Education in Salerit

Education in Salerit is mandatory for all children aged from 6 to 16. Compulsory education is divided into three divisions: primary, lower secondary and middle secondary. The majority of schools in Salerit are owned by the States, that fund and administrate it. Compulsory education is available free of charge for all Salerian citizens as a given right indicated in the Constitution.

When primary, lower secondary and middle secondary are completed, upper secondary schooling is entitled to students for enrollment, which prepares students for higher education or vocational studies.

The school year in Salerit runs from mid-August to the end of June (although start and end dates can vary greatly depending on the state). The school year is divided into three quarters, the first from August to December, the second from the beginning of January to the end of March and the third from the beginning of April to the end of June.The most notable holiday periods within the school year are Christmas, Carnival and Halloween.

History of education in Salerit

Organized education arrived in Salerit in the mid-17th century, with the colonization process led by Riamo. Before that, Aboriginal tribes did not have an organized educational system. Learning was based on imitation of what experienced people did, and crafts were normally taught within the family. There was no writing system, these had oral communication.

With the arrival of the Riamese Empire, the English language and the Latin writing system were introduced to the country. The first educational institutions were created such as the University of New Jesser (this being the first in the entire country), the Caliry Naval School, etc. However, access to education remained quite restricted, and only wealthy families could afford to go to university and have a good level of education.

After the independence of the Thirteen Colonies in 1780 and the signing of the Constitution in 1785, education was established as a right to which all citizens of the country should have access (although this was not mandatory). Thus, people with a lower socioeconomic level were able to start going to school for free, rapidly increasing the literacy rate among the population.

Compulsory education was established in 1876, and forced all children between 6 and 12 years old to go to school. Multiple reforms were made in 1915, which expanded education to age 14. The government and banks also began to offer scholarships to study at university, expanding access to it. Schools were built in rural areas, expanding educational coverage and increasing literacy exponentially.

In the early 1950s, the first public universities in the country's history were created. These offered lower tuition fees and prices, making it even easier to have university studies. They were of great importance in the interior of the country, where there were not so many universities (thus allowing the population to be better academically trained). In 1978, the Federal Educational Regulation was approved. This was created to try to standardize the educational level between states, since the coastal and more industrialized states had a much higher educational level than the interior ones. Minimum standards and mandatory subjects were established at the federal level, which allowed an improvement in education throughout the country.

In the early 2000s, the school funding system was changed. Now, the money that schools would have would depend on the number of students they attracted, the quality of their educational services (which would be rated annually by federal inspectors and the students' parents) and the educational projects. Thus, competition between schools was encouraged, encouraging them to improve education and favoring better budget management. In 2012, the Federal Educational Application was created. This made it possible to better control student information, facilitate enrollment processes in educational institutions and allow parents better control. It applies to both public and private schools, since all are required to be registered.

Education today

The Salerian School can be divided into four parts: primary (ages 6 - 12), lower secondary (ages 12 - 14), middle secondary (ages 14 - 16) and upper secondary (ages 16 - 18). All this levels except upper secondary are compulsory, and all the children have to complete it. Primary school is usually taught in different educational centers from the rest of the levels (which are usually grouped in the same place). There are some private schools that can offer all educational stages in the same center, but it is not very common in the country.

Primary school

In the first year of primary school, students spend most of their time playing educational games and learning social structures, the alphabet, basic addition and subtraction, and basic foreign-language skills (Spanish, French or German normally). In grades 2–7, they are introduced to mathematics, English Language, science, religion (focusing not only on Christianity but also on all other religions, their purpose, and their history), Regional Language (Spanish, German or French are oficcial in some states along with the English language), aesthetics, and music, complemented by geography, history, and social studies in the fifth grade. Grades are scored from 0 to 10, and in order to pass the course, a maximum of two subjects can be failed and must be recovered the following year. To complete primary school, all subjects must be passed.

Lower Secondary

When students begin this stage, their average grades begin to be recorded annually. They will be registered continuously until they finish upper secondary school course after course, and they will count as a 40% grade to access university. During the 2 years of this stage, the same subjects as in primary school continue to be taught, but their level increases. The teachers specialize in each subject, it is not like in primary school that a teacher teaches everything except foreign languages.If a student gets a perfect grade of 10 in a subject during the 2 years of low school and passes an attitude test, he or she may be exempt from taking it during the first year of middle school. This can be done with all subjects, there are no exceptions.