Chapter 2 - Report of the Complaints, Monitoring and Inquiries Group (iv) Role of a caretaker government The role should be defined and legislated. Politicians should be aware of the limited role of a caretaker government, which is to ensure smooth day-to-day administration of the country during a general election. (v) Access for persons with disabilities (PWD) PWD must have the same access to election facilities as everyone else. The right to vote for PWD is not expressly mentioned in the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008. However, the right is guaranteed by virtue of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Therefore, the EC must take steps to uphold the right to vote for PWD, who constitute 1520% of the population in any country. (vi) Election observers The appointment of election observers should be made a permanent feature in all General Elections. The appointment process should be improved and training provided based on best practices from Asia Pacific countries. (vii) Role of the media All election candidates should receive equal access to the media. It is imperative that the Government’s communication channels be viewed as non-partisan and unbiased in their reporting of national matters. All state-owned and government-linked media companies must remain independent in their reporting and cease unsubstantiated attacks against opposition parties. (h) Right to Education/Conduct of School Administration Eleven complaints were lodged with the Commission on the right to education and matters relating to school administration. (i) Right to education A complainant said that teachers of a primary school did not attend classes, especially those with weak students. These students were neglected despite the need to provide more attention to them. The same primary school had also relocated a classroom to a non-conducive area to enable a teacher with health problems to attend class. While the Commission appreciates the initiative of the school in addressing the teacher’s problem, its decision compromised the right of pupils to quality education by placing them in a nonconducive area. (ii) School administration The Commission received complaints about school administration including the conduct of principals in some schools. The Commission has learnt that, while some school heads had made efforts to improve their schools, such initiatives were not received well by teachers due to miscommunication, which in turn affected the teachers’ motivation and students’ interests. The Commission visited a secondary school which had installed CCTVs in the compound and toilets. This created dissatisfaction among representatives of parents who lodged a complaint. 48