Secondary education as a universal human right

Despite any international declarations to the contrary, basic education comes in practice to be conveniently regarded by governments as being synonymous with the level of schooling that the State stipulates is free and compulsory. Thus the operational definition of basic education is quite variable internationally and often does not include secondary schooling. Exacerbating the situation is the fact that international human rights instruments do not mandate that education be free and compulsory until the end of secondary school. However, these instruments do stipulate that the child's right to education involves the right to develop to their ‘full potential’. That is unlikely to occur for most children with less than secondary school completion as a ‘basic education’. It is argued here then that States have an obligation under international law to ensure access to inclusive school systems that facilitate secondary school completion by extending free, compulsory education to the end of secondary.