CRC/C/ROM/CO/4 page 19 6. Education, leisure and cultural activities (arts. 28, 29 and 31 of the Convention) Education, including vocational training and guidance 76. The Committee notes with appreciation the numerous efforts of the State party in the sphere of education, aiming to guarantee the objectives set out in the Convention, including the programmes to tackle dropping out of school and to reduce the disadvantages in education affecting children living in rural areas. The Committee also welcomes that, with Law No. 268/2003 changing and completing Education Law No. 84/1995, the duration of compulsory education has been extended to 10 years and plans for a significant increase of budgetary spending to reach 6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), including the allotted 434 million lei in building schools, kindergartens, and school campuses during 2008. However, the Committee is concerned that: (a) Enrolment in primary school has decreased, the number of school dropouts has increased significantly in recent years, affecting children from urban areas and disproportionately children of Roma origin; (b) While education is compulsory and free, there are hidden costs related to education, including school supplies, clothes, food, transportation, but also payments for security agents, recreational activities, chalk or markers, sponges, teaching materials and classroom renovation; (c) Despite measures taken, including the training and recruitment of school mediators, Roma children continue to have a significantly lower pre-school and primary school enrolment rate, many experience some form of school segregation, have lower school attendance rates, and may be wrongly enrolled in special schools as families cannot afford education-related costs; (d) Despite some efforts, children with disabilities continue to experience discrimination in accessing mainstream education and the majority do not attend any form of education, while of those who do, the majority attend special schools; (e) Nearly a third of children with mental disabilities do not have access to any form of education because most special schools do not accept children with severe mental disabilities; (f) Fewer children with HIV/AIDS have access to any type of education, many experience problems, including segregation, breach of confidentiality and hostile environment; (g) The quality of education varies across communities with marked rural-urban disparities and in general is undermined by, inter alia, overloaded and inefficient curricula, school shifts and inadequate school infrastructure, including poor sanitation, condition of the buildings, and equipment, especially in segregated schools; (h) While kindergarten infrastructure is insufficient in responding to the needs of the overall population, pre-schools available to the Roma are mainly organized by NGOs; (i) The insufficient provision of vocational education and training, especially as regards children leaving the child protection system; (j) Many children with disabilities in institutions are not offered solutions for reintegration into the community which may lead to their automatic transfer to residential care institutions for adults.