A/HRC/41/37 countries have reached full literacy and numeracy, and developed modern economies. It would be unfair to deny the right to a quality, public education to everyone else. 41. Guiding Principle 2 indicates that a learning institution is public if it meets three cumulative criteria, meaning it is: (a) Recognized by the State as a public educational institution; (b) Effectively controlled and managed by a State organ or genuine representatives of the population they serve; (c) Not at the service of any commercial or other exploitative interest that undermines learners’ right to education. 42. That potentially leaves room for an emerging form of collective organization of education to qualify as public education, provided the State accepts it. For instance, traditional forms of community schools, such as the Harambee schools developed in Kenya after decolonization and which were eventually integrated into the public education system,44 or some indigenous schools may be regarded as public schools. Such models must however be “genuine”, in the sense that they are not co-opted by any private interest or used by the State as a way to avoid its responsibility. 43. Guiding Principle 29 specifies that States must provide free public education “of the highest attainable quality ... as effectively and expeditiously as possible, to the maximum of their available resources”. That means that realizing the right to public education requires a constant effort to improve it and look for the best approach. Education governance is an art that should be celebrated as such. 44. Guiding Principle 42 recalls that “States have an immediate obligation to take all measures to address ineffective governance, the lack of transparency, the lack of accountability, or corruption that may affect the delivery of quality public education.” Given the number of tools available for meeting this guiding principle, failure in public education is not an acceptable excuse for privatization of education, which would be impairing the realization of the right to education. In accordance with Guiding Principle 44, lack of will must be distinguished from the lack of capacity of States. 45. To be effective, public education must be adequately funded. States must prioritize the allocation of the maximum of their available resources to free, public education of the highest attainable quality (Guiding Principle 34). Crucially, resources involve financial and non-financial resources, as well as domestic resources, which must be prioritized, and resources from international assistance and cooperation (Guiding Principle 16). The Guiding Principles also restate the wide range of measures States must consider for mobilizing resources, including taxation and the elimination of tax evasion and avoidance. B. Obligation to regulate private actors 46. The Abidjan Principles restate unambiguously the obligation of States to respect the liberty of parents or legal guardians to choose for their children an educational institution other than a public educational institution (Guiding Principle 47). Nevertheless, that liberty is not unlimited and human rights law explicitly requires States to frame it through adequate regulations. 47. Limitations to that liberty, in accordance with article 4 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, may only be acceptable if they are determined by law only insofar as they are compatible with the nature of that liberty and solely for the purpose of promoting the general welfare in a democratic society and any other human rights (Guiding Principle 48). Equally, minimum standards in education “must not be used 44 See Eldah Nyamoita Onsomu and others, Community Schools in Kenya. Case Study on Community Participation in Funding and Managing Schools, (Paris, International Institute for Educational Planning, 2004). 11