Harold Malcolm, Contributor

The Letter of the Day in the Saturday's Gleaner is rather lopsided and limited in explaining the JLP's policy of free election, so I am forced to respond.

The Jamaica Labour Party begins from the premise that we cannot afford not to have free education for surely we are aware of the attendant ills that flow from a society that does not have access to education at least to the secondary level. I do not need to enumerate them but at the very least I am sure the writer would admit that an educated population is more likely than not to have a better grasp of issues of national importance and will be better placed to contribute. We do not believe it is a cure-all but it also positions us to compete globally.

The writer in accusing Mr. Golding of promising away the people's taxes neglects an obvious truth. Mr. Golding is not promising the taxes to some foreign state but to the Jamaican people. In short, he is giving back to the people what is in effect is their money which entitles them to benefit. How much better this is than allowing mismanagement of the country's resources so a few political cronies can benefit then scream that we cannot afford free education?

Insulting

Also, the broadside by the writer against Jamaican students is an insult. No system is perfect and so in any education system a number of students are always going to skip school. It is unfortunate, yes, but it is not a reason for not providing free education because of what the writer calls "no panty days".

It has been some 45 years since the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of a Child. This proclamation explicitly guarantees children the right to basic freedoms and protections, including the right to quality education. At the International Convention on the Rights of a Child, 176 nations signed onto a binding treaty, which expanded on the original Declaration and essentially made it international law.

What Mr. Golding is saying is not reckless or irresponsible. He is simply doing what any self-respecting nation would do.

The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory. He shall be given an education which will promote his general culture and enable him, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, his individual judgement, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society. The right to education is recognised and guaranteed under several regional human rights instruments. These include the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Article 17) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child; the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (Article 12) and the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Protocol of San Salvador) (Article 13).

A basic human right

Principle 7 of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of a Child (20 November 1959) says "the child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavour to promote the enjoyment of this right".

Numerous countries have enshrined in their constitutions the right to a free education. South Africa is an example and Article 56 of El Salvador's constitution guarantees free education to its citizens. Here, in the Caribbean our neighbours provide free secondary education in some instances free tertiary education to its citizens.

Whether you will be voting for the JLP on August 27 or the PNP, every Jamaican should demand that education, a basic human right, be given to all its people, whoever forms the government. It is as Andrew Holness said, "Education is too important to become a political football." Education can never be a partisan issue; it is a Jamaican issue and we all must come together and say, if nothing else, we must find the money to educate our people.