16 Section IV Implementation of specific linguistic rights This section aims to help policymakers, state authorities and others considering the type of measures that are needed to implement international human rights standards for linguistic minorities, adopt relevant and efficient legislation and policies, and accommodate the needs and interests of various linguistic communities in order to ensure their integration into society. This is done by briefly describing for each area of application of linguistic rights: • What should be done; • Why it should be done; • On what legally binding and other basis it can be done; and • Good practices. 4.1 Public Education What should be done? Where there is a sufficiently high numerical demand, public education services must be provided in a minority language to the appropriate degree, broadly following a proportional approach. This includes all levels of public education from kindergarten to university. If demand, the concentration of speakers or other factors make this not feasible, state authorities should as far as practicable at least ensure availability of minority language teaching. In addition, all children must have an opportunity to learn the official language(s). Why it should be done The rights of linguistic minorities are human rights that must be respected, including in relation to the appropriate degree of use of minority languages. Education deals with what is perhaps the central linguistic right of minorities, and is also fundamental to the maintenance of linguistic diversity. A language that is not taught is a language that will ultimately vanish. The benefits of education in the mother language are now fairly well established scientifically through studies of minority children in different parts of the world.26 26 UNESCO (note 4); Kosonen and Person (note 21); Lopez, L. E. (note 19); Dutcher and Tucker, G.R. (note 18).