ARE LOW FEES PRIVATE SCHOOLS BETTER SUBSTITUTE TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS? ANALYSIS FROM THE STANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS BASED APPROACH (HRBA).

Abstract

The paper examines the rapid growth of private providers, which is resulting in the commercialisation of education, and examines
the negative effects of such commercialisation on the norms, principles and legal frameworks underlying the right to education as established by international human rights treaties. It also highlights the repercussions of privatisation on the principles of social justice and equity, underlining the need for safeguarding education as a public good. It analyses rightsbased and non-rights based strategies in education. It is inspired by a paradox in the current developments. The paper therefore
identifies the dynamics of human rights provisions, based inter alia, on international human rights law, empirical research, concluding observations from human rights bodies, UN Human Rights Council Resolutions, as well as the analytical framework
developed by Abidjan Principles within the traditional framework of human rights obligations. Whilst international human rights treaties do not proscribe private actors like low fee private schools (LFPS) in delivering education, there is a profound concern that LFPS are weakening the right to education rather than strengthening it and that they crowd out public alternatives. The paper concentrates on primary education. This is because primary education has long been thetarget of international aspirations, and the goal to achieve compulsory and free primary education is one of the most central targets of the three core education treaties, Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and Convention against Discrimination in Education (CADE). Recommendations for developing effective regulatory frameworks for controlling private providers in education, in keeping with State obligations on the right to education as laid down in international human rights conventions are proposed. It is concluded that education must be available in sufficient quantity; accessible to everyone without discrimination; the form and substance of education must be quality and acceptable; and education must be adaptable to respond to the changing needs of society.