Striving for Quality Education: The Right to Education as a Socio-Economic Right

The article focuses on the realisation of the right to education in South Africa. The State has an obligation in terms of section 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 to ensure the progressive realisation of the right to basic education. The State is also obliged to take reasonable measures, to ensure that the right to education is progressively available and accessible at tertiary level. A historical approach is adopted in the discussion; the great disparities within the South African education system created by the apartheid regime are highlighted as basis for the discussion. The article also examines the States’ international obligations and commitments under international in the realisation of the right to education. Finally, the article examines the measures that the South African government has taken to comply with its constitutional obligations to create an equal education system for all. In order to examine the measures taken by the State to realise the right to education, the article analyses existing legislation, policies, and judicial decisions. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n8p302