E/2007/27 E/CN.6/2007/9 14.2. Education and training (a) Intensify their efforts to meet the target of eliminating gender inequalities in primary and secondary education by the earliest possible date and at all educational levels by 2015, including through the provision of Education for All partnerships; (b) Collect data disaggregated by sex and age on dropout rates at all levels of education, and conduct research on the causes, including root causes of the discontinuation of education by girls; (c) Ensure that all children, particularly girls, without discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity or disability, have equal access to, and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality, and renew their efforts to improve and expand girls’ education at all levels, including the secondary and higher levels, in all academic areas, as well as vocational education and technical training, in order to, inter alia, encourage women to enter the labour market and as a way of achieving gender equality, the empowerment of women and poverty eradication, and to allow women’s full and equal contribution to, and equal opportunity to benefit from, development; (d) Recognize the critical role of both formal and non-formal education in the achievement of poverty eradication and other development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and ensure access of women and girls to non-formal education, particularly for those who are dropouts and living in poverty, with the aim to equip them with the necessary knowledge and prepare them to participate equally in decision-making in all spheres of life and at all levels; (e) Identify constraints and gaps and develop appropriate strategies, in collaboration with parents and legal guardians, teachers and community leaders, to ensure gender equality, accelerated achievement of equality in enrolment and completion of schooling at the early childhood, primary and all other educational levels for all girls, including pregnant adolescents and young mothers, especially in neglected and marginalized areas and communities and rural and remote areas, and introduce, where appropriate, temporary special measures, including financial incentives and stipends and nutrition programmes in order to improve enrolment and retention rates for girls at all educational levels; (f) Promote gender-sensitive, empowering educational and training processes and teaching materials by, inter alia, reviewing and revising, as appropriate, school curricula, formal and non-formal educational and training materials and teacher-training programmes, including for those dealing with career orientation, and encourage and support girls’ and boys’ interest and involvement in non-traditional fields and occupations; (g) Ensure safe and supportive school environments for girls and girlfriendly school premises by implementing measures to eliminate discrimination and violence against girls and specific measures against sexual harassment at school, achieving gender balance at all levels in the education sector, providing appropriate sanitation and recreational facilities, boarding facilities, and school transport, where appropriate, and securing safe routes to and from school; 07-28248 5