Equity is a fundamentally important concept that can be used to characterise the
fairness and effectiveness of education systems. Although it is not a new issue in both
developing and developed countries, educational equity has received renewed interest
because it is more widely recognised as a basic human right (Cavicchioni and Motivans,
2001). However, a rights-based approach, evident in a set of international accords
discussed below, is but one reason countries have to pay attention to issues of
educational equity.