HIGHER EDUCATION AS A HUMAN RIGHT: IV REFORM OF THE NATIONAL AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF HONDURAS

Abstract

The international human rights regulations from the last century indicate that access to higher education must be based on merit or abilities, limiting its enjoyment to a proportion of the population. From this approach, this article presents a review of Plan of the IV Reform of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) issued in 2005 to identify distinctive elements in the consideration of higher education as a human right.

The Plan reflects a work proposal framed in the democratizing processes of neo-populist and neoliberal governments developed during the first decade of the 21st century. In this way, the UNAH reform proposed the recognition and guarantee of the right to higher education from two paths: quality improvement and institutional strengthening. Although its approach is prior to that of the CRES, it recognizes higher education as a right and as a public, non-private good and defines the general lines so that the National Autonomous University of Honduras is configured as the state entity to guarantee this human right.