinidad and Tobago
313
Sweden
237
United States of America
315
Switzerland
239
Turkey
241
319
Appendix
nited Kingdom
245
Co,slavia
UN Convention on the Rights of the
247
Child
321
ILO Convention 29:
249
'America
Forced Labour
334
Argentina
251
ILO Convention 87:
Brazil
253
Freedom of Association and Protection
of the Right to Organise
Chile
255
341
Colombia
257
ILO Convention 98: Right to Organise
Costa Rica
261
and Collective Bargaining
345
Curagao
263
ILO Convention 100:
Dominican Republic
265
Equal Remuneration
348
Ecuador
267
ILO Convention 105:
El Salvador
269
Abolition of Forced Labour
351
Guatemala
271
ILO Convention 111: Discrimination
Honduras
273
(Employment and Occupation)
353
Mexico
275
ILO Convention 138:
Nicaragua
277
356
Minimum Age
Panama
279
ILO Convention 169:
Paraguay
281
Indigenous and Trisof Peoples
361
Peru
283
Uruguay
Main published sources
371
287
Venezuela
El BAROMETER ON HUMAN AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR
The dictionary definition of barometer is "an instrument for measuring atmos-
pheric pressure, usually to determine weather changes", or "anything that shows
change or impending change". [Collins English Dictionary Updated Edition, 1995]
Education International's 1998 Barometer on Trade Union and Human Rights
the right
in the Educator Sector focuses on three fundamental human rights
to education, children's right to be protected from exploitation and workers right
to form and join trade unions, to organise and to bargain collectively. This
Barometer establishes an initial base against which we hope to be able to mea-
sure change over the next ten years and beyond in the new millenium. Making
change is more important, however, than monitoring change. This, and succes-
sive editions, will, we hope, help set priorities and galvanise El and its member
organisations into further action.
Education Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted and proclaimed by the
United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948, stated unequivocally in
Article 26 (1):
Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elemen-
tary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical
and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education
shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
This survey shows that in 1998 millions of children are still denied access even to
basic education. In some places the situation has actually deteriorated in the last
ten years.
The Barometer has chosen eight indicators from the mass of statistical informa-
tion provided by UNESCO in the World education report 1998. Those indicators
are:
illiteracy
the estimated number of adults (15 years and over) expressed as a per-
centage of the population in the corresponding age group;
school life expectancy - the number of years that a child is expected to remain
at school
the percentage of children in the official school age of
net enrolment first level
primary education who are enrolled in primary school;
% of 1994 cohort reaching grade 5
percentage of children starting primary
school who eventually attain Grade 5;
primary pupil teacher ratio - the average number of pupils per teacher at the pri-
mary level;
tertiary students per 100,000 inhabitants - number of students enrolled in ter-
tiary (or higher education ) per 100,000 inhabitants;
8
JJ
,
1998
7
El BAROMETER ON HUMAN AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR
% of GNP spent on education
total public expenditure on education expressed
as a percentage of the Gross National Product;
% of Government expenditure on education - total public expenditure on edu-
cation expressed as a percentage of total government expenditure.
Unless otherwise noted the figures are for 1995. This is the latest. data available
from UNESCO. For comparative purposes the use of one official source provides a
greater level of consistency than the use of multiple sources including national
records.
The 1998 Barometer does not include any data for early childhood education. We
hope to do so in future years.
The text on education rights notes whether schooling is compulsory ;and up to
what levels. Wherever information has been readily available, a short description
of the education system is included. We hope that member organisations will be
able to provide further information to enable the gaps to be filled in later editions.
Access to education is about quantity and quality. There cannot be access for all
unless there is a sufficient number of places. In terms of basic education, (primary
and lower secondary), there needs to be enough schools and classrooms and they
have to be in the right place. Lack of schools in the village or neighbourhood is a
significant impediment to girls getting access to education. Families are often even
more reluctant to allow girls to travel any distance than they are boys. For many
Indigenous communities sending their children away to school is difficult because
of the impact it has on their knowledge of their own language, culture and way of
life.
Quality affects access in many ways. Poor families struggling to survive will not
send their children to school if they cannot see that the curriculum is relevant to
their lives and that education will provide them with the knowledge and skills they
require to improve their living standards. Where class sizes are too large and teach-
ers cannot provide the necessary individual attention and support, the most disad-
vantaged children will be amongst those who drop out.
UNESCO's International Commission for the Twenty-first Century recommended
that States devote at least six percent of their GNP to education. UNESCO's World
education report 1998, from which the Barometer's figures on expenditure are
drawn, shows that 96 out of 130 countries for which statistics were available, spent
less than six percent of GNP on education and one sixth of those countries devot-
ed less than three percent of GNP to education.
9
Child labour
The International Labour Organisation (110) and UNICEF estimate that there are
250 million child labourers around the world.
1998
8
1
El BAROMETER ON HUMAN AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR
By child labour we mean any work that endangers a child's physical, mental, spir-
itual, moral or social development or that interferes with his or her education and
schooling.
Some have claimed that trade unions and other opponents of child labour want to
stop children helping with the housework or on the farm or earning a little money
for themselves or their family after school and during the holidays. Children gain
a great deal by helping out at home and working with others. It is all part of grow-
ing up.
But when work hurts rather than helps them, children's work becomes child labour.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations
and came into force on 2 Septen4ber
General Assembly on 20 November
1989
Like the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, it recognises the right of the
1990.
child to education. It also provides for the elimination of child labour. Article
32 (1)
states:
States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic
exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to
interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or phys-
ical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
It sets a basic mini-
is the Minimum Age Convention,
ILO Convention
138
1973.
mum age of 15 for starting work (or older if the age of ending compulsory school-
and 15, and dangerous
ing is older). Light work is allowed between the ages of
13
work is forbidden to anyone under
years old. The Convention also provides for
18
exceptional cases where these age limits may be slightly lower.
Most countries have laws against child labour. The 1998 Barometer states what
those laws are and describes the extent to which they are observed in practice.
Information was drawn primarily from the United States Department of State
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997, from ILO sources and from
ICFTU reports prepared for the World Trade Organisation on a country's compliance
with the core ILO labour standards.
What emerges from this survey, not surprisingly, is the strong correlation between
poor access to education and high levels of child labour. Where developing coun-
tries have provided compulsory, free, basic education child labour is not a major
is. Countries in Africa and Asia, with a few
problem. Where they have not, it
notable exceptions, are facing a crisis that has been building over a number of
years and is intensifying, in the case of Asia, as a result of the recent economic col-
lapse. No region of the world can be complacent. Child labour has also grown in
the developed world in the past decade. The Barometer also highlights examples
of campaigns and programmes involving El member organisations that are making
a real contribution to the elimination of child labour.
0
1998
9
N..