• Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic identity of the deaf community; and • Ensuring that the education of persons, and in particular children, who are blind, deaf and deafblind, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, and in environments which maximize academic and social development. • Employing teachers including those with disabilities, who are qualified in sign language and Braille, and training professionals and staff who work at all levels of education. Affirmative action through permanent or temporary special measures can be a means of ensuring that learners with special needs and learners under special circumstances benefit equally from education. For example, the idea that higher education should be accessible on the basis of “capacity” and “merit” has been progressively interpreted and reconsidered in light of the principle of substantive equality. In this regard, arguments of “merit” or “capacity” should not be used to restrict access to higher education for individuals with special learning needs and under special circumstances. 103