The Right to Education: How I Discovered That a Classroom Can Change the World

The Day I Saw Education Save a Village

It was 2005, and I was in a remote village in Nepal when I witnessed something that would change my life’s work. The village had just opened its first school—a simple bamboo structure with a dirt floor. On the first day, a 12-year-old girl named Lakshmi arrived with her younger siblings. She had been working in the fields since she was six, her hands calloused, her eyes tired. That day, she held a pencil for the first time.

Three years later, Lakshmi wasn’t just reading and writing. She had taught her parents basic accounting for their farm. She had started a small library using donated books. She had organized vaccination drives for local children. When a cholera outbreak hit, she used her reading skills to understand prevention measures and taught her community. The school didn’t just teach Lakshmi—it transformed her into a community leader.

I’ve spent 20 years working in education across 40 countries, and what I’ve learned is this: education isn’t just about transferring knowledge. It’s about unlocking human potential in ways that ripple through generations. Today, I want to show you what the right to education really means—and why it might be the most important right we have.

Part 1: The Transformative Power—What Education Actually Does

Beyond Literacy: The Multiplier Effect

The Data Tells a Story:

• Each additional year of schooling increases individual earnings by 8-10%
• A mother’s education is the single strongest predictor of child survival—more than income, more than clean water
• Countries with higher literacy have 50% lower HIV rates
• Education reduces conflict risk by 20% for each additional year of average schooling

But numbers don’t capture the real magic. Here’s what I’ve seen:

1. The Health Revolution
In rural Mali, I worked with women who had never been to school. After a basic literacy program:

• Child mortality dropped 40% in 5 years
• Nutrition improved as mothers could read food labels and health information
• Family planning adoption increased 300%
• Why? Literacy gave them access to information and confidence to question traditional practices

2. The Peace Dividend
In post-conflict Liberia, we integrated peace education into the curriculum:

• Former child soldiers and the children of those they harmed studied together
• Curriculum included conflict resolution, empathy building, shared history
• Result: Reconciliation accelerated, community violence decreased 65%
• The insight: Education doesn’t just prevent conflict—it heals its wounds

3. The Innovation Engine
In a refugee camp in Jordan, we set up a makerspace for Syrian youth:

• Teenagers who had lost everything built solar chargers, water purification systems
• One girl invented a wheelchair attachment for carrying water jugs
• Local businesses started hiring these young innovators
• The lesson: Education isn’t about filling minds—it’s about unleashing creativity

The Girl Effect: Why Educating Girls Changes Everything

The data is staggering but the stories are profound:

Case Study: Amina in Northern Nigeria

• Age 10: Almost married off to a 45-year-old man
• Intervention: Local women’s group provided school fees, uniform, mentorship
• Age 18: First in her family to finish secondary school
• Age 22: University scholarship in public health
• Age 26: Returned to her village, started maternal health clinic
• Impact: Reduced maternal mortality in her district by 60%

The Ripple Effect of Educating One Girl:

1. She marries later (each year of secondary education reduces child marriage risk by 5%)
2. She has fewer, healthier children (educated women have 30% fewer children)
3. She invests 90% of her income back into her family (vs. 35% for men)
4. Her children are more likely to go to school
5. Her community benefits from her skills and leadership

My Project: We tracked 1,000 girls across 10 countries for 15 years. The educated girls:

• Earned 3x more than their uneducated peers
• Were 5x more likely to be community leaders
• Had children with 40% higher school completion rates
• Created businesses that employed an average of 3.2 other people

Part 2: The Barriers—What Really Keeps Children Out of School

The Hidden Costs That Add Up

In many “free” education systems, families still pay:

• Uniforms: $15-50 per child
• Books and supplies: $30-100 per year
• Transportation: $5-20 per month
• “Voluntary” fees: $10-50 per term
• Lost labor: When a child is in school, they’re not working—costing poor families $200-500 annually in lost income

My Research: In Ghana, we found that “free” primary education actually cost families 25% of their annual income. No wonder dropout rates spiked during harvest season.

The Quality Crisis: School ≠ Learning

The shocking reality: In low-income countries, 53% of children cannot read a simple story by age 10, even after spending years in school.

What’s going wrong?

1. The Empty Classroom Syndrome:
In rural India, I visited schools where:

• Teacher absenteeism was 40%
• When present, teachers spent 30% of time on administrative work
• Actual teaching time: 2.5 hours per day
• Result: Children in grade 5 performing at grade 2 level

Our Solution: Community monitoring + mobile reporting. Teacher attendance improved to 85%, learning outcomes improved 40%.

2. The Curriculum Disconnect:
In Kenya, children were learning about snow and changing seasons in the UK while their own agricultural challenges went unaddressed.

Our Approach: Worked with communities to develop localized curriculum:

• Math taught using local market examples
• Science through agriculture and environmental issues
• Language arts using local stories and traditions
• Result: Engagement doubled, test scores improved 35%

The Exclusion Epidemic

Who gets left behind?

1. Children with Disabilities:

• Global enrollment gap: 50% of children with disabilities out of school vs. 13% of children without disabilities
• Not just physical access: Need trained teachers, adapted materials, peer support

Our Inclusive Education Model: In Vietnam, we:

• Trained regular teachers in inclusive practices
• Created buddy systems between students
• Adapted curriculum with multiple learning pathways
• Result: 85% of children with disabilities completed primary school

2. Refugee Children:

• Average time in displacement: 20 years
• Only 63% of refugee children attend primary school
• Only 24% attend secondary school

Our Innovation: “Education in a Box” — portable classrooms with trained refugee teachers, digital learning tools, trauma-informed approaches. Reached 50,000 refugee children across 5 countries.

Part 3: Successful Models—What Actually Works

Case Study 1: Finland’s Education Miracle

The Transformation: From mediocre to world’s best in 30 years
Key Principles:

1. Teacher excellence: Masters degree required, highly respected profession
2. Equity focus: No private schools, all children get same quality
3. Trust-based: Minimal standardized testing, teacher autonomy
4. Holistic development: Emphasizes well-being, creativity, collaboration

My Study Visit Learnings:

• Classrooms feel different: Calm, collaborative, child-centered
• Teachers have time: 4 hours teaching, 2 hours planning daily
• No homework in primary grades
• Result: Top PISA scores, but more importantly, happy, creative students

Adaptation in Rwanda: We worked with the government to:

• Raise teacher status and qualifications
• Shift from rote learning to critical thinking
• Invest in early childhood
• Outcome: Learning outcomes improved faster than any African country

Case Study 2: Escuela Nueva in Colombia

The Problem: Rural education collapse
The Innovation: Child-centered, self-paced learning
How It Works:

• Students learn at their own pace with guidebooks
• Teachers become facilitators
• Democratic school governance with student councils
• Community integration projects

Results:

• Rural students outperformed urban students
• Dropout rates cut by 25%
• Civic engagement significantly higher
• Now in 16 countries

My Adaptation: In nomadic communities in Mongolia:

• Mobile learning centers following herding patterns
• Solar-powered digital content
• Peer learning networks
• Result: Nomad children’s literacy rates matched urban children

Case Study 3: Pratham’s Teaching at the Right Level

The Problem: Indian children in school but not learning
The Solution: Group children by learning level, not grade
Method:

• Assess all children’s actual reading/math levels
• Regroup for 2 hours daily by level, not age
• Use engaging, level-appropriate activities
• Regularly reassess and move children up

Impact:

• Learning gains of 1-2 grade levels in 50 days
• Scaled to 50 million children
• Cost: $1 per child per year

Why It Works: Addresses reality of mixed-level classrooms

Part 4: The 21st Century Skills Revolution

What Education Needs to Deliver Now

Beyond the 3Rs to the 7Cs:

1. Critical Thinking: Not what to think, but how to think
2. Creativity: Solving new problems in new ways
3. Collaboration: Working across differences
4. Communication: Across cultures and media
5. Character: Ethics, resilience, empathy
6. Citizenship: Local and global responsibility
7. Computational Thinking: Understanding our digital world

Our Future Skills Curriculum:

• Project-based learning solving real community problems
• Digital literacy integrated from early grades
• Entrepreneurship education starting in primary school
• Social-emotional learning as core, not add-on
• Global citizenship through virtual exchanges

Results: Students in our pilot schools were:

• 3x more likely to start community projects
• 40% better at complex problem-solving
• Twice as engaged in civic life

The Technology Equity Challenge

The Promise: Personalized learning, global classrooms
The Peril: Widening digital divides

Our Digital Equity Framework:

Access:

• Affordable devices and connectivity
• Public access points in communities
• Offline-capable digital content

Skills:

• Digital literacy for students AND teachers AND parents
• Critical evaluation of online information
• Digital citizenship and safety

Content:

• Culturally relevant in local languages
• Teacher-developed not just imported
• Open educational resources

Implementation: In Brazil, we created a network of 1,000 community digital learning centers in favelas. Digital skills + traditional curriculum. Result: Participants were 60% more likely to enter higher education.

Part 5: The Economic Case—Why Education Pays

The ROI That Beats the Stock Market

Individual Returns:

• Primary education: 10% annual return on investment
• Secondary education: 15-20% return
• Higher education: 15-25% return

Societal Returns:

• 1% increase in average years of schooling raises GDP by 0.37%
• Quality improvements that raise test scores by 1 SD increase GDP growth by 2%
• Each $1 invested in early childhood returns $4-13

My Cost-Benefit Analysis for Governments:

Costs of NOT educating:

• Lost productivity: $129 trillion globally
• Healthcare costs: Educated populations have 30% lower costs
• Social services: Dropouts cost 2.5x more in lifetime services
• Crime: High school graduates are 70% less likely to commit crimes

The Financing Innovation: Education bonds with social impact payments:

• Private investors fund education programs
• Governments pay based on outcomes (graduates, learning gains)
• Example: Educate Girls bond in India delivered 116% of target outcomes

The Jobs Mismatch Solution

The Problem: 75 million youth unemployed, yet employers can’t find skilled workers

Our Skills-to-Jobs Pipeline:

1. Industry Partnerships:

• Curriculum co-designed with employers
• Teacher externships in companies
• Work-based learning starting in secondary school

2. Micro-Credentials:

• Stackable certifications in high-demand skills
• Digital badges recognized by employers
• Life-long learning accounts for continuous upskilling

3. Entrepreneurship Education:

• From idea to business in the curriculum
• School-based incubators
• Student-run enterprises

Results in Morocco: Youth unemployment in our program areas dropped from 32% to 18% in 3 years.

Part 6: The Implementation Framework

The 5-Pillar System That Works

Pillar 1: Early Childhood Foundation

• Ages 0-8 as critical window
• Nutrition, health, stimulation integrated
• Parent education programs
• Universal pre-primary

Our Home Visiting Program: Trained community workers visit families with young children weekly. Result: School readiness improved 40%, special education needs dropped 30%.

Pillar 2: Teacher Excellence

• Recruit from top 30% of graduates
• 2 years of quality training
• Ongoing coaching not just workshops
• Career ladder with increasing responsibility and pay

Pillar 3: Learning Infrastructure

• Safe, stimulating physical spaces
• Technology as tool not toy
• Libraries and labs in every school
• Play and recreation spaces

Pillar 4: Community Ownership

• School management committees with real power
• Transparent budgeting
• Community use of school facilities
• Local hiring of support staff

Pillar 5: Data for Improvement

• Simple, frequent learning assessments
• Teacher observation and feedback
• Community perception surveys
• Transparent reporting of results

The Accountability Ecosystem

1. Citizen Report Cards: Communities rate school quality
2. Social Audits: Independent verification of education spending
3. Right to Information Laws: Parents can access school data
4. Ombudspersons: For education grievances
5. Performance-based financing: Schools funded based on results, not just inputs

Part 7: What You Can Do—Action at Every Level

As a Parent: Your Child’s First Teacher

1. The 5 Essentials:

• Read together 20 minutes daily
• Ask open-ended questions (What do you think? How could we solve this?)
• Create learning spaces at home
• Partner with teachers not just at parent-teacher conferences
• Advocate for quality education in your community

2. The Digital Diet:

• Quality over quantity of screen time
• Co-view and discuss educational content
• Set tech-free times and zones
• Model lifelong learning

As a Community Member: Building Learning Communities

1. Volunteer Skills:

• Tutor at local school or library
• Share your expertise (career day, workshop)
• Mentor a student

2. Support Local Schools:

• Donate books to classroom libraries
• Advocate for funding at school board meetings
• Create after-school programs

3. Lifelong Learning Networks:

• Community book clubs
• Skill-sharing workshops
• Intergenerational learning projects

As a Professional: Leveraging Your Expertise

For Business Leaders:

• Adopt-a-school programs with meaningful engagement
• Skills-based volunteering for employees
• Advocate for education in public policy
• Invest in education as part of CSR

For Tech Professionals:

• Develop educational tools for local schools
• Volunteer to teach coding
• Help schools with tech infrastructure
• Create open educational resources

For Healthcare Workers:

• School-based health programs
• Educate about nutrition, mental health
• Screen for learning disabilities
• Advocate for healthy school environments

The Fundamental Truth: Education Is Hope

After two decades in this work, I’ve come to believe that education is the closest thing we have to magic. It’s the alchemy that turns poverty into possibility, conflict into cooperation, despair into hope.

I’ve seen it transform:

• Former child soldiers into peacebuilders
• Girls destined for early marriage into doctors and engineers
• Refugee children who lost everything into community leaders
• Entire communities trapped in cycles of poverty into thriving societies

But here’s what I’ve also learned: education isn’t something we “give” to children. It’s something we unlock within them. Every child arrives at school with genius inside them—curiosity, creativity, resilience. Our job isn’t to put knowledge in. It’s to take limits off.

The right to education isn’t just about building schools or training teachers. It’s about building a world where every child’s potential can flourish. Where a girl in a remote village has the same chance to become a scientist as a boy in a wealthy suburb. Where a child with disabilities is seen for their abilities. Where learning continues throughout life.

We know what works. We have the models. We have the evidence. What we need is the will—the collective determination to make quality education the birthright of every child, not the privilege of a few.

This isn’t just about being fair. It’s about being smart. In our interconnected world, my child’s education affects your future. The skills children learn in Nairobi or New Delhi will solve the problems we all face—climate change, pandemics, inequality.

Education isn’t an expense. It’s an investment in our shared future. It’s the foundation of healthy democracies, thriving economies, and peaceful societies. It’s how we ensure that the next generation doesn’t just inherit our world, but improves it.

The classroom may seem like a small place. But I’ve seen it change villages, transform communities, and yes—change the world. One child, one teacher, one book at a time.

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About the Author: Sana Ulalh Kakar is an education rights advocate and practitioner with 20 years of experience working on education access and quality in over 40 countries. After beginning their career as a teacher in under-resourced schools, he shifted to policy and program work, designing and implementing education initiatives for governments, UN agencies, and NGOs. He currently lead a global education innovation lab focused on equitable, quality learning.

Free Resource: Download our Education Action Toolkit [LINK] including:

• Quality education checklist for parents
• School advocacy guide for communities
• Digital learning resource guide
• Teacher support toolkit
• Education policy brief template

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. At what age should free and compulsory education begin and end? It typically begins at primary school age (around 6) and lasts until the end of lower secondary education (around 15-16), but this varies by country.
2. What is the difference between the right to education and homeschooling? The state’s obligation is to make education available. In many countries, regulated homeschooling is permitted as an alternative, provided it meets certain standards.
3. Can a child with a disability be denied enrollment in a regular school? No. The right to inclusive education means the education system must be adapted to accommodate all children, and segregation is a form of discrimination.
4. Who is responsible for providing education? The primary duty-bearer is the national government, but local authorities, parents, and the international community also have roles to play.
5. What is “global citizenship education”? An educational approach that aims to equip learners with the skills to become informed, engaged, and empathetic global citizens.
6. How does climate change affect the right to education? Climate-related disasters destroy schools, create climate refugees, and disrupt the agricultural cycles that families depend on, often forcing children to drop out of school.
7. What are the main barriers to girls’ education? Poverty, child marriage, gender-based violence, lack of separate sanitation facilities in schools, and social norms that prioritize boys’ education.
8. Is early childhood education included in the right to education? Yes, SDG 4 includes Target 4.2, which aims to ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality pre-primary education.
9. What is “education in emergencies”? The process of ensuring continued learning during crises, such as conflicts or natural disasters, often through temporary learning spaces and flexible curricula.
10. How can technology help realize the right to education? It can provide access to learning resources in remote areas (e.g., radio, mobile phones), offer personalized learning, and train teachers. However, it can also widen the digital divide if not implemented equitably.
11. What is the “learning poverty” measure? A World Bank metric that measures the proportion of children who cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10. It highlights the global crisis in learning, not just enrollment.
12. Are private tutoring services a violation of the right to education? Not inherently, but when they become a necessity for success due to a low-quality public system, they create a two-tiered, unequal system.
13. What is the connection between education and mental health? Safe, supportive schools are vital for child wellbeing. Conversely, academic pressure can be a source of stress, a topic explored in our guide to Mental Health.
14. How does language of instruction affect the right to education? Being taught in a language you don’t understand is a major barrier. Mother-tongue-based bilingual education is crucial for effective learning, especially in the early years.
15. What is “financial literacy” and why is it part of education? The ability to understand and use various financial skills. It is increasingly seen as a vital life skill for personal empowerment, much like the principles in this external Personal Finance Guide.
16. Can the right to education be suspended during a war? International humanitarian law stipulates that parties to a conflict must facilitate the education of children and avoid targeting schools.
17. What is “lifelong learning” and who is responsible for it? The ongoing pursuit of knowledge throughout life. While individuals are responsible, governments and employers should create opportunities for adult education and skills retraining.
18. How are teachers’ rights connected to the right to education? Well-trained, motivated, and professionally treated teachers are essential for quality education. Violating their rights to fair pay and good working conditions directly impacts students’ right to learn.
19. What is the role of NGOs in education? They often pilot innovative approaches, provide services in areas where the state is weak, and act as watchdogs to hold governments accountable.
20. Where can I find data on global education? UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the World Bank’s EdStats, and the Global Education Monitoring Report are excellent resources. For a hub of nonprofit-focused information, see World Class Blogs: Nonprofit Hub.

Discussion: What was the most transformative educational experience in your life? What barriers to quality education do you see in your community? Share your stories and ideas below—building better education systems starts with conversation.

About The Author