by Nahiyan Helal
If a person with little or no information about the education system in the USA, namely, was confronted with the following question, “Do you think the country whose President is referred to as the ‘leader of the free world’ has constitutional guarantee for education?”, their answer would likely be in the affirmative.
Unfortunately, the case is not so. Despite assurances provided by Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the USA does not have a constitutional guarantee for education. A question may arise as to whether there is at all a case for a constitutional guarantee. I will argue that there is indeed such as case, as not much movement has taken place in the USA to assure the right to education, and not a single case concerning education has managed thus far to secure a ruling in favour of the argument that there is an implied right to education in the US Constitution.
What about other Countries?
The Learning Curve report (2014), published by Pearson, does not list the USA in the ‘top ten countries’ for education, in its ranking. For comparison, the top five countries in the ranking are South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong-China and Finland respectively, with the UK taking spot number six. Each of these countries has a constitutional or statutory guarantee of the right to education. For instance, Finland asserts, “Everyone has the right to basic education free of charge” (Chapter 2, Section 16). New Zealand takes this a step further and constitutes the basis for the right to education by incorporating the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its laws.
What about non-Constitutional legislation?
As there is no central basis for reform, initiatives in the national arena have offered ranging approaches to improve disparate school systems in the USA. It is often assumed that education is entrenched in American values. However, a ‘value’ as opposed to the ‘insurance of a right’ is no doubt a weaker approach.
A case for Constitutional guarantee
Over the years, there have been challenges in the USA to ensure inclusivity in education. However, none of these challenges have succeeded in establishing a right to education. Socio-economic rights such as education have often been subject to challenges throughout the world. In some parts of the world, such challenges have been successful. The reluctance of political parties in the USA to establish such a right is often based on the argument that resources are limited and that such a burden should not be placed on tax-payers.
I humbly argue that such arguments have no place in this era. With societal values and understanding becoming more complex with each passing day and fake news sipping into society, it is more important than ever that a right to education is ensured. Such a Constitutional guarantee would not only help reduce the gap between male and female students at universities in the USA, but will also aid students from minority ethnic backgrounds. It is time to stop using words such ‘equality’ and ‘liberty‘ as soundbites.
Furthermore, it is commonly accepted that without such a guarantee or right, it is the traditionally disadvantaged population that is left behind. A constitutional guarantee of the right to education in the USA is no doubt a demand of the modern era. Moreover, as the USA is often held to be a ‘guarantor of rights’ throughout the world, it should at least incorporate such a guarantee in its Constitution. Although it is too late to lead the way; such a reform would nevertheless at least provide some justification of its label as ‘guarantor of rights’.
