E/CN.4/2003/90/Add.2 page 3 In the field of education - a priority area for the indigenous peoples - despite the Government’s efforts to provide bilingual and multicultural education, there are as yet insufficient trained teachers, and other educational resources are inadequate. The schools are short of textbooks and other teaching materials, especially in the rural areas where the indigenous people live. Levels of school attendance, particularly among indigenous girls, remain low in comparison with the rest of the child population - a disturbing state of affairs which perpetuates exclusion and discrimination. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government should expand its activities and upgrade the policies affecting the indigenous peoples, and renew its commitment to the implementation of the Peace Agreements. He also considers that during the phase subsequent to the closure of the United Nations Human Rights Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA), the United Nations should establish a mission specially focused on the indigenous peoples, in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Special Rapporteur also recommends that the indigenous peoples’ organizations and other non-governmental organizations, including the academic community, should take steps to draw up a joint programme to promote, verify and foster the implementation of the Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous People, which forms part of the Peace Agreements. The Special Rapporteur expresses his confidence that the Government, the indigenous peoples, the international community and the other civil-society stakeholders will contribute to the process of building a fairer society in Guatemala for its least favoured groups.