Some States parties educate children of immigrants and foreigners in their mother tongues in addition to ensuring proficiency in the official language, the basic principle being not assimilation, forced or hidden, but integration into the State party's society on an equal footing with the majority population. There are laws in some States governing the establishment of schools or classes providing mother-tongue instruction. Some States parties have consistently pursued integrationist policies in education and teaching, which, they believe, will help immigrants integrate into society while preserving their cultures, traditions, etc. Importance is therefore increasingly being attached in some cases to education that preserves and develops the cultural uniqueness of minorities and protects their right to cultural and national autonomy. A limited number of States parties offer bilingual instruction to pre-school children.
Some States offer vocational training, in addition to regular school classes, to refugees.
States parties which pursue policies encouraging integration of immigrants are wary of the dangers of non-positive assimilation of minorities and ethnic groups lest assimilation lead to their subordination to the predominant society at the expense of their cultural traditions and customs. A number of States parties have carried out a complete overhaul of their educational systems and policies to divest them of totalitarian doctrines and set them on the road to educating pre-school and schoolchildren in the true values of human rights, as contained in the basic international human rights instruments, in particular the Convention. A number of States parties have carried out or are currently conducting national campaigns against racism and prejudice in the primary and secondary schools. Some States parties require their local authorities to respect the rights of parents or guardians with regard to the education of their children so that it conforms to their religious or ideological convictions. Some educational systems whose main objective is the promotion of respect for other peoples and understanding of their contribution to civilization fail to place any emphasis on racism and racial discrimination and the need to combat them.