A/HRC/26/27 is also necessary to ensure that the assessment mechanisms for TVET are founded on competence-based training, not only on theory-based certification.30 63. Quality standards can set minimum skill requirements for graduate apprentices, with monitoring mechanisms to ensure they meet those standards. It is also necessary to improve the linkages between informal apprenticeships and formal education and training, in particular regarding the role of skills development in national policies and laws.31 64. In developing national qualification frameworks and assessing competencies, it is crucial to ensure that they are not limited to technical competencies in TVET, but also include critical thinking and are not devoid of a human rights perspective. 65. Finally, national assessment systems for TVET can be used as leverage in valorizing social perceptions of TVET and their status, since they do not enjoy the esteem that would be commensurate with their importance for development. Instituting national awards in conjunction with an assessment of performance in TVET is an important step in that direction. The practice of rewarding TVET students in China is a good example. VII. Human rights-based assessment modalities and some areas of special concern 66. It is up to States to adopt national assessment mechanisms which ensure that their education systems are in conformity with human rights law, including but not limited to those relating to the right to education. 67. National assessment systems should evaluate how human rights values and knowledge have been acquired by students. Performance tests should be devised to assess the extent to which students have incorporated those values into their understanding, commitment and day-to-day behaviour patterns. This constitutes a response to rising levels of violence in many schools, a phenomenon which deserves consideration in assessing school-based evaluations. A. The key role of teachers 68. It is the teacher who conveys the national curricula to students and assesses their performance. Teachers should be able to develop in children a love of learning. They should be able to kindle in children and adults the capacity for critical thinking, as well as nurturing in them ethical and moral values. Four pillars of education - learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be – propounded by the Delors Report - are central to the teaching-learning process. 69. The quality of teaching and learning at the basic education level is an important factor in national assessment. Teachers are also key to linking assessments to improved learning. Moreover, they play a valuable role in accomplishing the humanistic mission of education. 70. The UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers, adopted by the Special Intergovernmental Conference on the Status of Teachers in 1966, lays down a 30 31 For instance, the traditional diplomas for vocational education in India, as awarded in the industrial training institutes, have in recent times been challenged for their lack of direct correlation to the contemporary needs of industry and the economy. See, for instance, ILO, “Upgrading informal apprenticeship: a resource guide for Africa” (Geneva, 2012), p.82, available from http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/--ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_171393.pdf. 15