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I would like to add a couple of brief reflections to the excellent discussion below.

Thinking of this issue from the perspective of discrimination is only one side of the coin for ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. For such groups, discrimination needs to be conceived of not just in equality terms but in terms also delineated by minority rights standards. A key to addressing discrimination, therefore, is improving understanding of the rights of minorities to learn about their own history, traditions, language and culture, as well as to learn about society as a whole (UN Declaration on Minorities article 4.4). This adds some clear positive obligations to the negative obligation to eliminate discrimination.

Monitoring mechanisms are key, as noted by other contributors. These need to be both quantitative and qualitative. Reduced disparities in the number of minorities present in educational institutions is a good quantitative measure but monitoring must also take account of what minorities (and majorities) are learning in school, whether they feel discrimination in the classroom, and how the curriculum impacts on their esteem for their own identity. These are all qualitative measures, requiring a different investment of resources and expertise. For minority groups, good practice requires that members of minority groups themselves participate in the data collection process.

This latter issue points to the importance of minority community engagement in reforming education systems. Policies that are prima facie aimed at increasing minority enrollment could actually be undermining cultural identities, for example, by removing children from their communities for boarding schools. Minority groups can identify these concerns if given the opportunity to do so. The exclusion of minority communities from contributing to the design of school curricula can lead to an alienation from the education system and a low willingness to support it.

It is worth stating that education delivered by minority groups themselves can also perpetuate discrimination, either against external communities or towards members of the group, for example, the girl child. In this regard, the provisions of the international human rights framework need to figure prominently in negotiations with minority education institutions. For example, provision of public funding to such schools should be made subject to reviews of the curricula to ensure that it is consistent with the relevant CRC provisions (e.g. A 29.1 c-d). Minority education institutions can be supported to understand these provisions better and to see them as an integral part of the canon of minority rights protection.

Finally, a word on the MDGs is needed. The attention of states to this framework provides a useful space to bring attention to discrimination. If states wish to achieve the MDG on universal primary education – and to make it sustainable – it will be necessary to take account of discrimination as a barrier for many children. The MDG platform can therefore be useful for initiating dialogue within states on this point. Some countries, for example, have adopted additional MDGs targets specifically to address minority exclusion in access to education. I would refer you to the report on the MDGs of the UN Independent Expert on minority issues for further information: UN Doc. A/HRC/4/9/Add.1 (2 March 2007).