Identify critical issues for consideration in the development of secondary education policies.

 The right to education framework currently distinguishes between primary education, which must be free, compulsory and universal, and secondary education, which is to be generally available, accessible to all and progressively free. However, a leap forward was made with the drafting of SDG Target 4.1 which called on States to ‘ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes’. The SDG target has effectively created a 15-year time limit to achieve a target of at least 12 years of free, publicly funded, inclusive and equitable quality primary and secondary education, of which at least nine years are compulsory. There has been a movement in soft law towards a right to free secondary education, evidenced by communications of the CRC Committee to Member States, the UN SpecialRapporteur on the Right to Education and the CRPD Committee (Sheppard, 2022). In an increasing number of countries, secondary education is now considered part of basic education, and given free and compulsory status. According to the UNESCO-GEM Report (2020) 73% of countries guarantee 9 years of compulsory primary and secondary education and 52% of countries guarantee 12 years of free primary and secondary education. The benefits of secondary education, which includes TVET, barely need to be stated, quality secondary education is crucial to offer access to post-secondary levels or higher education, is often a necessary prerequisite to enter the workforce and provides adults with the skills and training to adapt to changing societies. However, low-income countries may encounter difficulties in increasing access to secondary education due to the cost and the implications of abolishing tuition fees, which is not always affordable (Caillods, 2010). Schools cannot abolish school fees if they do not receive an equivalent allocation from the government. Countries that struggle to eliminate secondary school fees due to the costs involved might prefer targeted measures, such as a focus on girls and minority groups, for example (Caillods, 2010). It cannot be ignored that in some regions, fee-free secondary education is difficult to attain – 17 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa offer some form of fee-free lower and/or upper secondary education, representing just 17% of governments (Kerr, 2020). Creating a right to secondary education with immediate application might have a counterproductive effect. Rather than reinforcing the right to secondary education, States who rush to provide free and compulsory secondary education could lead to a decline in the overall education quality. The availability of resources, expertise and infrastructure is an important consideration (UNESCO and Right to Education Initiative, 2019). Regardless, implementing a right to free and compulsory secondary education is difficult to oppose from a rights-based perspective. In a sense, the right may already exist in an implied manner. Grove (2010) argues that, although international instruments do not stipulate that education be free and compulsory to the end of secondary school, they do stipulate that the child's right to education involves the right to develop to their ‘full potential’, and this is unlikely to occur for most children with less than secondary school completion. Similarly, education must be directed to ‘the full development’ of the human personality. A right to education that only guarantees free primary education ‘creates numerous internal inconsistencies within the human rights framework’, making accessibility reliant on parents’ ability or willingness to pay fees, overriding the overarching principal of the CRC that the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration (Sheppard, 2022). Grove (2010) also points out that countries that have not legislated for compulsory secondary education are not always less-developed countries. High-income countries that do not ensure this level show prominent levels of drop out of disadvantaged and minority group learners, showing clear linkages to issues of inequality. There are also undoubtably benefits for the State, as well as individuals. Tomaševski (2002) found that the key to reducing poverty is secondary, rather than primary education. This level is not just imperative for human dignity and flourishing, but is also linked to the health of the national economy. In the same report, the Special Rapporteur on the right to education cited the Republic of Korea’s experience in finding a ‘crucial relationship’ between investment in secondary education and the country’s economic growth. It has been estimated that world poverty could be cut in half if all adults completed secondary education (UNESCO-GEM Report, 2017a). Lastly, an extension of compulsory schooling can be advocated for on the basis that it is important for the right to education to become harmonized with the ILO frameworks that make a connection between education and the minimum age of work. If the end of compulsory education is aligned with the completion of primary school, this results in an unsafe ‘gap’ for children, where they are not legally able to work, but also may be not attending school. This gap is where child labour and exploitation will flourish, in direct contradiction with the established rights of the child. On a related note, youth have reflected on the need to ensure that the curriculum and skills development offeredin formal education are relevant to the world of work, as in countries where it is not, children are likely to drop out of school and pursue low-skilled jobs.