The right to education is clearly articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further elaborated in the Convention against Discrimination in Education, and in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other international and regional treaties. The very act of states making commitments entrenched in international agreements generates expectations of compliance at the national level. Yet, enough questions remain about incomplete compliance with provisions on the right to education. As a result, even though entitled to education, millions of children and adults remain deprived of it. States should take normative action for promoting education accompanied by economic and social measures in order to allow young people to complete the course which will lead them on to higher education.

In their written contributions, experts of the European Association for Education Law and Policy (ELA), US-ELA, SAELPA (South African Education Law and Policy Association), LEAGUE OF EDUCATION LAW (Russian Federation), ANZELA (Australia and New Zealand Education Law Association), CAPSLE (Canadian Association of the Practical Study of Law in Education), and high-level representatives of governments and NGO’s, present best practices as well as their concern for the right to education and rights in education. The publication aims to stimulate the debate about the necessity of stricter enforcement of existing conventions and laws dealing with the right to and rights in education.