The Human Right to Higher Education in Principle and Practice: Public Policy Approaches to Facilitate University Participation in Australia and Sri Lanka, 1945-2015

Abstract

This thesis explores the notion of a human right to higher education (HRHE) as it is articulated under public international law, and examines progress towards its realisation in Australia and Sri Lanka, focusing on university participation. There is little scholarly analysis on the HRHE, and commentary on its provisions is mostly confined to the UN and its treaty bodies. In distilling the core principles of the HRHE, the study provides a conceptual framework to qualitatively assess its implementation in national settings. This incorporates the “4-A scheme” endorsed by the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for assessing the right to education, requiring nation states make education available, accessible, acceptable, and adaptable. Tracing the principal public policy measures adopted by government to facilitate university participation in Australia and Sri Lanka from 1945-2015, the study then explores the nexus between international human rights law principles and practice in two states, and reflects on practical challenges to implementation. While both Australia and Sri Lanka have made progress in support of the HRHE, each facing their own domestic challenges, giving full effect to the right is an ongoing project. Policymakers have grappled with complex policy issues on how to rationalise the distribution of limited resources for higher education and cater to diverse populations - sometimes giving in to local, political, and economic pressures - while advancing national priorities and development objectives.