A/HRC/33/42/Add.2 favouritism has been shown in social programmes aimed at particular communities or families and that in some cases such programmes do not reach the indigenous communities. 65. The indigenous peoples also want backing for their own economic models and ideas and they wish to be the direct beneficiaries of a rational and sustainable use of the natural resources in their territories. A number of people said that the communities’ loss of their lands and resources had resulted in a lack of opportunity for the younger generation, which meant that they became easy prey for organized crime groups or found themselves forced to emigrate. 2. Education 66. Illiteracy levels among the indigenous population are the same as those among the rest of the population (14.9 per cent) but much higher among Tolupán, Pech and Chortí women (29.5 per cent, 36.3 per cent and 39.6 per cent, respectively). The average number of years of schooling among the indigenous peoples is 5.7 years, as against a national average of 7.5 years, and, in the case of the Chortí, Pech, Tolupán and Lenca, under 5 years.16 This is due to such factors as a lack of educational opportunities and social and economic pressures that lead indigenous boys and young men to abandon their studies so as to contribute economically to their families. 67. According to official data, there are 919 educational centres in indigenous and AfroHonduran communities — 183 at pre-primary and 736 at primary level — catering for a total of 92,962 children. The centres are staffed by 4,019 teachers, who are trained in bilingual intercultural education. The aim is to develop the bilingual component in 424 of these educational centres, catering for 41,649 children in indigenous communities that have retained their language, while, in other centres, there will be an intercultural focus and indigenous words will be taught. 68. The General Subdirectorate of Education for Indigenous and Afro-Honduran Peoples is developing systems of indicators and evaluation of bilingual education, including tests of competence in the mother tongue. Over the past decade, educational materials have been written in the Miskito, Garífuna, Pech, Tawahka, Tol, Lenca and Chortí languages. A teacher training programme between 2007 and 2012 led to the training of 2,578 teachers in bilingual intercultural education. There are also plans for bilingual intercultural education to be taught at university level. 69. Representatives of the indigenous peoples stated that there remained problems in the education provided in their communities, owing to a shortage of materials, staff and infrastructure. In La Mosquitia, they emphasized the state of disrepair of the schools and the lack of secondary and higher education centres. They said that the neglect of many indigenous regions meant that the quality of education was very poor and that, owing to the lack of resources in schools, parents were asked to pay for equipment and other materials. Another repeated concern was the lack of employment opportunities for trained indigenous teachers, in view of the fact that appointment to such posts seemed to be politically motivated. 70. Representatives of the indigenous peoples also spoke about the challenges involved in putting bilingual intercultural education into practice. They said that in La Mosquitia, where most students spoke their indigenous language, education was in Spanish. They also called for greater support for communities that had lost their indigenous language and wished to regain it. Moreover, they said that national educational textbooks did not contain 16 GE.16-12632 Ibid., pp. 43 and 44. 15