A/HRC/16/59 57. According to official figures, primary education has a 97 per cent intake rate with gender parity. There are currently some 40,000 schools and about 150,000 schoolteachers in Myanmar, as well as 23 teacher training colleges and institutes that produce around 10,000 teachers annually. However, less than 60 per cent of children complete the full cycle of primary education. According to some international figures, 45 per cent of children in Myanmar initially enrolled in school failed to complete fourth grade, with the highest rate of dropout (19 per cent) at the end of first grade. 58. Participation rates in secondary school are not available but are estimated to be extremely low, with only 1,099 high schools in the country. The right to education includes availability and accessibility of secondary education, which should be the completion of basic education and consolidation of the foundations for life-long learning and human development. Secondary education should prepare students for vocational or higher education opportunities. 59. A useful framework to evaluate Myanmar’s commitment to education is to consider the interrelated and essential features of availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability as outlined in general comment No. 13 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. To gauge availability, one could ask, are there a sufficient number of schools offering quality primary education in Myanmar with trained teachers and educational materials? Are there sufficient numbers of school buildings with adequate sanitation facilities for both sexes? Accessibility rests on the principle of nondiscrimination and must include both physical and economic accessibility. Acceptability speaks to the quality and cultural and linguistic appropriateness for the child. Adaptability calls for education to be flexible to accommodate the needs of changing societies and communities. 60. For example, regarding availability, according to official figures, in 2008 there were 4,777 teaching staff and 109,334 students in Chin State for an average of one teacher for every 22 students. However, in rural areas, the larger portion of Chin State, up to 200 students share a single teacher and a school is shared by up to four to five villages in the area. According to reports, about half of Myanmar’s schools are multi-grade with teachers responsible for more than one grade at a time, yet most teachers are not trained in the special skills required for this type of teaching. 61. In its concluding observations on the second periodic report of Myanmar (CRC/C/15/Add.237), the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed serious concerns about the “low quality of education reflected in the high repetition and dropout rates, which affect more girls than boys” (para. 62 (a)). The Committee also mentioned the lack of “a conducive learning environment for children owing to, inter alia, the poor conditions of buildings, the poor quality of teaching/learning methodologies and the shortage of qualified teachers” (para. 62 (e)). 62. The underfunding for education manifests in major problems of availability and accessibility that include low salaries for teachers and a system whereby families of students are required to pay indirect costs despite the provision for a “fee-free” entitlement. Underfunding also impacts acceptability. Parents of primary-school students usually have to purchase uniforms, textbooks, stationary and other supplies. According to some figures, the costs to parents to send their child to a typical government primary school, including annual fees, uniform and school materials, can reach 60,000 kyat ($67). Other “voluntary” contributions can include enrolment levies and examination fees as well as cash or in-kind labour for school construction and maintenance. The cost of education is reported to be a major reason for non-attendance at school among children aged 5 to 10 years. In the age group of 11 to 15 years, the cost of supplementary items and the requirement to work are reasons for non-attendance. 13