ABSTRACT
In the early years of this millennium, with the widespread ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations General Assembly, 1989), there was great promise for the implementation of children’s education rights in schools. According to the Convention, not only do children have the right to education (Article 28) but also they have the right to education that is directed at respect for human rights, including their own rights as described in the Convention (Article 29). However, despite the promise of the Convention, although education has been made widely available to most children, the full implementation of children’s education rights is far from being accomplished. The Convention requires that as a basis for respecting human rights, children know and understand their rights and the rights of others. It also requires that schools provide children’s rights education and ensure educational practices consistent with the Convention. But in contradiction to this, the vast majority of children remain in the dark about their rights and schools remain largely oblivious to the need for implementing the full range of children’s education rights. In doing so, schools fail children.
