Abstract

The article analyses the recent Reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education and addresses the crucial issue of the effects that the processes of privatization determine on the enjoyment of the right to education. In particular, the analysis focuses on the dangers deriving from the 'commercialization' of education services and the consequences that the process of privatization in this sector may have on the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Three are the key issues which the article deals with: first, the problem of the impact of privatization on the international standards safeguarding the right to education; second, the identification of the obligations stemming on States when implementing privatization policies in the education field area; finally, the setting forth of legal frameworks for regulating, monitoring and controlling private sector entities that provide education services aimed at enforcing also the principles of non- discrimination and equal opportunities.