A/HRC/48/74 children, including those in remote and nomadic communities, with particular attention paid to indigenous girls.43 1. Access to education 58. The ability of indigenous peoples to control and implement their own education systems is an exercise of their right to self-determination. Indigenous educational systems are holistic and incorporate nature, and learning is considered a lifelong endeavour. 44 Indigenous languages and education are inextricably linked (see paras. 66–69 below). 59. In its 2009 study, the Expert Mechanism found that lack of access to quality education was a major factor contributing to the disadvantaged position of indigenous peoples. Underlying structural issues often create challenges to the ability of indigenous children to fully enjoy their right to education and they face various barriers owing to remote locations or nomadic traditions and lack of access to electricity and the Internet. 60. Mainstream educational curricula often depict indigenous peoples in a discriminatory and derogatory manner, using stereotypes and not accurately reflecting history. Racism in public school systems can drive indigenous children to abandon their studies or leave their culture behind as a survival mechanism. It is essential that States ensure that learning materials do not negatively impact indigenous peoples, including through the removal of all harmful stereotypes and outdated language. It is important that shared histories be taught to all children, indigenous and non-indigenous. 61. Indigenous children suffer disproportionately high illiteracy rates and are less likely to attend or finish school than non-indigenous children.45 Indigenous peoples in Asia often have a high school dropout rate46 and Maya Ixil youth report having to drop out of school to work in agriculture from a young age.47 62. Indigenous girls face additional barriers to education, often resulting in their dropping out of school, owing to domestic and care responsibilities, harmful practices such as child marriage, pregnancies and the risk of sexual violence during transit and at school. In addition, in some cultures families prioritize the schooling of boys. Indigenous girls with disabilities face even more discrimination, often remaining hidden at home. Indigenous children with disabilities do not have equal access to education. Schools in indigenous communities are often not equipped with accessible software or methodologies. Such challenges may cause indigenous families to leave their communities, or the child may be separated from family and community in order to seek the support required. 63. Indigenous children in remote settlements often lack access to adequate education in their communities. Some attend boarding schools away from their communities and are taught in dominant languages. They include Sami children, 48 indigenous children in the Russian Federation49 and Adivasi children in India.50 Boarding schools far from traditional territories create further barriers to the enjoyment of cultural rights. Where possible, indigenous children should have the opportunity to be educated in their own communities and, to the extent possible, by indigenous teachers. 64. In the Russian Federation, measures have been taken to accommodate indigenous children, including establishing nomadic and semi-permanent schools in the north,51 where teachers may come to the students. In the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District-Yugra, socalled camping schools and kindergartens combine distance learning with preservation of the nomadic lifestyle, allowing children to remain in their communities.52 Also in this region, 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 12 A/HRC/12/33, annex, para. 3. Intervention by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 11, para. 59. Intervention by Vice-Chair of the Expert Mechanism, Binota Moy Dhamai. Intervention by Fondo para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas de América Latina y El Caribe. Intervention by the Chair of the Expert Mechanism, Laila Vars. Intervention by Nadezhda Bulatova, Russian Academy of Sciences. Submission by Survival International. Submission by the Russian Federation. Submission by (Association of Ethnocultural Centres and Heritage Organizations) ECHO.