State of Emergency and Restriction to the Right to Education in Colombia Due to COVID-19

Abstract

This research article seeks to address the problems caused by the Colombian Government’s declaration of a state of emergency to face the Covid-19 pandemic, which is reflected in the restriction of some fundamental rights, specifically the right to education. The main objective of the article is to cover the discussion on the fundamentality of access to the Internet and its concept as a guarantee of other rights. This study was developed under an analytical-descriptive approach since it breaks down several categories - states of exception, fundamental rights, access to the Internet - and concludes them together. The research took as main sources documents, references and previous research on the subject. The result of the research showed that with the current crisis generated by the coronavirus pandemic, almost all human activities -economic, social, and cultural- were suspended, causing the systematic violation of rights, including health and work, among others. The internet became the only tool available for the development of many activities including education. However, the lack of guarantees for access to this network prevents the materialization of this important fundamental right.