In Bulgarian universities of medicine, it is a common practice that the maximum and minimum entry grades are different for men and women. In 2021 the lowest score for women was 33.20, and for men – 28.46. The same trend is observed in software engineering admissions, but in the opposite direction – the minimum score for men is higher than that for women.
The education system should not set different criteria for men and women – they prevent us from getting equal access to education and discriminate on the basis of gender.
Art. 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was violated as well as art. 6 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria “All people are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. The right of access to education has been violated (Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Article 53 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria). The right to protection from discrimination has been violated (Article (14) of the European Convention on Human Rights).
Author: Sabrina Sabrieva Gavazova, 12th grade, PMG “Yane Sandanski”, Gotse Delchev
Reflection Questions:
- Which international human rights documents refer to the right to education in addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)?
- What is the relationship between the right to education and the principle of non-discrimination?