Are free textbooks truly free?

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Author: Mira Popović

Publishing year: 2016.

Free education for all, as a right, has for the first time been presented in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory”.

The importance of this right for development of society was also recognized through other relevant international documents. In this context, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, “The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, with a view to achieving the full realization of this right: (a) Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all”. Hence, it is a recommendation that should be respected and implemented by all signatories of this document, among who is also Montenegro. In addition, the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education stipulates: “make primary education free and compulsory; make secondary education in its different forms generally available and accessible to all; make higher education equally accessible to all on the basis of individual capacity; assure compliance by all with the obligation to attend school prescribed by law”.