Research Supports the Need to Recognize the Right to Free Early Childhood Education and Free Secondary Education

Numerous academics including Kofi Marfo, Professor and Founding Director of the Institute for Human Development at Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya signed an open letter published on the Human Rights Watch organisation’s website arguing for the right of free early childhood and secondary education, noting that well-established scientific evidence shows unequivocally that education is foundational to children’s healthy development, wellbeing, fulfilment of their full potential, and their lifelong prospects.“The world has changed dramatically since 1948, and our understanding of how children develop and flourish has advanced significantly. To ensure education systems contribute to realizing children’s rights enshrined in UNCRC, it is critical that we secure their right to education from birth through secondary education. We, therefore, call on all U.N. member states to support a new optional protocol to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child that will recognise the importance of education to children’s healthy development by mandating that governments ensure every child has access to free pre-primary, primary, and secondary education.”