The correlation between the right to education and access to education

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the correlation between the right to education and access to education in international law and the national legislation of Ukraine. It examines the theoretical foundations of the right to education as a universal human right in accordance with Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and General Comment No. 13 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the «4 A’s» framework: availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability). In national legislation, the entrenchment of this right is analyzed in Article 53 of the Constitution of Ukraine and Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine «On Education», where the right to education includes the right to accessibility of education, and the state ensures equal conditions of access without discrimination. Particular attention is paid to the concept of access to education as a key component of the right to education, with a distinction between formal (de jure) access – the existence of a legal right to participate in educational programs – and actual (de facto) access, which depends on the removal of barriers. It is emphasized that access is a necessary condition for the realization of the right, but does not exhaust it completely, since the right to education also encompasses quality, acceptability, and adaptability. In the context of martial law in Ukraine, the specifics of education accessibility are analyzed: destruction of infrastructure, restrictions on physical access due to shelling and security measures, normative changes, problems of digital accessibility, migration, and inequality for vulnerable groups. It is shown that the state attempts to ensure the educational process in accordance with state standards but faces a number of challenges. The comparative analysis demonstrates a dynamic relationship: access serves as a «bridge» between the declarative right and its actual implementation, while violations of access constitute one of the main forms of violation of the right to education. Prospects for improvement are associated with the harmonization of legislation with international standards, the elimination of barriers, and the provision of effective accessibility in conditions of war and post-war reconstruction.