The Somali Ministry of Education is the only official body in Somalia entrusted with organizing the educational movement in the country. The Ministry benefits from 15% of the total government budget expenditures, which are related to the education sector.  Interest in education has become a government priority, whether in Somalia or the northern countries independent of it. In 2006, Puntland became the second region of Somalia, after Somaliland, to make primary education free, as teachers now receive their monthly salaries directly from the Puntland government.[100]  In 2007, the number of primary schools in Somalia increased from 600 schools before the outbreak of the civil war to 1,172 schools, with an estimated increase of 28% in the total number of primary school students.