The Right to Education for Children

In Iran, there is hardly a day that goes by without a report on abuse and violence against children, or even disciplinary and judicial actions taken against them. Recently, the Iranian parliament approved the general principles of the "Child and Adolescent Rights Protection Bill" after months of deliberation. Who is a child and what rights do they have? This program addresses questions in this regard. A child has the right to benefit from educational and cultural facilities and must study in a comprehensive and equal educational system free from any discrimination. A child should be able to live in a safe, healthy, and happy environment and benefit from educational facilities regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, skin color, mother tongue, economic and cultural conditions, disability, and so on, free from any type of discrimination and inequality. The family primarily has the duty to provide suitable facilities for the child's education and cannot prevent children from studying for any reason. Various reasons that lead to children dropping out of school include poverty and financial inability to provide educational conditions, child labor and marriage, caring for other children, and parents' disbelief in education. It should not be forgotten that education and access to educational facilities are fundamental rights of children, and ignoring this right and depriving a child of education will affect society. The right to free and adequate education is another responsibility of governments towards children. The government must create conditions so that children can grow up in a healthy environment with appropriate facilities, free from any discrimination. Non-profit schools, reducing the budget for public schools, and neoliberal policies in this area are not in the interest of children and will ultimately harm society. The government is also obliged to provide the necessary facilities for the education of children with disabilities and special needs. Ignoring children with disabilities in society is, in fact, an act of oppression against more vulnerable individuals. In a suitable educational system, children with disabilities are identified according to their abilities, and appropriate growth and educational opportunities are provided for them, which not only improves the child's life as an individual but ultimately contributes to the growth and advancement of society. The fundamental right of every child to education is emphasized in the first part of Article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Clauses (a) to (c) of this article include the obligations of countries to achieve this right. This article emphasizes that member countries of the convention must gradually and based on equal opportunities, create conditions for access to the right to education. At the primary education level, member countries are not only obliged to provide free primary education but must also make it compulsory. Article 30 of the Iranian Constitution stipulates that the government is obliged to provide free educational facilities for all until the end of secondary education and to expand higher education facilities free of charge to the extent of the country's self-sufficiency. In addition to Article 30 and Clause 3 of Article 3 of the Constitution and Articles 1 and 2 of the law, providing educational facilities for Iranian children indicates the compulsory nature of education.