A/HRC/34/53/Add.3 requires State employees to learn a second language (Sinhala or Tamil), which is also linked to incentives. 22. However, in reality, minority representatives reported systemic challenges with respect to the use of the Tamil language, particularly in the public domain. With the exception of the capital and the Tamil-dominant North and East, most signs and administrative forms are reportedly in Sinhala only. Many of the Tamil-speaking representatives, including Muslims in the North and East, highlighted the difficulties of not being able to use Tamil when dealing with State institutions, including provincial and local authorities, the police and the hospitals. The Special Rapporteur was informed that most State institutions across the country use only Sinhala in oral and written communications. This language gap often places Tamil speakers at a significant disadvantage with respect to employment and access to services. 23. Similarly, law enforcement officers and members of the military deployed in Tamilspeaking areas often lack Tamil language skills, widening the gap further between majority and minority communities. For instance, despite the establishment of Children and Women’s Bureau Desks at local police stations, minority women reported difficulties owing to language barriers. Those who have suffered domestic violence, for example, not only need to gather courage to go and make a complaint but also face the challenge of explaining it in a language they do not command, which leads to further reluctance to report such violations. 24. Language-related concerns also featured in discussions about education. The Special Rapporteur was informed that the school system remains highly segregated along linguistic and ethnic lines, whereby Sinhalese students attend Sinhalese language schools and Tamils and Tamil-speaking Muslim students attend Tamil language schools. With the notable exception of private institutions that use English as the medium of instruction, Sinhala- and Tamil-speaking students rarely have the opportunity to learn together, even in mixed schools in urban areas or universities, owing to the separate Sinhalese and Tamil streams. 25. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur learned of the serious shortage of quality and professional language teachers in the schools, where an additional 6,000 language teachers are reportedly needed. This is of particular concern in mixed regions and the so-called border villages, where the choice of schools is limited and education in the mother tongue is often not available. 26. Many of the representatives of smaller minorities, including Telugus, Malays and Veddas, expressed their desire to have opportunities for their mother tongue to be taught and transmitted to the next generation, fearing that their languages might otherwise completely disappear from Sri Lanka. C. Religious freedom 27. According to the 2012 census, the overwhelming majority (70.1 per cent) of the population is Buddhist and, as mentioned above, Buddhism is given primacy in article 9 of the Constitution. During public consultations on the constitutional reform, discussions about the possible amendment of article 9 featured prominently. 28. In many places, there is peaceful coexistence among different religious groups, temples, churches and mosques are constructed without hindrance and religious services are enjoyed without discrimination or harassment. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the establishment of the Inter-Religious Council under the President with the participation of religious leaders from many different religions, with the mandate to increase society’s understanding of and respect for other religious systems and institutions and serving as a platform for discussions, mediations, general peacebuilding, planning and advising. 7