A/HRC/42/37/Add.2 education but are integral to their identity, culture and history. The Special Rapporteur was informed that there are some 36 indigenous languages in Timor-Leste and notes their rich diversity. However, she was also informed that some indigenous languages may be on the brink of disappearance. Internationally, the importance of indigenous languages is gaining recognition, and the Special Rapporteur calls on the Government to take further measures to protect and revitalize all indigenous languages in Timor-Leste. 63. Limited literacy remains a major concern in the country and hampers development. The origins of this situation can be traced back to the colonial period. During Portuguese rule, very few schools were established. Most were located in the urban areas and catered primarily to an elite part of the population. During the Indonesian occupation more schools were set up and made accessible, including in the rural areas; however, they were used as a tool to assimilate Timorese into Indonesian culture. Teachers were brought in from Indonesia, Bahasa Indonesia was used as the medium of instruction and the curriculum was aligned with that of the Indonesian educational system. 64. Since independence, Timor-Leste has had to completely rebuild its educational system. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges that the Government has a national legal and policy framework to prioritize education as a means of achieving national development. The Constitution stipulates that everyone has the right to equal opportunities and free basic education and the right to cultural heritage, and that “other national languages shall be valued and developed by the State” in addition to the official languages of Portuguese and Tetum. 65. According to the Government, at the time of the independence in 2002, Timor-Leste had a total of 943 primary and secondary schools. In the initial period after independence, Portuguese was prioritized in education although there were an insufficient number of proficient teachers who could teach the language. In the last decade, a shift towards Tetum took place in the educational sector. By the end of 2016, there were 1,715 primary and secondary schools. 28 The census of 2015 revealed the national literacy rate to be 63 per cent (65.6 per cent for males and 58.9 per cent for females). The United Nations Children’s Fund reports that an increasing number of children are going to school and fewer children are dropping out. 66. During the Special Rapporteur’s visit, she was informed about the many challenges and obstacles to full access to quality education, which she was able to observe in person through school visits. Many of the obstacles in the area of education that were identified by the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights in 2011 (A/HRC/20/21/Add.1) prevail. Disparities persist in access to education between children from urban and rural areas. The 2015 census also showed a significantly higher literacy rate in urban areas (86.2 per cent) as compared with rural areas (52.5 per cent). Net enrolment in primary education in urban areas is almost 100 per cent compared with 60 per cent in rural areas. In secondary education, net enrolment is low at 29 per cent, although gross enrolment is 69 per cent. Educational materials are lacking and school infrastructure conditions poor. The Special Rapporteur was told that despite the fact that most classes are given in Tetum, educational materials consist of a mixture of books in Tetum, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia and English. Some 68 per cent of children with disabilities have never attended school, and literacy rates for persons with disabilities are much lower than for persons with no disabilities: while 64 per cent of persons without disabilities are literate, only 15.3 per cent of persons with disabilities 5 years of age and older can read and write in any of the four working languages in the country. 29 67. One major obstacle is the use of Portuguese and Tetum in primary school as mediums of instruction when most children do not speak or understand these languages. The Special Rapporteur was informed that about 90 per cent of the population speaks Tetum, while less than a quarter can communicate in Portuguese. Most children from outside the area of Dili only learn Tetum as a second language as their mother tongue is a local language. 28 29 12 National Policy for Inclusive Education 2017. National Policy for Inclusive Education 2017, quoting the 2015 census.