The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights The liberty of parents or legal guardians to choose for their children schools other than those established by the public authorities, which conform to such minimum educational standards shall be respected. In addition, article 13 recognizes the liberty of parents or guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions. Article 14 requires each State Party that has not been able to secure compulsory primary education free of charge, to undertake, “within two years, to work out and adopt a detailed plan of action for the progressive implementation of compulsory primary education free of charge for all.” In General Comment No.13 (1999) on ESC, the committee says that education in all its forms and at all levels including primary, secondary, higher, basic education shall exhibit the following interrelated and essential features: (a) Availability - functioning educational institutions and programmes have to be available in sufficient quantity within the jurisdiction of the State Party. What they require to function depends upon numerous factors, including the developmental context within which they operate; for example, all institutions and programmes are likely to require buildings or other protection from the elements, sanitation facilities for both sexes, safe drinking water, trained teachers receiving domestically competitive salaries, teaching materials, and so on; while some will also require facilities such as a library, computer facilities and information technology; (b) Accessibility: educational institutions and programmes have to be accessible to everyone, without discrimination, within the jurisdiction of the State Party. Accessibility has three overlapping dimensions: (i) Non-discrimination - education must be accessible to all, especially the most vulnerable groups, in law and fact, without discrimination on any of the prohibited grounds; (ii) Physical accessibility: education has to be within safe physical reach, either by attendance at some reasonably convenient geographic location (e.g. a neighborhood school) or via modern technology (e.g. access to a “distance learning” programme); 24 (iii) Economic accessibility - education has to be affordable to all. This dimension of accessibility is subject to the differential wording of article 13 (2) in relation to primary, secondary and higher education: whereas primary education shall be available “free to all”, States parties are required progressively to introduce free secondary and higher education; (c) Acceptability - the form and substance of education, including curricula and teaching methods, have to be acceptable (e.g. relevant, culturally appropriate and of good quality) to students and, in appropriate cases, parents; this is subject to the educational objectives required by article 13 (1) and such minimum educational standards as may be approved by the State (art. 13 (3) and (4)); (d) Adaptability - education has to be flexible so it can adapt to the needs of changing societies and communities and respond to the needs of students within their diverse social and cultural settings. The committee opined that the best interests of the student “shall be a primary consideration when considering the appropriate application of these “interrelated and essential features”. The educational objectives stated in the ICESCR has reflected the fundamental purposes and principles of the United Nations as enshrined in Articles 1 and 2 of the Charter. For the most part, they are also found in article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, articles 28 and 29 of the CRC. The Right to education has also been interpreted in the World Declaration on Education for All (Jomtien, Thailand, 1990), the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, and the Plan of Action for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education. The UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education provides obligation to the States Parties to formulate, develop and apply a national policy which will tend to promote equality of opportunity and treatment, and, in particular, to make primary education free and compulsory. In addition, it recognizes parents’right freely to choose their children’s educational institutions and to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions. 25