A/HRC/16/59 63. These indirect costs reflect Myanmar’s failure to achieve free and compulsory primary education. Free and compulsory primary education is part of the core obligations regarding the right to education according to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 64. Myanmar’s failure to adequately fund education results in corruption in the system. Parents are often pressured to pay additional fees, especially those wishing to have their children attend well-respected schools. In Myanmar, low salaries lead teachers to conduct extra-curricular tutoring that is often essential to students’ success but poses an additional cost to families. For example, in Chin State, the monthly salary for high school teachers is between 59,000 and 64,000 kyat ($66-$71); for primary school teachers, monthly salaries range between 47,000 and 53,000 kyat ($52-$59). For reference, in Hakha, the state capital, one 50-kg sack of rice costs between 28,000 and 35,000 kyat ($31-$39), depending on the quality. 65. There is great disparity in access to education among different states and divisions. According to official figures, the net enrolment ratio for primary school in Kachin State is 94.8 per cent, whereas in Shan State East it is 61.2 per cent. Due to the ongoing food crisis in Chin State, primary school enrolment is currently believed to be only 59 per cent. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed concern about the “significant variation in school enrolment between urban and rural areas, and the particularly low level of enrolment of children belonging to minority groups” (CRC/C/15/Add.237, para. 62 (b)). 66. In many rural areas, especially those affected by armed conflict, government schools simply do not function. Poor communications and transport infrastructure handicap rural Myanmar. Teacher attrition and turnover are particularly high there. Even when schools are operational, many rural parents in particular cannot afford school fees, uniforms and book costs. 67. The long-established tradition of monastery schools, which do not carry similar fees, has filled some of the needs. Since September 2007, many such schools appear to be negatively affected by Government pressure against monks. Nevertheless, they highlight how public schools do not serve this segment of the population. 68. Despite official acknowledgement of 135 ethnic minority groups with almost 100 local languages, it is not legal to teach in any language except the Myanmar language. This prohibition on local languages prevents acceptability and adaptability in the education method. The principle of non-discrimination should ensure equal access to education for minority groups. As many students speak an ethnic minority language as a mother tongue, the prohibition of bilingual education poses a barrier to early learning as children must become literate in a new language before they are literate in their mother tongue. In some places, the restrictions on the use in school and against the teaching of other languages prevent those children from learning to read and write in their own language; consequently they lose access to a part of their culture and traditions. For example, teaching of the Chin language as a separate subject in primary schools has been banned since 1990 and only the Myanmar language is allowed as the medium of communication in school. Prior to 1988, the Chin language was allowed to be taught up to the fourth grade as part of the official curriculum. Informal primary schools which provided learning in Chin language, set up by communities in the rural areas, have also been banned since 1998. 69. Education should respect cultural identity, language and religion. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, education should develop the child’s respect for “his or her own cultural identity, language, and values” (art. 29, para. 1 (c)). In its concluding observations, the Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that Myanmar “adapt school curriculum to suit the particularities of the local communities … and make use of local teachers to help children who are experiencing language difficulties” 14