Despite the firm anchoring of the right to education in international human rights law — from Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to Articles 13 and 14 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights — millions of children and adults worldwide remain excluded from quality education. In low- and middle-income countries, attendance and school completion rates for children from the poorest 20% of households significantly lag behind those of the richest 20% with poor rural girls rarely completing secondary school. In response, this proposal to advance universal access to quality education seeks to close this gap by guaranteeing equitable, inclusive, and lifelong learning opportunities for all, treating education not as a market commodity but as a foundational public service provided as a right rather than ability to pay. Implementation is organized along a life-course continuum, beginning with universal, public early childhood education and care, through tuition-free quality education at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, to continued adult and vocational learning. Financing commitments including national allocations of at least 15–20% of public expenditure to education, are complemented by social protection measures such as universal school meal programmes and child benefits, ensuring that poverty does not interrupt learning trajectories. Governments are the duty-bearers responsible for financing, regulation, and accountability. Evidence from across regions demonstrates that these approaches work: in Kenya and Ghana, the abolition of primary school fees produced significant enrolment gains among low-income households; Brazil’s Bolsa Família program improved education participation while reducing child poverty; and school meal programmes implemented around the world have improved attendance and learning outcomes. Failing to guarantee universal access to quality education means accepting that life chances remain determined by birth, deepening intergenerational poverty and foreclosing the social transformation that the Roadmap identifies as central to eradicating poverty beyond growth.
