The freedom of conscience of the pupil and the legal status of the learning centre

Abstract

Under the 1978 Constitution education is considered to be aimed at fully developing the personality of the pupil (art. 27.2). Fundamental rights and liberties play a decisive role in this personality development process, especially the right to freedom of conscience; conscience being an essential part of the individual’s personality. The freedom of conscience of the pupil is conditioned by the whether the learning centre is considered public or private under the law and, as a result, is also conditioned by the specific characteristics of those public and private educational centres: the duty not to indoctrinate in state schools and the indoctrination inherent to private schools, be they state-assisted or otherwise. This relationship between the freedom of conscience of the pupil and the type of school is a consequence of the attempt to conciliate the rights of those who form part of the school community and, ultimately, to understand education mainly as a means of passing on values.