A/HRC/14/18 of primary school had reading skills. Gender-based discrimination in education was also emphasized — girls remained at home to help with housework rather than going to school. Ms. Sahli noted a lack of programmes in schools appropriate to children of African descent. Children who dropped out of school were also more vulnerable to involvement in crime. 22. With regard to remedies, Ms. Sahli noted that it was important to bring different stakeholders together. Organizations such as UNESCO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) could assist, but only States could create conditions for an inclusive environment. Processes of making education uniform should preserve diversity. Education costs should be covered for those in special need. Special measures were needed to ensure access to education, including university. The content of programmes and curricula needed to ensure respect for diversity. Disaggregated data was also needed. 23. An observer noted that children without adequate education faced numerous problems. Member States were encouraged to adopt special measures in that context, to assess causes and to submit updated information to relevant international bodies. 24. At the 2nd meeting, on 13 April, an observer highlighted the importance of the learning environment, noting the importance of the language of instruction for the learning process. The experience of South Africa had shown that if people received instruction in a language other than their mother tongue, they frequently questioned their identity, which could lead to Afro-pessimism. She added that disparities in the standards of education for different population groups severely affected levels of achievement and, as a result, career opportunities. She further emphasized the importance of sustained affirmative action programmes to increase the enrolment of persons of African descent in higher education. The same observer suggested that the Working Group hold public meetings with people of African descent in order to find particular and appropriate solutions to the challenges they were facing in accessing education. 25. Concern was expressed by one observer over educational and professional profiling which steered children and adults of African descent into certain educational and career paths that were not always to their benefit. 26. One observer noted that national agendas for research, science and technology lacked a focus on people of African descent as well as a dedicated budget. In countries that had adopted an affirmative action programme, international organizations and United Nations programmes could keep track of its implementation through data collection and analysis. He added that people of African descent were hard to find among educators, health professionals and in other critical areas of economic life, which in turn had a negative impact on access to education. 27. Responding to questions and comments, Ms. Sahli concluded that people of African descent were trapped in poverty, which resulted in their inability to finance their education. She stressed the need to include both children and adults of African descent in the learning framework. While many States had committed to equal and free access to education, structural discrimination was an impediment to effective access. She also noted the lack of educators of African descent as a result of that situation. United Nations agencies, she stated, played an important role in measuring the disparities through the collection of disaggregated data. 28. An observer from a non-governmental organization (NGO) drew the attention of the Working Group to the charter school movement in the United States which, in his view, was not a solution for the majority of black children in the country, but helped only a small minority. 29. Ms. Shepherd noted that in some countries people of African descent represented a numerical majority and occupied positions of power. Nevertheless, the population remained 6