Education in Ardalia

Education in Ardalia

Ministry of Science and Education
Minister	X
National education budget (2022)
Budget	X
General details
Primary languages	Ardalian
System type	National
Literacy (2022)
Total	99.7%
Male	99.9%
Female	99.5%
Enrollment (2022)
Total	1.65 million
Primary	100%
Secondary	100%

Education in Ardalia is guaranteed as a constitutional right. Education is mandatory for all children aged 5 and 18. The Ministry of Science and Education is responsible for overseeing the system.

Ardalia's educational system begins with kindergartens. Children start their eight-year long primary education from the age of 6. After finishing primary school, students continue their education, based on their grades, in four year secondary schools that are divided by the curriculum into gymnasiums, vocational (technical, industrial, or trade) and art (music, dance, theatre, or art) schools. Enrollment in higher educational institutions is determined by a student's scores on the Matura high-school exit exam and their secondary school grades. Institutions of higher education offer both university and professional studies. Higher education institutions are divided into polytechnics and universities. Two to six-year university programs enable students to work in science, education, business, the public sector, etc., and can be at undergraduate (BA), graduate (MA) or postgraduate (PhD) level. Professional studies last two to three years, and are offered at polytechnics and colleges. Upon completion, graduates get the title of professional bachelor (bacc).

All public primary and secondary schools, as well as intitutions of higher education, are tuition-free. Students only pay for textbooks, basic equipment, cafeteria food, student housing and other necessities, although the state also gives thousands of scholarships each year. The state pays health insurance for students. There are very few private schools in Ardalia.

Education in Ardalia has a long history, with the first university being founded in Hran in 1396. Today, there are X primary and Y secondary schools. There are Z public and A private higher education institutions.

Educational system

Primary and secondary education is for the most part free because it is directly sponored by the Ministry of Science and Education. Higher education is also mostly free because the state funds all public universities and allows them to set quotas for free enrollment, based on students' prior education (usually secondary school grades and their scores on the Matura high-school exit exam.

Early childhood education

Kindergartens in Ardalia aim to create a developmental environment for infant children. Teachers provide basic moral values, environment and nature knowledge, and work toward the overall emotional, physical, intellectual, spiritual and moral development of the child. Education at this level is organized into three steps: between 6 months and to when they're one (Jaslice or Nursery), from the ages of one to three (Djecjaskola or Preschool), and from the age of three until the child starts attending primary school (Zabaviste or Kindergarten). Completion of all three levels are not compulsory, but every child must attend kindergarten for a year prior to primary school. There are X of these throughout Ardalia, most of which are state-run and integrated with primary schools, although there are also private ones.

Primary education

Primary school (Osnovnaskola) consists of eight years. Children begin school at the age of 6 or 7. Students are divided into three or more classes referred to as the A class, B class, C class, etc. Students remain with the same class until after 4th grade at which time they are mixed up.

For the first four years, children have one teacher for the main subjects: Ardalian language, mathematics, nature and society and this teacher stays with them for all four grades. The same teacher also provides instruction in music, physical education, art, and a foreign language. A different teacher provides elective religious education as they do not encompass all religions, but focus on one, most often Catholicism. These occur outside of school. The students stay in one classroom all four years.

Starting in the fifth grade, instead of one main teacher, students now have different teachers for each subject. The class remains together as a unit through the end of primary school. They are assigned a homeroom teacher who aside from their main subject also takes pedagogical care of them. The homeroom meets weekly where they discuss different issues that come up in students’ lives. The homeroom teacher is responsible for contacting parents regarding students’ absences, resolve behavior problems, hold parent-teacher conferences, take children on school trips (Izlet) and attend to other current issues. Beside the subjects taught previously, students now take up new topical areas including history, geography, natural science, biology, chemistry, physics, industrial arts, and computer science. Students are required to pick up a second foreign language in 5th grade and civics in the 8th grade. Religious education continues to be an elective subject and taught outside of school. At this stages, students can also participate in extracirricular activities, such as choir, sports, art groups, etc.

The majority of the schools teach either X, Y or Z as soon as the first grade. The majority of schools offer a second foreign language starting from the 5th grade. The most popular foreign languages are X, Y and Z, followed by A, B and C.

There are currently X primary schools in Ardalia. The public primary schools are under the jurisdiction of local government, the cities and municipalities.

Subject	Grade 1	Grade 2	Grade 3	Grade 4	Grade 5	Grade 6	Grade 7	Grade 8
Ardalian Language
Mathematics
Foreign Languages (must take up a second in Year 5)
Visual Arts
Music
Physical Education
Nature and Society
History
Natural Science
Biology
Geography
Physics
Chemistry
Civics
Computer Science
Industrial Arts
Religious education (as an elective)

Upon completion of the eighth year of primary school, students select five secondary schools which they want to attend (students that are interested in vocational schools may choose two programs within a school) and list them. The first school on the list is the school that the student wants to go to the most. In Ardalia, the maximum number of points when signing up is 80; the points are gathered from primary school grades (see marks and grade section) and any extra criteria such as competitions, and or applicable social aspects. The point threshold is a certain number of points below which a student cannot sign up for the school. For an example, if a certain school has the point threshold of 65, nobody with 64 or less points can sign up. Schools usually have quotas of how many students can enroll in that particular year.

Secondary education

Secondary education in the country is designed to enable students to have a more focused learning experience that prepares them with the primary knowledge and skills needed for the necessary work environment. Education at this stage is divided into three types of schools: Gymnasium (Gimnazija), Vocational school (Strukovneskole) or Art School (Umjetnickaskola). There are currently around X gymnasiums and Y vocational and art schools in Ardalia. The public secondary schools are under the jurisdiction of the counties.

Admission into higher educational institutions is based upon a student's secondary school grades, the score they receive on the national high-school exit exam (known as the Ardaska Drzavna Matura) and the possession of a graduation certification (Svjedodzba o maturi) by passing it, and other submission requirements as specified by the respective faculty they are applying to. Graduates of 3-year vocational schools are can attend technical vocational higher education institutions, however both groups of students are also eligible to work after completing secondary education just like art school graduates, however, all gymnasium graduates must go onto university.

Gymnasiums

There are six different types of gymnasiums:

• Science and Mathematics High Schools (Prirodoslovno-Matematicka Gimnazija) which specialize in math, computer science, and science
• Linguistic High Schools (Jezicna Gimnazija) with a focus on foreign languages and with less science, students here take up a third foreign language
• Classical High Schools (Klasicna Gimnazija) with a curriculum centered around classics
• Grammar/General Education High Schools (Opća Gimnazija) which covers a general education
• Sport School (Sportska Gimnazija) which focuses on one particular sport
• Natural Science High School (Prirodoslovna Gimnazija) which are focused on natural sciences with equal emphasis on mathematics, chemistry, physics, and biology with special attention on laboratory exercises

General education gymnasiums are a transition to receive professional training at universities. The subjects taught include: Ardalian, Math, (foreign language), 2nd Foreign Language of choice, (Latin), Art History, Music, History, Geography, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Sociology, Psychology, Computer Science, Politics and Economics, Philosophy, Logics, Physical Education and an elective (such as religious education or ethics).

Gymnasia are harder to get into than vocational or art schools and are generally harder to complete. Education in gymnasia lasts for four years. If a student takes and passes the Matura, they will receive a graduation certification (Svjedodzba o maturi).

Vocational Schools

Vocation schools (Strukovnaskola) teach a student a certain craft, such as cooking or carpentry, and last between three to five years depending on the program. Schools of economics and engineering go under this category too. Schools of economics and engineering last four years while medical high school lasts for five years. Graduates receive a vocational qualification upon completion of the requirements of their program. If a student takes and passes the Matura, they will also receive a graduation certification (Svjedodzba o maturi).

Art Schools

Art schools (Umjetnickaskola) focus on visual art, music, theatre, dance, and other artistic mediums. They take four years to complete. Graduates recieve a certification of completion upon passing their final examination. If a student takes and passes the Matura, they will also receive a graduation certification (Svjedodzba o maturi).

Higher education

Students can enroll into two kinds of higher education: polytechnics (Veleuciliste) or universities (Sveuciliste).

The levels of expertise that can be awarded are:

• Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts (Prvostupnik)
• Master of Science and Master of Arts (Magistar)
• Master of Education (Magistar Edukacije)
• Doctor of Science and Doctor of Arts (Doktor)

All larger universities in Ardalia are composed of independent faculties, each of which focus on specific areas of learning: Natural Sciences, Law, Engineering, Medicine, and so forth. Some universities are not organized in this manner.

There are four universities in Ardalia: the University of Hran, the University of X, the University of Y, and the University of Z.

45% of all students in tertiary education attend polytechnics.

Marks and grades

In Ardalia, the following official grade scale applies to primary, secondary, and tertiary students:

1/F (0–49%)	Insufficient (Nedovoljan)
2/D (50–59%)	Sufficient (Dovoljan)
3/C (60–74%)	Good (Dobar)
4/B (75–89%)	Very good (Vrlo Dobar)
5/A (90–100%)	Excellent (Odlican in schools, Izvrstan at universities)

1 is a failing grade, while grades 2 through 5 are passing. Some teachers apply minus, plus or half symbols as grade modifers but these are unofficial and do not appear in final grade reports.

A student's grade point average is calculated as the arithmetic mean of all numerical grades:

• 1.00–1.99 Insufficient
• 2.00–2.49 Sufficient
• 2.50–3.49 Good
• 3.50–4.49 Very good
• 4.50–5.00 Excellent

There have been some instances of grade inflation observed in primary schools and, to a lesser extent, in secondary schools due to parent pressure on teachers.

Academic year

Primary and Secondary

The school year officially starts on September 1 and finishes on August 31, however, students may not attend school during this entire period.

Classes usually start at the beginning of September and last until mid-June. The school year is divided into two semesters, winter and summer.

Children have three extended holidays (not including national holidays): winter holidays (3 weeks for Christmas), spring holidays (1 week for Easter), and summer holidays (2.5 months).

Higher education

The academic year for most institutions run from October 1 to September 30, which is generally structured as follows:

• Winter Semester runs from October 1 to February 1-28/29
• Christmas Holidays between December 24 to January 6
• Winter Examinations (no classes): February 1-28/29
• Summer Semester runs from March 1 to June 30
• Easter Holidays: moveable week in either March or April
• Summer Exminations (no classes): June 1 to July 15

Some programs or faculties could require an additional examination period in the fall which may occur between September 1-30.

Higher education institutions are closed on all national holidays.