Education in West Miersa

Education in West Miersa is officially regulated by the voivodeships, per the West Miersan constitution. However, in practice, the central government is responsible for education, with a national curriculum being used by virtually all schools in the country.

Overview

Education in West Miersa has been based off the Soravian model of education, often following developments in Soravia in tandem. While officially, as per the West Miersan constitution, the voivodeships are responsible for education, in practice, education is under the administration of the federal government, with very little variation between voivodeships.

Grading

In all educational institutions in West Miersa, they use a 5-point scale, where 5 represents the highest mark, and 1 the worst. Zeroes are only given in cases of academic dishonesty, while an Ł is only given under special circumstances (i.e. medical reasons, or substantial modification because of a student's disability).

Grade	Name	Translation	Percent
5	Świetny	Excellent	90% and above
4	Dobrze	Good	80%-89%
3	Zadowalający	Satisfactory	70%-79%
2	Walcząc	Struggling	60%-69%
1	Niepowodzenie	Failure	59% and below
0	Nieuczciwość	Dishonesty	only given for academic dishonesty
Ł	Łaska	Mercy	Special circumstances

Academic year

The academic year still largely conforms to the Soravian education system, with the school year beginning on the first weekday of September, and ending on the first Friday of July, with final exams done throughout the rest of July.

School years in the West Miersa are organised into three terms (Miersan: półrocze), with the first term beginning on the first weekday of September, and ending on the last Friday of December, the second term starting on the second Monday of January and lasting until the last Friday of April, and then the third term starting on the second Monday of May, and going until the first Friday of July.

Educational stages

Age range	Category	Name	Mandatory?
0-3	Infant education	Żłobek
3-4		Przedszkole
5-6		Dzieciniec
6-7	Primary education	Year One
7-8		Year Two
8-9		Year Three
9-10		Year Four
10-11		Year Five
11-12	Secondary school	Year Six
12-13		Year Seven
13-14		Year Eight
14-15		Year Nine
15-16		Year Ten
16-17	College	Niższy rok
17-18		Górny rok

Pre-school education

A dzieciniec classroom in Krada, 2014

Pre-school education in West Miersa is divided into three stages: żłobek, przedszkole, and dzieciniec, of which the żłobek and przedszkole are optional, while only the dzieciniec is mandatory.

In all three stages, children are taught basic skills, such as letters in the Miersan alphabet, basic vocabulary, and basic mathematics, as well as how to cooperate with other people. They are generally only taught in Miersan. Like in Soravia, even the dzieciniec is best comparable to a daycare in eastern Euclea, with before- and after-school clubs being available for those whose parents are working at the usual times that school starts or ends on a typical school day.

As of 2017, 84% of students in the Miersan Federation are enrolled in either a żłobek or a przedszkole, while virtually all children are enrolled at dzieciniec, as attendance in a dzieciniec is mandatory for all children in the Miersan Federation. This varies, with only 61% of rural students attending a żłobek or a przedszkole, compared to 92% in urban centres. 87% of teachers in pre-school education are women.

Primary education

An elementary school classroom in Sechia, 2015

At the age of 6, students enter Year One of primary school. Students begin learning literacy in the Miersan, national history, art, physical education, sciences, and mathematics. As they progress up the years, some schools may offer other classes, most commonly classes in the Soravian language. In most classes, they are taught by a single teacher, with an average class size of between twenty and thirty students, only going to other teachers for physical education, art, and science classes.

There are no standardised tests until Year Five (10-11), where at the end of the year, students take the State Assessments, with higher marks allowing students to go to more prestigious schools, and lower marks forcing students to go to less prestigious schools. 65% of teachers in primary schools are female, although this decreases the older one gets, with Year 5 averaging around 55% to 45% female to male teacher ratio.

Secondary education

A high school in Gogard, 2015

When students enter secondary school at the age of 11 or 12, while students still have mandatory classes, such as languages (Miersan, and a foreign language, usually Soravian or Gaullican), mathematics (geometry, algebra, functions, pre-calculus, or calculus), science (chemistry, biology, physics), world history, physical education and the arts (drama, dance, fine arts, or applied arts), students can take elective courses. They are no longer taught by a single teacher, and instead have to go from class to class.

While some of them are offered at most schools in the country, such as home economics, mechanics classes, and financial literacy, some are only offered in specific voivodeships (e.g. self-defense or gardening), while others are only offered at specific schools.

At the age of 16-17, students enter college, with a two-year programme required in order for students to attend a post-secondary institution. In these programmes, students choose to take classes in certain classes, with students taking exams on these subjects in their final year. However, college is considered to be optional, as students can choose to not enter the programme, and instead enter directly into the workforce. As of 2019, however, eighty-six percent of students attend college, with only fifty-nine percent of students passing college exams to be able to attend a university.

Tertiary education

Universities

University of Sechia, 2013

If a student achieves high scores on their college exams, students can advance on to university. Unlike many other countries in Euclea, West Miersa had, until relatively recently, continued using the traditional system as was used in Soravia, which sees university students attend for six years before receiving a specialist degree (Miersan: stopień specjalistyczny). With the exception of medicine, where students have to undertake residency for four years until they can practice medicine, students can start their professional careers after receiving the specialist degree.

However, there are plans to begin adopting the Solarian model beginning in 2020-21 school year for new students, with students obtaining a three year bachelor's degree (Miersan: licencjat), whereupon students can choose to take another two years to get a master's degree (Miersan: magister). This model is in conformance to the Concordance eucléenne, with the intention of making it easier for West Miersans to study across Euclea.

As of 2019, there are five accredited universities operating in the Miersan Federation, with the three most prestigious being the University of Żobrodź, the University of Krada, the University of Sechia, and the remaining two being the University of Lojola and Podgórzyca University.

Vocational education

While most vocational education is offered at secondary schools, there are a handful of technicums in West Miersa, particularly relating to engineering. These engineering programmes are generally offered at technicums, and are required to become a certified engineer. These programmes typically last for three years, before one gets a certificate (Miersan: certyfikat), which allows the graduate to be recognised as an engineer.