Understanding the right to education under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, within the four pillars of interpretation

The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child has received several communications alleging violations of the right to education under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. This has led to significant development on the jurisprudence on education and on education-related rights. Like every right under the African Children's Charter, the right to education is subject to the four pillars of interpretation: non-discrimination; best interests; child participation; and survival and development. The aim of this article is to explore how the African Children's Committee has interpreted the right to education within the four pillars of interpretation and how that has shaped the growing jurisprudence on education under the African Children's Charter. The article also draws on examples on educational rights and interpretive provisions from the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.