A/HRC/20/21 imparted without adequate infrastructure and facilities and a school environment in which teachers, parents and communities are all active participants in school life. 21. Thus, a holistic conceptual framework of quality education comprises: (i) a minimum level of student acquisition of knowledge, values, skills and competencies; (ii) adequate school infrastructure, facilities and environment; (iii) a well-qualified teaching force; (iv) a school that is open to the participation of all, particularly students, their parents and the community. It is relevant to underline that quality in education cannot be achieved without provision of adequate resources to respond to quality imperatives. 22. Quality basic education which is crucial to “nation-building”19 constitutes a hallmark of the fulfilment of the right to education in the true sense of the term. IV. The right to quality education and standards A. International normative framework 23. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child establish that education should be aimed at the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity. Article 26 of the Declaration clearly states that education must be “directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Article 13 of the Covenant specifies that education “shall enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.” Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child goes further in stipulating that education must develop respect for human rights, the child's parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own. Education must prepare the child for responsible life in a free society. 24. States‟ obligations to ensure quality education for girls is further expounded in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which establishes women's right to education, both as entitlement and as empowerment. State parties thus have an obligation to ensure, on the basis of equality of men and women, access to education at all levels and in all its forms, including “access to the same curricula, the same examinations, teaching staff with qualifications of the same standard and school premises and equipment of the same quality” (art. 10 (b)). 25. The UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960), the first legally binding international instrument in the field of education, makes explicit reference to the obligation to ensure quality in education: “the term „education‟ refers to all types and levels of education, and includes access to education, the standard and quality of education, and the conditions under which it is given” (art. 1, para. 2). States have an obligation to lay down a uniform framework of quality standards applicable throughout the country. The Convention provides the basis for combating disparities in education and ensuring equal opportunities which involve ensuring quality for all. For example, the establishment or maintenance of separate educational institutions for pupils of the two sexes shall not be deemed to constitute discrimination if the institutions offer equivalent access to education, 19 General Assembly resolution 65/183, United Nations Literacy Decade: education for all. 7