A/HRC/38/32/Add.1 children at risk of not being enrolled in school for financial reasons and children with specific needs, and to help them gain access to education facilities that are appropriate for their situation. The Special Rapporteur visited inclusive primary and secondary schools where children with visual or hearing impairments were integrated into mainstream classes. The primary school that she visited seemed to have taken on board the concept of inclusiveness and all class teachers were able to communicate using sign language; in the secondary school that she visited, however, only one teacher was competent in sign language. Children with hearing impairments in inclusive schools of that kind are at an immediate disadvantage compared to other learners. If no sign language interpreting is available, these children have to make do with using their classmates’ notes to understand what the teacher is trying to teach them. In such situations, the child’s learning is dependent on their classmate’s understanding of the lesson. Measures should be taken to support children with disabilities by training teachers at the Teacher Training and Activity Centre and the Teacher Training College. B. Child and adult literacy 69. A large number of literacy centres have been set up in Côte d’Ivoire; these centres are primarily aimed at illiterate women, for example women who sell their products at markets. It should be noted that these centres are open to anyone wishing to learn. 70. In October 2017, the Government announced that the illiteracy rate in Côte d’Ivoire was 43.8 per cent. It hopes to reduce this figure to 20 per cent by 2020. Information gathered in the field shows that the Government has launched initiatives to enable adolescents and adults who are no longer of school age, especially women, to gain access to education through transitional schools and literacy centres. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government work with communal authorities and school management committees to set up a decentralized, independently managed fund to support literacy activities throughout the country. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to invest at least 3 per cent of the budget in non-formal education and in improving literacy rates among adolescents and adults, as they are the workers who have the potential to make Côte d’Ivoire an emerging country. C. Students’ academic performance 71. The Ivorian school system has been severely affected by years of instability. A survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics 5 revealed that almost one in two children aged between 6 and 11 years old did not attend school; there was a difference in enrolment rates for boys and girls (59 per cent and 51 per cent, respectively) and a significant disparity between urban and rural areas (66 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively).6 72. According to UNICEF, the low enrolment rate was essentially due to the inadequacy of the education system: there were not enough teachers or school buildings. Children who attended school did not always receive a quality education and were therefore unlikely to reach the fifth year of primary school (52 per cent). The poor quality of education also affected parents’ motivation to send their children to school.7 73. Since then, the situation has improved. The Government has carried out various reforms to improve the performance of primary, secondary and higher education establishments, including technical schools. It has also allocated more budgetary resources to the education sector. 5 6 7 12 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006 (MICS 2006), National Institute of Statistics and UNICEF. See https://www.unicef.org/cotedivoire/education.html. Ibid. GE.18-06824