The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights cash-based programmes, including stipends for students. The study also pointed out that micro-credit programmes were intertwined with social safety programmes but the former did not target the poorest segment of the society. Duplication of programmes was identified as a major problem. 3.6 Right to Education: Article 15 and 17 of the Bangladesh constitution contemplates free and compulsory education for its citizens. Recently, in 2010, it has adopted the National Education Policy to establish a better education system in Bangladesh. The policy expands free education up to class VIII from the previous class V in phases at government and government-funded institutions. Compulsory primary education was also extended up to class VIII from class V and secondary education to class XII. A one-year preprimary education for children over five years old has been introduced through this policy. It has introduced several compulsory subjects to primary and secondary levels of general, madrasa and vocational education, in order to establish a unified schooling system. Under this provision there will be compulsory subjects on religion and ethics for students up to class VIII which is inconsistent with the normative aspect of Article 13 of the ICESCR. There was an attempt to incorporate different mediums into the mainstream in the education policy but there is no provision on ‘English medium schools’ and ‘Cadet Colleges’. Still the policy promotes different types of education system like Primary, Kindergarten, General, Madrasa etc. which is an obstacle to ensuring the uniformity and the quality of education for all. However, through abolishing the gaps, implementation of the present education policy and establishment of a legal framework for a uniform education system can eliminate the current practices in the education arena of the country. Pledges to make education free have continued but what free means has not been precisely defined. If only tuition fees are used as the yardstick, primary school is mostly free but it encompasses only children aged 6 to 10. Moreover, how free primary education is in practice is subject to different assessments. It is mentionable that there is a practice in the primary schools 64 to charge different fees such as admission fees, exam fees, library fees, school maintenance fees, and festival fees etc. from the students. Community School Survey data 2009 shows the high private costs of education per child per year. The average cost per child per year of attending primary school was Tk. 3,812, (about $55) slightly more for boys (Tk. 3,935) and slightly less for girls (Tk. 3,692). The average yearly income per person is Tk. 14,315.18 or around US$ 207 in this sample. World Bank figures for Bangladesh in 2008 put gross national income (GNI) per capita at US$ 520 (World Bank, 2009). Bearing in mind that these are averages, and that within this poor sample there is considerable variation, it is not hard to see why the poor struggle to pay the costs of educating their children. Total Boys Girls Child population (aged 6 to 10) 16.4 million 7.9 million 8.5 million Total enrolment grade 1-5 16.0 million 7.9 million 8.1 million Enrolment aged 6-10 year in Grade 1-5 14.9 million 7.5 million 7.4 million Net enrolment rate in primary school 90.8% 87.9% 94.0% Primary school children reaching Grade 5 55.0% 53% 57% 8.7 8.5 Completion rate of the 5 year primary school cycle 50.7% Stipend recipients 4.8 million Average no. of years to complete primary school 8.6 Teacher : student ratio 1:49 Number of schools with at least 900 contact hours per year 10% 2008 public expenditure on education as % of GNP 2.14% Source: Directorate of Primary Education, 2008 Annual Sector Performance Report (published in 2009) The government claims that primary education is free. A project looking into corruption in education carried out by the IIEP (International Institute for Educational Planning) found in 2004 that charges were levied. Examinations were the most expensive items to be paid by children’s families while school admission fees were the cheapest. An additional, 65