was considered the main language of the country, but with the rising of English as first commercial language in the world, the balance switched to the latter. Christian mission schools have been an important part of the education system, but most children cannot afford them and are forced to choose state-run schools. Education became compulsory up to the age of 12 years, when 6 years of primary schooling are complete. Education was free but uniforms and books etc were provided by parents and, tertiary level students received money monthly back in the days of President Amadou Ahidjo and,for the first few years of President Paul Biya.Primary school education is free (since 2000), but families must pay for uniforms, book fees, and sometimes even anti-malaria prophylaxis for pupils. Tuition fees at the secondary school level are high, and therefore unaffordable for many families. The country has institutions for teacher training and technical education. There is, however, a growing trend for the wealthiest and best-educated students to leave the country to study and live abroad. Legislation The Constitution affirms that "the State shall guarantee the child’s right to education [and that] primary education shall be compulsory", however, the government avoided human rights language and refers only to "equality of opportunity for access to education". Statistics According to data available for 2011, 47.7 percent of girls and 56.7 percent of boys attended primary school. The low school enrolment rate was attributed to cost, with girls’ participation further reduced by early marriage, sexual harassment, unwanted pregnancy, domestic responsibilities, and certain socio-cultural biases. Domestic workers are generally not permitted by their employers to attend school. A 2004 government study found there is a large gap between the capacity of the schools and the number of potential students. According to the study, preschools served only 16% of the potential student population. Within the school system, the northern provinces were the most underprivileged, with only 5.7% of all teachers working in the Adamawa, North, and Extreme North provinces combined. The study showed that elementary schools only had enough seats for 1.8 million students, although 2.9 million attended school. After these findings, Cameroonian government launched a three-years programme to construct and renovate schools, improve teacher competency, and provide instructional materials, which was apparently renewed in 2010. Still problems are not to be considered resolved: embezzlement of education funds is considered the main problem in primary education; half of