A/66/269 that differences in revenues collected locally do not result in inequalities between regions. 47. Specific resources must be ensured to address the root causes of the exclusion from education of girls, those living in poverty or with disabilities, ethnic and linguistic minorities, migrants, and other marginalized and disadvantaged groups. Specific measures targeting important obstacles to education must be considered, including the abolition of school fees and the provision of subsidies for other costs, such as textbooks, uniforms and transportation. 33 Temporary special measures to provide financial support to such groups through affirmative action have a normative basis in international human rights treaties. 34 Particular attention must be paid to the principles of transparency and accountability in the management of education budgets. 3. Responding to quality imperatives 48. Finally, frameworks regulating education expenditure must give foremost consideration to the improvement of quality education, recognizing the centrality of education in people’s lives and the empowering role of quality education. Often education budgets are fully consumed by recurring expenditure, mostly teachers’ salaries, which, unfortunately are often very low and result in difficulties in attracting qualified professionals. 35 Investment in essential areas such as the development of pedagogic materials, the training of teaching personnel and improving working conditions remains neglected. The Special Rapporteur intends to examine this question in another thematic report, on quality education. D. Conclusion and recommendations 49. States cannot fulfil their international obligations concerning the realization of the right to education unless they provide the necessary resources for education and make them available on a consistent and predictable basis. For this purpose, national legal and policy frameworks ensuring investment in education play a crucial role. They are also essential in accelerating sustainable progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and moving the Education for All agenda forward. Education is indeed the best investment a country can make and deserves the highest priority in resource allocation. As a global public good of paramount importance, education should receive strong commitments from global leaders for its funding. 36 50. In that spirit, recommendations: the Special Rapporteur provides the following __________________ 33 34 35 36 12 A/64/665, para. 71 (b). Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides for “an adequate fellowship system”, inter alia, with respect to achieving full realization of the right to education. Similarly, the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education lays down the criterion of “merit or need” with respect to “the grant of scholarships or other forms of assistance to pupils” (art. 3 (c)). Teachers’ salaries have been doubled in Ecuador under the Law on Intercultural Education, 2011. Fourth meeting of the International Task Force on Innovative Financing for Education, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, 4 February 2011. 11-44589