On the 18th of October 2023, during the UN General Assembly in New York, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Farida Shaheed, presented her latest report (A/78/364). From the beginning of her mandate Mme. Shaheed emphasized her commitment to teachers. In line with that commitment, this report addresses the crucial role and rights of teachers and the State’s obligation towards them. 3 topics developed by the report are pointed out below.
Teacher training
The report underscores the critical importance of teacher training, emphasizing its role in both preparing educators for their careers and facilitating their ongoing professional development. This training is essential for enabling teachers to effectively navigate contemporary educational challenges, such as those brought about by the increasing digitalization of education. Challenges include addressing the digital divide, ensuring teachers’ professional status, and safeguarding the right to privacy, all of which are integral to upholding the right to education and other fundamental human rights. The report advocates for state-provided platforms and tools specifically designed to support teachers in these endeavors, rather than replacing them. Furthermore, it highlights the necessity of adapting teacher training to cater to the growing cultural diversity within schools. To achieve this, the report recommends developing teacher training programs “in close collaboration with parents and local communities”, thereby enhancing teachers’ cultural awareness and responsiveness.
Teacher remuneration
Teachers have a right to an adequate salary that provides them “with a decent living for themselves and their families”. (par. 53) Unfortunately, the report doesn’t mention explicitly that this applies to governmental and non-governmental schools alike. In her previous report, however, the Special Rapporteur expressed strong support for public funding of non-governmental schools for “the protection and promotion of cultural diversity, and particularly the protections due to minorities”. (par. 80) (SHAHEED, A/HRC/53/27, 2023) Where States cover the teachers’ salaries of non-governmental schools, access to those schools becomes less discriminatory and open to parents of all different financial backgrounds. In that way, State-funded teacher salaries of non-governmental schools can be a tool for granting freedom of education.
The report’s disregard for parental rights
Reading this report, concerns arise for the protection of parental rights and educational freedom. Paragraph 81 reads, “although the provision of education is the primary responsibility of the States, […]”. (par. 81) Different Special Rapporteurs have started using the expression of the States of the “primary responsible”. Kishore Singh, for instance, understood “primary responsible” in terms of the State as guarantor and regulator (par. 54) and as provider of public education. (par.30) (SINGH, A/HRC/38/32, 2018) However, Ms. Shaheed’s report extends this notion by attributing to the State the primary responsibility for providing education, as mentioned above. This has prompted discussions in civil society about the potential implications for non-state actors in education, stressing the need for clarity in terms that align with established human rights language.
Conclusion
Many UN reports treating the right to education express high expectations towards school teachers. This report’s focus on the role and rights of the teachers is thus a valuable contribution to the education conversation and brings clarity to the State’s responsibility towards teachers. One important shortcoming of the report, however, is its over-emphasis on the role of the State as the provider of education at the expense of parental rights and non-governmental bodies.
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