ABSTRACT
Article 2 of the First Protocol to the European Convention provides for the right to education and is thus the only provision that relates directly and specifically to children. Article 2 does not specify the level or type of education to which every child is guaranteed, although it has been submitted that it includes entry to nursery, primary, secondary and higher education. The right to education does not require States to establish new private schools; nor does it involve a duty to finance or subsidise private schools. Respect for a parent's convictions must not harm the fundamental right to education set out in the first sentence of Article 2. As long as the child's right to education is recognised as paramount, it would appear that any conflict between children and parents under the Convention may be resolved in a manner which guarantees the child's right to education as absolute.
