A/HRC/31/21 G. Right to education 47. According to article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to education;27 education should be directed to the full development of the human personality and the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; it should promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and it should further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. The Declaration also provides that parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that is given to their children. 48. Universities in the northern part of the island are not recognized by the Republic of Cyprus, and Turkish Cypriot students still face limited access to European Union exchange and educational programmes. Under European Union Council Regulation (EC) No. 389/2006, the European Commission established a scholarship scheme for the Turkish Cypriot community in order to compensate for that lack of mobility. The scheme allows Turkish Cypriot students and professionals to spend up to one academic year abroad at a university or other host institution in the European Union and has included host institutions on the southern part of the island since 2013. The purpose is both to ensure academic attainment and to bring Turkish Cypriots closer to the culture and values of the European Union. For the 2013/14 academic year, 181 participants were granted scholarships, including undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and professionals. For the 2014/2015 academic year, 135 participants were granted a scholarship. Considerable attention was paid to informing students about opportunities outside the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in order to broaden the exposure of the Turkish Cypriot community to other European cultures.28 49. The Turkish Cypriot authorities continued to vet the appointments of Greek Cypriot teachers for the Rizokarpaso schools for the academic year 2015/16 and rejected three teachers. Three alternative appointments are under consideration by the Turkish Cypriot authorities. UNFICYP noted that the Turkish Cypriot authorities also continued to review all textbooks used for teaching in those schools. 50. In its concluding observations of 31 March 2015, the Human Rights Committee expressed concern that no steps had been taken to establish a Turkish language school in Limassol. It recommended that Cyprus consider establishing such a school and continue its efforts to eradicate the economic, linguistic and cultural barriers faced by Turkish Cypriots and other minorities. In that regard, the Committee recommended that Cyprus intensify its efforts to integrate Turkish Cypriots into the civil service and the judiciary, including through the introduction of temporary special measures, and consider easing the language requirements for entering the civil service (see CCPR/C/CYP/CO/4, para. 23). 51. On 25 November 2015, in a joint statement, the Turkish Cypriot leader and the Greek Cypriot leader agreed to establish a Technical Committee on Education to review existing research and good practices in education in Cyprus and abroad and undertake new relevant research on how education can contribute to conflict transformation, peace, reconciliation and the countering of prejudice, discrimination, racism, xenophobia and extremism. The Committee will work on devising a mutually acceptable mechanism for the implementation of confidence-building measures in schools of the two educational systems and promote contact and cooperation between students and educators from the two 27 28 See also the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, arts. 13 and 14, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, arts. 28 and 29. Information received from the Task Force for the Turkish Cypriot Community, European Commission. 13