A/HRC/38/32/Add.1 the importance of preschool education among some sectors of the population; (b) inadequate preschool infrastructure in some areas of the country; and (c) the fact that two ministries share the responsibility for preschool education. 2 24. Recently, however, there has been a marked expansion in preschool education. Between the academic years 2014/15 and 2016/17, the number of children enrolled in preschools rose from 11,000 to 16,889, or by more than 53.5 per cent. There are 107 community activity centres for children and 88 centres for the protection of young children, which promote the well-being and development of children up to the age of 5 years old. 25. The Government has stated that it intends to set up a total of 8,500 centres for the protection of young children, each of which would be attached to a primary school. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the measures and strategies that are being implemented by both the Ministry for Women, Child Protection and Solidarity and the Ministry of National Education, Technical Education and Vocational Training with a view to establishing a preschool alongside each primary school. Thanks to the increase in the number of preschool establishments, the number of learners has risen by more than 133 per cent over six years, from 74,709 in 2010/11 to 174,264 in 2016/17. Primary and secondary education 26. Act No. 2015-635 of 17 September 2015, amending Education Act No. 95-696 of 7 September 1995, establishes that education is compulsory for children aged between 6 and 16 years old. 27. However, overcrowding in primary schools means that they are unable to perform well. During her visits to schools, the Special Rapporteur noted that class sizes ranged from 50 to 150 pupils in most public primary schools and in secondary schools. When she met with representatives of civil society organizations, they raised concerns about the shortage of teachers for subjects such as mathematics, English and French. 28. The rise in lower secondary school enrolment can be attributed to the increase in the number of children who complete primary education, in combination with the increase in the number of pupils who pass the primary school leaving examinations. In order to reduce overcrowding in secondary schools and improve the quality of education in rural areas, the Government has set up some small lower secondary schools, known as local secondary schools, in rural areas. These schools provide the same education as ordinary secondary schools, the only difference being that teachers are assigned to teach more than one subject. They must be situated close to local communities so that pupils do not have to travel more than 5 km to get to school. This allows children to remain with their families and gives them a greater sense of security, which is particularly important for girls, many of whom fall pregnant during adolescence and drop out of school as a result. Faith schools 29. There are Catholic, Protestant and Qur’anic faith schools. During her mission, the Special Rapporteur visited a Qur’anic school in Bouaké. She learned that many Qur’anic schools had joined the formal education system so as to acquire State recognition, having previously been left to their own devices. Schools that obtain such recognition, including Qur’anic schools, are required to teach the national curriculum. This gives their students access to a wider range of study options. 30. State recognition of these schools also implies a degree of State oversight. These schools are partially funded by the State. Although Qur’anic schools are responsible for recruiting and paying their teachers, the State is responsible for training those teachers in order to ensure that national minimum quality standards are met. However, the Special Rapporteur discovered during her visit to a Qur’anic school that only two of the seven teachers working there had received such training. 2 6 See http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002298/229860F.pdf. GE.18-06824