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The problem for many indigenous peoples in relation to education is not only the inferior schooling, or
complete lack of formal education, but also the content and objective of education made available
to them. There are numerous examples where education has been a core element in state policies
aimed at assimilating indigenous peoples into mainstream societies – and thereby contributed to
the eradication of their cultures, languages and ways of life.
Thus within education there are a number of areas to be considered in implementing the Convention:
Individual and collective aspects of the right to •
education; The quality of indigenous peoples’ education;
• Diminishing discrimination and prejudice
• through education.
10.1. INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE ASPECTS Of THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION
International human rights law recognizes the right to education as a fundamental human right for
everyone. Education enables individuals to achieve the full development of their personality and abilities,
as well as enabling them to participate effectively in the society. These individual rights to education
are provided under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. International human rights law acknowledges that the individual
right to education, even if it is fully implemented, is not suficient to meet the needs of indigenous
societies. In addition to the individual need and right to education, indigenous peoples have collective
educational needs and rights, based on their distinct histories, cultures, values, languages, knowledge,
livelihood strategies and ways of learning – and their wish to transmit these to future generations.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its general comment No. 11 2009 expresses
the duality of the individual and collective aspects of the right to education in the
following way
:
The education of indigenous children contributes both to their individual and
community development as well as to their participation in the wider society. Quality
education enables indigenous children to exercise and enjoy economic, social and
cultural rights for their personal beneit as well as for the beneit of their community.
Furthermore, it strengthens children’s ability to exercise their civil rights in order
to inluence political policy processes for improved protection of human rights. Thus,
the implementation of the right to education of indigenous children is an essential means of
achieving individual empowerment and self- determination of indigenous peoples.
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4 CRCCGC11
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When elaborating on indigenous peoples’ right to education, it is thus necessary to take into account
two categories of rights: 1 the individual right to education, reafirming that everyone has equal right
to education, and 2 indigenous peoples’ collective rights to education that takes into account their
special needs. ILO Convention No. 169 relects these two complementary principles of individual
and collective rights in Articles 26 and 27:
ILO Convention No. 169 stipulates that: Article 26
Measures shall be taken to ensure that members of the peoples concerned have the
opportunity to acquire education at all levels on at least an
equal footing with the rest of the national community.
Article 27 1.
Education programmes and services for the peoples concerned shall be developed
and implemented in cooperation with them to address their special needs, and shall
incorporate their histories, their knowledge and technologies, their value systems and
their further social, economic and cultural aspirations.
2.
The competent authority shall ensure the training of members of these peoples
and their involvement in the formulation and implementation of education programmes,
with a view to the progressive transfer of responsibility for the conduct of these
programmes to these peoples as appropriate. 3.
In addition, governments shall recognise the right of these peoples to establish their
own educational institutions and facilities, provided that such institutions meet minimum
standards established by the competent authority in consultation with these peoples.
Appropriate resources shall be provided for this purpose.
Articles 26 and 27 relect the fundamental philosophy of Convention No. 169, which is to
promote and protect indigenous peoples’ right to simultaneously maintain and develop their own
cultures, ways of life, traditions and customs, and to continue to exist as parts of their national societies
with their own identity, cultures, structures and traditions see also sections 3.2. and 3.3.on equality
and special measures. Further, Article 27 stipulates the following key principles:
Education programmes for indigenous peoples shall be developed and implemented in
cooperation
with them to address their speciic needs.
This implies that indigenous peoples are entitled to fully participate in the development and execution
of such education programmes, in order to ensure that education programmes effectively meet their
speciic needs and that their values, cultures, knowledge and languages become an integral
part of such programmes. The provision also emphasizes that education programmes shall relect
indigenous peoples’ own aspirations for the future as far as social, economic and cultural matters are
concerned. This is a relection of an acceptance that education is an important way of ensuring that
indigenous societies can develop in accordance with their own priorities and aspirations.
Responsibilities for the conduct of education programmes should be progressively
transferred to indigenous peoples themselves. In addition, Article 273 recognizes that indigenous
peoples have the right to establish their own educational institutions and facilities, and obliges
states to provide appropriate resources for this purpose. The criterion however is that such
institutions meet minimum national standards for education. In practical terms, these two provisions
acknowledge that indigenous peoples have the right to a certain degree of educational autonomy - in the
implementation of general education programs and services, and through the establishment of their own
educational institutions.
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The
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:
Article 14 1.
Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational
systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner
appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.
2.
Indigenous individuals, particularly children, have the right to all levels and forms of
education of the State without discrimination. 3.
States shall, in conjunction with indigenous peoples, take effective measures, in order
for indigenous individuals, particularly children, including those living outside their
communities, to have access, when possible, to an education in their own culture and
provided in their own language.
Article 14 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples reafirms
that indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their own educational
systems and institutions. This should be interpreted in the light of Articles 3 and
4 of the Declaration, which reafirm that indigenous peoples have the right to self-
determination, and that, in exercising their right to self-determination, they have the right
to autonomy and self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs. It
is natural to consider education a matter relating to indigenous peoples “internal and
local affairs” – entitling indigenous peoples to the right to educational autonomy. The
main role of the state in relation to indigenous education, whenever indigenous peoples wish
to implement such autonomy, is to ensure that their educational systems and institutions
meet the national minimum standards for education. It is however required that such an
assessment takes place in cooperation with and with the full participation of indigenous
peoples. Moreover, the state is obliged to provide adequate inancial resources for the
establishment and administration of such institutions.
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5 John Henriksen: Key Principles in Implementing ILO Convention No. 169, ILO, 2008.
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10.2. THE qUALITy Of INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ EDUCATION
