E/CN.4/2005/88 page 13 44. In Kenya, boarding schools for Masai girls, who cannot easily attend schools because they are located far away and because of a lack of resources and efficient transport, have facilitated these girls’ access to the education system. These schools have become a means of educating girls not only in ordinary school subjects but also in preventing AIDS, which is having a major impact on the country, in defending their human rights against discrimination, and in developing a new appreciation of their own culture. 45. In this connection UNESCO stresses the need for a linguistically and culturally relevant curriculum in which history, values, languages, oral traditions and spirituality are recognized, respected and promoted. Indigenous peoples are now calling for a school curriculum that reflects cultural differences, includes indigenous languages and contemplates the use of alternative teaching methods. 46. Unfortunately, in most of the world’s countries indigenous cultures have been reflected in educational texts and materials in an inappropriate and disrespectful way, which has further contributed to discrimination and prejudice against indigenous people in society in general. One of the main problems here has been the lack of participation by indigenous people in the planning, programming and implementation of the existing curriculum, which is generally established by central authorities who do not necessarily attach priority to indigenous issues. It is important that curriculum content and methodology be legitimized and accepted by members of the community. 47. Today States are increasingly adopting educational policies that are in harmony with the rights and cultural needs of indigenous peoples. Many countries have special indigenous education programmes that aim to respect indigenous cultures and their languages, traditions, knowledge and lifestyles. 48. First, teaching must be done in children’s mother tongue. The promotion and dissemination of indigenous languages are key aspects to be considered in providing culturally appropriate education. Language becomes an essential tool for transmitting indigenous culture, values and world view. Secondly, it has been recognized that education must be placed in the context of local indigenous communities’ own culture. However, such programmes also promote the opening up of communities to the national society, which means that instruction in the regional or national language must begin at an early age, through a system of bilingual education with an intercultural focus. 49. Given the diversity of living conditions of indigenous peoples throughout the world, indigenous education cannot conform to a single model; teaching methods must be adapted to actual situations. While there are many successful examples of intercultural bilingual education, not all countries with indigenous populations have adopted this educational model. Moreover, even when it exists on paper, its implementation, according to several studies, leaves much to be desired, and the results achieved are not always entirely satisfactory. 50. In Guatemala, the 1995 Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous People sets out a full set of measures for the recovery, protection, promotion and development of indigenous languages; it also provides for the launching of a major reform of the education system with a view to consolidating bilingual and intercultural education and ensuring the access of indigenous peoples to education. Yet despite the efforts made, there is still no general system of