than other children. In Belgiun phere pre-school education is free and open to allchildren rrithouE discri.mination, it sas r€ported in l9g3 that 93 per cent ofBelgian children in the age group att.ended such classes, ehich are non-compulsory,as compared to 7I per cent of miglant eorkersr children. In order to increaaepre-school. and prinary school aCtendance by the cbildren of mlgrant xorkers,addttional teachers were appointed to train children rho did not knoe the ranguage used locally (French or Fleni6h). This action reduced the proportion of prinary school children of migrant rrorkers who eere unfaniliar with Che language ofinstruction fron 50 per cent in l9?8 to 30 per ceht ln 1981 (see the fourthperiodic report of Belgium (cEnD,/c/ 8glAdd. 5) ). 104, Primary educatior} is free and corBpulsory in Belgiun. Secondary education t hich is compulsory up to the age of 14, is also free except that forelgn pupilg whose parents are not domiciled in Belgiun generally pay sornefhat less than one thi.rd of the tuition costs. That restriction would not affect the children ofmigrant eorkerg. As regards higlrer education in uniuersllies and in conmercial andtechnical courges, ehich are not free, seudenls trom nigrant t,orkersr familiesgenerally pay the sane rninimun fees as Belgian students. Fornal, Iegal access toeducation 1s thus the sane tor the cbildren of nigrant lrorkers as for Belgiunnationals. In addition, progranmes et.ist to facilitate effective access toeduca!ion, incl.uding early language insgructlon, renedial courses and intensive education courseg. New neagures Co increa3e the access and integration of childrenof nigrants are being developed, including audie-visual techniques, neetings withparents and otfering the nigrant's mother Ianguage as a second or t.hird language, None the less, any country t.ith a school-leaving aqe of 14 and eith tees, hoeevernodest, for higher educaeion (afEer age 17 or 18) t{ill obtain dlfferential rates ofparticipation and conpletion among different socio-econonic groups, ttany childrenof many migrant $orkers have speclfic reasons for terninating education at age 14. anonq them the economic need to atart earning, the expectations of oners family andtriends and, for nany, the lnplicit racisn lhat perneales the socio-culCural sa. tuat ion.
**Analysis**
The text discusses the education system in Belgium, highlighting the efforts to increase access and integration of children of migrant workers. It emphasizes the free and compulsory nature of primary education, the provision of additional teachers to help migrant children, and the programs aimed at facilitating effective access to education. The text also mentions the socio-economic factors that may affect the participation and completion rates of children of migrant workers in higher education.

**Category**
Education