62nd Regular Session of the Human Rights Council Item 3: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education

Mr. Chair,

Education must always be directed toward the integral formation of the whole person, including the intellectual and moral, social and spiritual dimensions.[1]

In this regard, the Holy See Delegation wishes to make three observations.

Firstly, while information and knowledge are related, they are not identical. An educational system that privileges the rapid accumulation of information over the disciplined work of study, reflection and discernment may produce learners who “know many things” yet struggle to find direction.[2] The culture of immediacy and hyper-stimulation, fostered in part by digital media, exacerbates this concern. In this culture instant answers and summaries can extinguish the desire for inquiry and exploration that education should awaken. “Education, by contrast, is a longer journey requiring patience” [3] and time.

Secondly, the rapid advancement of information technology and artificial intelligence also poses critical pedagogical challenges. “Many educational systems struggle to keep pace with change and to support the integral development of students. The advance of information technologies and AI is rapidly rendering curricula obsolete that were designed for a different era.”[4] This forces States and educators to rethink what is taught and how schools, learning spaces, methods of assessment, and even the role of teachers are developed. It is necessary to promote an integral education. Technologies should serve educators, not replace them. They should enrich the learning process, not impoverish relationships and communities.[5]

            Thirdly, the duty of education does not lie solely with the State or the schools. The family is the primary educator of the child, and parents are the first teachers. Parents have the right to choose the formative tools that respond to their convictions and to seek those means that will help them best to fulfil their duty as educators. On the other hand, public authorities have the duty to guarantee this right and to ensure the concrete conditions necessary for it to be exercised. In this context, cooperation between the family and scholastic institutions takes on primary importance.[6]

Mr. Chair,

The present time calls for a renewed educational alliance among families, schools and public authorities.[7] Pope Leo XIV affirmed that such an alliance can only take shape “when fundamental principles are translated into educational goals, including teaching students a sense of moderation and limits; recognition of the rights of others and of future generations to enjoy the goods that are either provided for us or made available by human ingenuity; freedom and responsibility; and a sense of transcendence and the common good.”[8]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.