310. Furthermore, the reform of the education system also focused on pedagogical reforms through the introduction of new programmes and school textbooks driven by the skills-based approach and the introduction of new educational dimensions including citizenship education, human rights education and environmental education. 311. All these measures were basically aimed at ensuring that pupils, the future global citizens, acquire values and behaviours such as understanding, tolerance, respect for others and the environment. The teaching of values and life skills is in addition to modern science and technical education including information and communication technology. 312. Effort has also been made in providing support for schooling by supplying 4 million pupils with school textbooks free of charge. Almost 80% of pupils enrolled in the regions of the North and 100% of those enrolled in the South and the Hauts Plateaux enjoy free school feeding. Moreover, school transport currently covers 1,000 communes out of 1,561 existing communes thanks to a fleet of 4,565 buses for the benefit of almost 584,259 pupils in all the educational cycles. 313. It should be noted that in addition to the efforts made within the framework of the coverage of school health, about 3 million enrolled pupils from underprivileged areas, the handicapped and orphans enjoy a school re-opening allocation of 3000 DA. Moreover, the State has put in place a national literacy strategy for the eradication of illiteracy by 2016 for the population between 15-24 years old, which facility has been extended particularly to women who constitute 80% of the beneficiaries. 314. Regarding the continuation of efforts in the area of the right to education, after fifty years of efforts, Algeria has succeeded in addressing the high demand for enrolment. Indeed, the number of pupils enrolled in schools, at all levels has increased consistently since 1962 when the country achieved independence; in 2012, the total number of pupils reached 8 056 531 in the different educational cycles (both public and private). The enrolment rate for children of school-going age (6 years) which was 88.55% in 2000, reached 98.21% in 2012. 315. Concerning gender parity, there has been a drastic change in the growth in favour of girls, particularly in the middle and secondary schools where the number registered in 2010 was 90 girls for every 100 boys, in the primary school, 95 in the middle schools and 139 in secondary schools. For instance, on re-opening of schools in 2012, these rates increased tremendously to reach 100 boys, 134 girls in primary schools, 154 in the middle schools and finally 125 in the secondary schools. This trend is only a reflection of efforts made by the Algerian State through a vast infrastructural development programme and recruitment of more qualified staff. In terms of the quality of educational service, this has brought about an improvement in enrolment criteria (reduction in occupancy rates of the premises, improved staffto-pupils ratios) and therefore a significant reduction in the school drop-out rates at the compulsory education stage. 316. Concurrent to this strategy introduced by the Algerian Government, significant efforts have also been made within the context of bilateral and unilateral cooperation. Thus, a legal arsenal has been put in place to prepare solid grounds for technical committees responsible for preparing the different working platforms for the implementation of programmes mutually developed with countries of the Continent. 52