The right to education also includes a responsibility to provide basic education for individuals who have not completed primary education. According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the right to education includes the right to free, compulsory primary education for all, an obligation to develop secondary education accessible to all in particular by the progressive introduction of free secondary education, as well as an obligation to develop equitable access to higher education in particular by the progressive introduction of free higher education. In, Article 2 of the first Protocol of 20 March 1952 to the European Convention on Human Rights states that the right to education is recognized as a human right and is understood to establish an entitlement to education. In Africa, both the 1981 the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child recognize the right to education. The right to education has been reaffirmed in the 1960 UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education, the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the 1981 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children."
It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
Elementary education shall be compulsory. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. The right to education is reflected in article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: