A/HRC/35/24/Add.1 VII. Some challenges in fully implementing the reform agenda 56. Entitlement to education in terms of access, especially to basic education free of charge, and empowerment through the acquisition of knowledge, values, competencies and skills as quality components are two interrelated pillars of the right to education that are also reflected in education reforms in Chile. The Special Rapporteur highlights below some of the key challenges in implementing the reform agenda. A. Full realization of the right to inclusive education 57. The challenges implicit in implementing the laws in the field of the right to education, especially the Inclusive Education Act, are enormous in terms of eliminating segregation, overcoming disparities and promoting an egalitarian and inclusive education system. All those who remain underserved — indigenous people, persons with disabilities, migrants and other marginalized sectors of society, especially victims of poverty — need to be provided with equitable opportunities for education. 58. The higher level of schooling for urban as compared to rural populations compromises equity. The privatized system of education in Chile has undermined the provision of public education. Increased efforts are needed to improve conditions in schools in remote and rural areas and to eliminate disparities in access to quality education between urban and rural areas (see CRC/C/CHL/CO/4-5, para. 68 (d)). 59. The Government needs to step up efforts to ensure equal education opportunities for rural and indigenous girls. There is a large number of indigenous students. The number and size of scholarships for indigenous students are too small to allow recipients to cover educational expenses in institutions other than those located in indigenous communities or settlements (see CERD/C/CHL/CO/19-21, para. 15). The Special Rapporteur recognizes the importance of further measures to develop a bilingual intercultural education system, as stipulated in the Indigenous Peoples Act (No. 19.253), and to include indigenous groups’ concerns in the education reform. 60. The General Education Act requires that educational establishments that have a high percentage of indigenous students should follow courses that maintain their mastery of the indigenous language and their knowledge of the history and culture of their people. It is important that curricula for children, young people and adults recognize the diversity of their cultures and ethnic origins and teach the language, world view and history of their peoples of origin in order to foster harmonious dialogue in society. 13 The Special Rapporteur emphasizes that changes in cultural perception are important for building a new, integrated society. 61. Chile also has to cope with the educational needs of migrants resulting from the influx from neighbouring countries. During his mission, the Special Rapporteur visited the Liceo de Hombres high school in Antofagasta where both girls and boys study together at all compulsory levels of education, preschool, primary and secondary, and where the number of foreigners enrolled is higher than that of nationals. He noted that, with integration programmes and creative pedagogical techniques, the school constitutes a good example of inclusive education that does not allow discrimination or exclusion in education. 62. The Special Rapporteur notes the progress achieved in terms of granting equal opportunities to children with disabilities, as reflected in Act No. 20.422 of 2010 and various decrees establishing norms for inclusive education. In that connection, the importance of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for removing barriers to inclusive education must be recognized. During his mission, the Special 13 National report submitted to UNESCO in 2007 on measures taken between 2000 and 2005 to implement the Convention against Discrimination in Education, quoted in the UNESCO submission to the 2014 universal periodic review of Chile, p. 3. Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/ UPR/Pages/UPRCLUNContributionsS18.aspx. 11