A/HRC/44/39
81.
Such an assessment must, however, analyse not only the consequences of the
education crisis, but also its causes. It should unpack, in each local context, the
dynamics that have led to increased discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to
education during the crisis.
82.
Such an assessment should therefore include: an analysis of rising inequalities
due to the measures adopted to face the pandemic; an investigation into the
sustainability of economic and financial models behind education systems, including
the consequences of poorly funding public educational institutions; a scrutiny of the
role of private actors in education; an evaluation of the adequacy of social protection
provided for education workers, including in the private sector; and scrutiny of the
lack of cooperation between States’ administrations, educational institutions, teachers,
learners, parents and communities.
83.
Many governmental and intergovernmental agencies, as well as civil society
organizations, have disseminated a high number of useful guidelines and
recommendations on how to address the education crisis on short-term (including at
the time of reopening of schools) and long-term bases, some of them very detailed and
tailored to specific situations. The Special Rapporteur welcomes in particular the
useful guidance developed by INEE, by OHCHR and, on a more specific note, by
Education International.
84.
Rather than repeating or summarizing those recommendations, the Special
Rapporteur prefers to concentrate on a number of recommendations outlining what a
human rights-based approach to the crisis entails. She recommends, in particular,
that:
(a)
Limitations imposed on the right to education should strictly comply
with the conditions set out in article 4 of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, article 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and other relevant provisions of international human rights law;
(b)
Governments and other stakeholders should integrate the availability,
accessibility, acceptability and adaptability framework as a policy guide throughout
the education system at all levels, including at the school level;
(c)
States should develop emergency education preparedness within national
education systems globally and train educational planners at all levels. These plans
should be based on guaranteeing the right to education for all and the availability,
accessibility, acceptability and adaptability framework;
(d)
States should create an institutional mechanism for crisis and disaster
planning and management. Such a mechanism should function at an important
decision-making level and be decentralized in its implementation, ensuring that
relevant decisions are adopted at the local level in cooperation with local stakeholders,
for example when it comes to reopening schools;
(e)
All States should, as a matter of urgency, adopt special, targeted
measures, including through international cooperation, to address and mitigate the
impact of the pandemic on vulnerable groups, as well as on communities and groups
subject to structural discrimination and disadvantage. In many contexts, that would
mean prioritizing the adoption of the most accessible low-tech or no-tech approaches
to distance learning, as well as taking measures such as imposing moratoria on the
payment of school fees, providing cash transfers to families and ensuring the delivery
of food and other social services to vulnerable children during the crisis;
(f)
Bearing in mind the particular importance of the right to education for
children, children’s rights must be given special attention and priority by decision
makers. States should carry out child rights impact assessments of crisis-related
education decision-making. Furthermore, States should provide opportunities for
children’s views to be heard and taken into account in decision-making processes in
the COVID-19 context;
(g)
Special emphasis should be placed on the equal importance of the right
of every girl and every learner with disabilities to continued education, in accordance
with guidance developed by OHCHR in this respect, as well as of other marginalized
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