A/HRC/14/43/Add.2 C. Education 37. Due to the federal system of government in Germany, responsibility for education lies with the Länder. However, the Special Rapporteur was informed that the Federal Government works in close cooperation with the Länder in the realm of educational policies, including in the framework of the education summit held in Dresden in 2008. The Special Rapporteur notes with satisfaction some of the measures adopted at the education summit, including the commitment to invest in language competence among children with a migration background and to increase public spending on education and research to 10 per cent of GDP by 2015. 38. Officials at the Ministry of Education and Research noted that, insofar as primary and secondary education is concerned, in the majority of Länder the residential status of parents is not taken into account for the admission of students. This measure aims to ensure that all children of immigrants have a chance to obtain proper education. They further pointed out that the education of children with a migration background was one of the central topics of the National Education Report prepared by the Ministry. The National Integration Summit also addressed this same question at length and outlined over 400 measures to improve access to education for children and youth with a migration background. 39. During the mission, the Special Rapporteur visited some educational projects that are addressing some of the main challenges related to the integration of children with a migration background. These projects highlighted the need for comprehensive measures, starting at the preschool level and continuing through secondary and university education. In particular, promoting language competence among preschool children with a migration background has been seen as one of the factors that can have a long-term impact on the performance of these children in the school system. 40. In his discussions with civil society representatives, the Special Rapporteur noted that one of their central complaints is the impression, particularly held by minority communities, that for children of migrants the educational system is not conducive to good performance leading to university-level qualification. In particular, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) studies has shown that there is a high correlation between migration background and school performance in Germany. The three-tiered system of German education, with early selection into separate levels of education, creates a bias against students whose mother tongue is not German. The Special Rapporteur believes that the overrepresentation of minority students in the lower school stratum is an indication of the problems in the three-tiered model. The Special Rapporteur also notes that the same finding was reached in 2006, when the Special Rapporteur on the right to education visited the country and recommended that the Government reconsider its multitrack school system (A/HRC/4/29/Add.3). The Special Rapporteur notes that existing experience in this area, such as in Hamburg, has proved successful and could provide lessons for education reform. 41. Civil society organizations also pointed out that a key challenge for persons with a migration background is to receive recognition for university diplomas obtained abroad. Whereas recognition of diplomas for individuals coming from other European Union members is generally straightforward, many non-European migrants who come to Germany with previously obtained qualifications in their home countries find it difficult to have their degrees formally recognized. The Special Rapporteur notes that these difficulties in diploma recognition have a direct impact on the integration of migrants in the workforce and this has a negative impact on the economy. Officials at the Ministry of Education and Research agreed that the question of recognition of diplomas was problematic but pointed to an initiative that they expected would be adopted in September 2009 by the parliament to GE.10-11624 11