A/HRC/22/49/Add.1 41. Roma cite poverty and their poor socio-economic conditions, exacerbated by the general economic decline, as significant factors in falling enrolment levels. Roma representatives emphasized that the costs of education are restrictive and that assistance in the form of free transport to school, school meals and scholarships are essential and should form part of a revised education action plan. Despite Government assurances that free textbooks are available to Roma, representatives of Roma in Kakanj stated that free books had not been made available to them. 42. Government and school representatives acknowledged challenges and deficiencies on the part of authorities to ensure that Roma children attend school according to legal requirements. However they emphasized that problems also stem from within communities themselves, traditional practices such as early marriage, and a lack of importance being attributed to education, especially for Roma girls. UNICEF surveys have found the incidence of early marriage of Roma girls to be 48 per cent. 43. Roma in Banja Luka described more positive experiences in education, reporting that most children attend school and that the high drop-out levels common in other localities are not the case for their community. They described good cooperation with school principals, who call parents when a child does not attend school. They noted efforts to promote the value of education within the community. Nevertheless, few people in the community work and it was acknowledged that improved educational outcomes are not yet leading to improved opportunities for formal employment. 44. Some positive examples in enrolment and attendance of Roma children provide evidence that progress is possible where dedicated attention and targeted policies and programmes are in place. However, these positive examples are in marked contrast to the experiences in some other localities. Roma representatives and international bodies informed the Independent Expert that in some localities, including Bijeljina and Mostar, attempts to increase Roma school attendance have largely failed and levels are extremely low. 45. Roma children are likely to be more motivated to attend class if they have Roma teachers and assistants, but a lack of Roma teachers has been identified and is indicative of a wider problem that negatively affects Roma education. Roma lack opportunities to learn or receive instruction in Romani languages. For example, staff at the Fifth Primary School in Brčko District, which has an ethnic mix of teachers, reported that although their pupils included 54 Roma children, no Roma teacher had been found for the school. School staff noted that a further 36 Roma children had dropped out. In Banja Luka, Roma requested a Romani language teacher and received a positive response, however no teacher could be identified. 46. Additional concerns require investigation by competent authorities. Roma are disproportionately represented in schools for children with special educational needs. Some Roma parents reportedly place their children in these schools not on the basis of identified learning disability, but rather on the basis of social factors, perceiving them to offer a more welcoming environment as more Roma children attend. Allegations were also made that some mainstream schools enrol Roma children as required but fail to provide them with the levels of teaching and attention provided to other children. B. Employment and social protection 47. Surveys and reports by national bodies, such as the Directorate for Economic Planning, and international organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, consistently 12