Education as a collective right in the construction of citizenship and dignity of the human person: the reality of an unconstitutional state of things

Abstract

The Citizen Constitution of 1988 is a historical mark for the construction of the Democratic State of Law and it prioritized fundamental rights and guarantees. Within these, are the so-called social rights from the second generation of human rights. Education integrates social rights and is the basis for building a conscience that values the dignity of the human person and the effective exercise of citizenship, two cornerstones of the Democratic State of Law. Thus, it is necessary to comprehend the concept of citizenship and the dignity of the human person, issues embraced by human rights. After this comprehension, education will be identified as a fundamental social right with its constitutional and infra-constitutional aspects. The fact is that the lack of public appreciation of this fundamental social right causes a generalized unsustainable situation; a true unconstitutional state of things). Therefore, while respecting the autonomy of the Executive and the Legislative Branches, the need for the Judiciary to act in favor of harmony and with the equity it portrays arises, as well as, the need for the Judiciary to evoke Public Authorities to fulfill their obligations. In the present paper, this translates as the fundamental social right to education.