A/HRC/10/8 page 18 regard to the right to health (A/HRC/10/8/Add.3). She referred to the analysis in a national report11 on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community which noted a bias in public services provisioning in areas with a high proportion of Muslims. The report indicated that more than 10,000 villages with a high proportion of Muslims were without any medical facilities, and stressed that policy initiatives to ameliorate these conditions were urgently required. 48. In the framework of another country mission (E/CN.4/1999/58/Add.2, paras. 35 and 113), the previous mandate-holder noted that a residence permit containing essential information on an individual, including religious and political data, was indispensable in order to get access to health care, employment and education. Reportedly, sector policemen had the power to issue and revoke this document. The previous mandate-holder criticized such an elaborate system of control and its excessive power over individuals. The current Special Rapporteur would like to reiterate that any indication of a person’s religious affiliation on official documents carries a serious risk of abuse or subsequent discrimination based on religion or belief, which has to be weighed against the possible reasons for disclosing the holder’s religion (A/63/161, para. 77). 4. Right to education 49. The mandate has dealt with cases of discrimination based on religion or belief in education since its very establishment. Mr. d’Almeida Ribeiro had for instance stated in his first annual report that discrimination in education may take a variety of forms, such as in the form of vexations suffered at school by the children of believers on the part of teachers of other pupils; in certain countries, young believers are excluded from access to higher education. Sometimes, the discovery of a student’s adherence to a particular religious denomination may lead to his expulsion from university (E/CN.4/1987/35, para. 65). Similarly, the Special Rapporteur on the right to education observed that discrimination on religious grounds has been extensively documented, and there are many examples of hostility encountered by those who are out of step with the dominant culture (E/CN.4/2005/50, para. 100). 50. Concerning school education, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief was informed by atheistic and non-theistic believers that pupils were, in some instances, compelled to take part in collective religious worship and had no adequate rights of withdrawal. Furthermore, atheistic and non-theistic groups objected to the manner in which syllabuses of religious education were drawn up, especially that atheists and non-theists were rarely represented on the relevant committees or advisory bodies. Some countries afforded a special status to faith-based schools and allowed them to discriminate in their admission and employment policies. Consequently, teachers with no religious beliefs or with beliefs incompatible with those of the faith-based school were put at a disadvantage in comparison with theistic colleagues. The Special Rapporteur reiterates that pupils and teachers should not be discriminated against on grounds of their adherence - or not - to a specific religion or belief (A/62/280, paras. 72 and 78). 11 Indian Prime Minister’s High Level Committee (Chairperson: Justice Rajindar Sachar), Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India - A Report, November 2006 (available online at http://minorityaffairs.gov.in/newsite/sachar/ sachar_comm.pdf).