CRC/C/TKM/CO/1 page 14 (c) Increase its effort to provide adequate water sanitation and access to potable water throughout the country, in particular in rural areas. 6. Education, leisure and cultural activities (arts. 28, 29 and 31 of the Convention) 59. The Committee is concerned at information that the educational system of Turkmenistan has deteriorated over the past few years. In particular, it is concerned that: (a) The reform of education reduced compulsory education from 10 to 9 years; (b) Children attend school for an average of 150 days per year compared to the international standard of 180, partly due to the fact that schoolchildren often work in cotton fields; (c) A large part of the school programme is devoted to the teaching of “Rukhnama”, a “spiritual guide” written by the President; (d) Only 20 per cent of children have an opportunity for early childhood education through preschools; (e) Class sizes are increasing rapidly, facilities are deteriorating and funds for textbooks and supplies are decreasing; (f) Teachers are often forced to work in cotton fields and school premises may be used for cotton industry; (g) A significant number of teachers is not adequately trained nor paid; and (h) Students belonging to ethnic minorities, notably Kazakh, Uzbek, Armenian and Russian children, have increasingly limited possibilities to study and receive education in their mother tongue, despite legislative provisions in this respect. 60. The Committee recommends that the State party, taking into account the Committee’s general comment No. 1 on the aims of education (2001), take all necessary measures to ensure that articles 28 and 29 of the Convention are fully implemented, and in particular that it: (a) Take the necessary measures to improve the quality of education, including by improving school curricula with a view to meet international standards of education;