The proportion of children in education remained far lower than in the rest of Western Europe. There continued to be a lack of classroom space in public schools, which was a cause of low enrolment rates. Franco made it compulsory for children to attend school from 6-13. The government could provided enough classroom space for 6 year olds, but the number of classrooms decreased as you moved through the year groups. School attendance was not mandatory past primary school age, meaning there were few public secondary schools.