CRC/C/MMR/CO/3-4 concerned about the absence of a budget for early childhood development activities and well-planned and comprehensive early childhood care and development programmes. 74. The Committee draws the attention of the State party to the Committee’s general comment No. 7 (2005) on implementing child rights in early childhood and recommends that the State party allocate adequate human, technical and financial resources to the implementation of a policy on early childhood care and development that will lay a solid foundation for the educational development of the children of Myanmar. This policy should involve the parents and include health, nutrition, education and emotional development of children from 0 to school age. Education, including vocational training and guidance 75. While noting the statement of the delegation that resources allocated to education will increase, the existence of a National Plan of Action (2003–2015) “Education for all”, the Education Activities in the Framework of the Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation Plan (2011–2015) and the construction of schools in the framework of the border-area development programme, the Committee remains concerned about: (a) The allocation of only 0.9 per cent of GDP on education, which meets only a fraction of the overall costs; (b) The absence of a ministry in charge of education; (c) The limited length of compulsory education, which ends at fifth grade; (d) The low primary school enrolment, the high repetition and dropout rates in the educational system at a very early stage and the disparity in access to education in different states and divisions; (e) The payment by the families of indirect costs despite the provision for a “feefree” entitlement and the low salary of teachers; (f) The shortage of teachers and schools, especially in rural areas and regions affected by armed conflict; and (g) The absence of teaching in other languages than Myanmar. 76. The Committee recommends that the State party, taking into account the general comment No. 1 (2001) on the aims of education: (a) Increase the budget allocated to education to reflect regional and international standards; (b) Ensure leadership in the governance of the education sector, notably by establishing a ministry of education that is well-funded, decentralized and not bureaucratic; (c) Extend compulsory education to 16 years of age and take all the necessary measures to ensure that children enrol in and complete primary and secondary school, including children living in remote and border areas; (d) Ensure that primary education is free for all without secondary costs; (e) Enable teachers to teach by paying them reasonable salaries and provide good-quality teaching and learning materials through a thorough review and reform of the curricula and pedagogy methods involving professional experts in education; (f) Increase the number of schools, particularly in remote areas; and (g) Adapt the school curriculum to suit the particular situation of the local communities, make use of local teachers to help children who are experiencing 16