A/HRC/12/33 page 24 educators in curriculum development with the aim of reflecting indigenous perspectives in an appropriate and respectful way. Universities and research centres could increase their involvement in the preparation of multidisciplinary curricula. 109. Education is usually centrally controlled by Governments, and, in many countries, educational activities not employing government curriculum are scrutinized. Many national education policies in Asia and Africa do not provide for the inclusion of indigenous perspectives in the national curriculum. Such barriers should be reviewed with a view to reforming education laws and policies, making them more inclusive and sensitive to indigenous values and perspectives. Reforms should also include a decision-making authority for indigenous peoples. 110. The policy and approach to mother-tongue-based multilingual education is also unclear and keeps changing. As a result, indigenous educators and teachers are not able to reach an agreement or to plan teaching indigenous languages systematically, leading to disputes. It is imperative therefore that a step-wise policy to promote all cultures and languages, especially endangered languages, be followed. Sufficient funding is needed to support the development of teaching methods for the pupil’s own language and literacy materials and scripts. Discriminatory remuneration for indigenous language teachers should also be removed. 111. Education for indigenous peoples should be holistic. Mainstream education curricula should therefore cover human rights, environmental protection, the importance of lands and resources for indigenous peoples and physical education. H. Gaps in educational quality and measurement of achievements 112. Educational services in indigenous areas are more often than not underfunded, of low quality and poorly equipped. Indigenous children often attend the worst schools, with the least educated teachers and the smallest amount of resources. To achieve quality education for indigenous peoples, it is important to ensure consultation with and participation and consent of the target community and to establish good communication between interested parties, given that quality standards may vary from State to State, and between indigenous and non-indigenous children. 113. Most countries do not have disaggregated data that can give an accurate description of the education of indigenous peoples. Nevertheless, where data are available, they suggest that indigenous peoples invariably lag behind the general population with regard to educational quality and achievements. The rates of enrolment and completion of education among indigenous children, in particular girls, remain low.45 114. There is therefore a need for ongoing data gathering and monitoring of outcomes. The Education for All framework, which specifies six education goals to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015, could be a useful basis for data gathering. It is of utmost 45 Handbook on Combating Child Labour among Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, ILO (2006).

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