A/HRC/40/64/Add.2 collect and analyse data disaggregated by ethnicity, religion and language while being sensitive to and respecting privacy concerns. H. Deaf minority and sign language 64. The revised education policy of 1994 introduced the use of sign language. There are currently two primary schools, two junior high schools and one senior high school that use sign language as a medium of instruction. According to the information received, courts in Botswana offer sign language interpretation and such a service is also facilitated by the Botswana Association of the Deaf and the Botswana Society for the Deaf. The police force includes in its training programmes courses on sign language. 65. However, many challenges remain. While in 2007 the ministry of education launched a project to prepare a sign language dictionary, the dictionary is reportedly not adapted to the needs of the persons with hearing impairments in Botswana. One of the reasons may have been the absence of wide consultations with the community itself. It was brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur that there was a serious lack of qualified and professional sign language interpreters, with some of them introducing personal views or lacking accuracy during interpretation. It was reported to him that the Botswana Qualifications Authority often proceeded with the accreditation of such interpreters without consulting organizations working with the deaf community. 66. The Special Rapporteur was told that most of the teachers in schools are not trained in sign language or in teaching methods adapted to the educational needs of deaf persons. Some stakeholders indicated that the Government response to the issue of hiring assistant teachers with training in sign language seems to be insufficient, as these assistant teachers do not always receive training in pedagogical methods. Furthermore, school examinations are in writing. This poses a significant challenge to deaf persons as they often possess writing skills different from those of hearing persons and therefore run the risk of receiving lower grades or being disqualified if examiners strictly evaluate syntax or grammatical errors and do not give enough weight to the content of the paper examined. 67. The Special Rapporteur was also informed of problems in the early identification of some persons as having hearing impairments, as they could speak. In such cases, they were often only identified as persons with a hearing impairment at a late stage, which had a significant impact on their school performance due to their initial enrolment in schools that did not provide them with an appropriate learning environment. 68. There is also an absence of interpreters in the health-care sector and of outreach and health education programmes in sign language, which negatively affects the effective dissemination of information with regard to health prevention, particularly for a country with a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. 69. Among some of the other concerns expressed during the Special Rapporteur’s visit were the absence of awareness-raising programmes for parents, medical personnel, law enforcement officials, teachers, school staff, judges and lawyers regarding issues facing deaf persons; that sign language was not used during important local level decisionmaking processes, such as the sessions of kgotla; and the absence of sign language interpretation for television programmes. Out of 24 hours of programming, it was reported that only 30 minutes were dedicated to programmes with sign language interpretation on national television. That meant that key television information programmes for deaf persons, in particular those living in rural and remote areas, such as agricultural programmes and awareness programmes on HIV/AIDS, did not include sign language interpretation. During meetings with officials of the ministry of health, it was acknowledged that further efforts to introduce sign language in the health sector were needed. 14