A/HRC/12/32 page 15 indigenous groups and respecting their vision and teaching materials, and also hiring bilingual teachers. Those initiatives revitalized the multicultural and bilingual programmes and schools, with teaching materials in native languages. Bilingual education was seen as a tool to promote cultural diversity and maintain the identity of the different communities. 50. A number of States expressed the view that the report and its theme were not only relevant to the Expert Mechanism and to indigenous peoples but also to the wider work of the Human Rights Council. They could provide the Council with the perspective and needs of indigenous peoples for the effective realization of the right to education. This would help mainstream the rights of indigenous peoples in the Council’s work and highlight the relevance of the Mechanism to the Council’s work. The suggestion was made that the study be considered within the context of the Council’s resolution and mandate on the right to education to ensure an indigenous perspective. 51. Through many statements, States underlined the requirement that mainstream education improve its approach in addressing the needs of indigenous peoples and that a sustained focus on indigenous education would provide more opportunities for countries with indigenous populations to learn from each other. 52. Carlos Mamani, member of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, stressed that the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination was enshrined in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He further pointed out that, concerning the right to education for indigenous peoples, Governments should incorporate indigenous religions, customs and history in the curricula as these are essential to indigenous communities. This approach should be adopted from the primary level onwards. The importance of maintaining the languages of indigenous peoples was particularly significant. Indigenous peoples should have the ability to keep their identity through their own educational system rather than through mainstream education. 53. Speaking on behalf of all indigenous observers, the Indigenous Global Caucus also commended the Expert Mechanism for its draft study and acknowledged the limited resources made available to the Mechanism to carry out the study. The Caucus recommended generating a broader and more detailed report that would include broad consultation with indigenous peoples as well as a body for monitoring the recommendations. It pointed out the need for a structure that would include all the parties involved in the matter of education; that would guarantee the participation of indigenous peoples; and that would pay particular attention to access to education for indigenous girls. The Caucus also underlined the importance and impact that the integration of indigenous peoples has in educational programmes, and the inclusion of their history as a continuity that links the present with the civilizations that existed prior to colonization. It pointed out the importance of emphasizing the need to maintain and perpetuate traditional education and the indigenous “cosmovision”, so as to recognize, encourage and use indigenous peoples’ methodologies for teaching and learning. 54. Concerning the concept of quality education, the Caucus recommended a broader definition of the concept to include two fundamental elements: first, the inclusion in the curriculum of one’s own culture and the historical connection with civilization prior to colonization; and second, the development of those skills necessary to access universal knowledge as human rights. It considered that incorporating policies that would permit access to