Education in Meronnia
| Bureau of Education | |
|---|---|
| Secretary | Annette Veil |
| General details | |
| Primary languages | Soliçian |
| System type | Central |
| Literacy (2000) | |
| Total | 991 |
| Enrollment | |
| Total | 13.6 million |
| Attainment | |
| Secondary diploma | 89.7% |
| Post-secondary diploma | 47% |
| 1 As of 2000, literacy rates are no longer collected in Meronnian censuses. | |
The foundations for the modern Meronnian system of education were laid by the legislation of Valéry Bassot, the Captain of the Chamber of Deputies from 1807-1819. In 1861, First Deputy Marian Blanchard standardized the system of free and compulsory education in Meronnia. While there are systems of private schools in Meronnia, as well as Communal schools, the Meronnian education system is nonetheless centralized, with the Bureau of Education having a dominant role in determining the curriculum, verifying academic records, and enforcing regulations.
Education in Meronnia has three mandatory divisions, and a total of five. These are Préparation Préscolaire, École Élémentaire, Collège, École Supérieure, and Enseignement Supérieur. Préparation Préscolaire and Enseignement Supérieur, while non-mandatory, are taken up by a large portion of Meronnians at the appropriate age.
Governance
All education in Meronnia is regulated by the Bureau of Education, headed by the Secretary of Education. Teachers in public secondary schools and professors and researchers in public universities are federal civil servants, making the Bureau of Education one of Meronnia's largest employers.
Communes are responsible for primary schooling, which includes Préparation Préscolaire and École Élémentaire. Nonetheless, the Bureau of Education maintains oversight over these schools and the variation in curriculum between communes is very slim. Secondary schooling, Collège and École Supérieure, is predominantly the domain of the Federal government; Federal Departments manage and maintain secondary schools with funding provided by the national budget. Private schools are federally legal, and the majority of Communes allow for private primary schools, but these private institutions must conform to the regulations imposed by the Bureau of Education.
Higher education in Meronnia, Enseignement Supérieur, is generally administered by an office of the Bureau of Education called the Office National de l'Enseignement Supérieur (ONES). This Office oversees Meronnia's varied systems of higher education and certifies all qualifications at this level.
The Bureau of Education is responsible for determining such regulations as the standardized school calendar, as well as publishing the Bulletin officiel de l'éducation nationale, de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche (BO) which effectively defines the Meronnian curriculum, listing all current programmes and directives.
Primary Schooling
The Primary schooling divisions in Meronnia are largely the responsibility of Meronnia's Communes, with oversight and aid from the Bureau of Education. Primary schooling occurs between the ages of 3-5 and 9.
Préparation Préscolaire
Schooling in Meronnia mandatorily begins at age 5, but the system begins overall at age 3, and the large majority of children in Meronnia are enrolled in Préparation Préscolaire. The primary stream for Préparation Préscolaire are the Écoles Maternelles, akin to preschools. Some Maternelles, particularly large ones, are stand-alone, while many others are attached to an École Élémentaire. Communes maintain systems of Maternelles financially supported by the Federal Government. Most communes also allow the registration of private maternelles.
The alternative to Maternelles is Préparation à Domicile, where regular (usually weekly) meetings and support are given to parents to offer the same preparatory curriculum to children not enrolled in a Maternelle. This is most often done in rural areas, or sometimes in wealthy households.
The years of Préparation Préscolaire are Petit (3) and Grande (4).
École Élémentaire
Elementary schooling is mandatory in Meronnia, organized by the Communes with oversight and support from the Bureau of Education. As with Maternelles, in most communes private schools can register, but the Bureau of Education retains the same regulatory powers over those schools. The budgets of public communal schools, particularly in poor areas, are often supplemented by grants from the federal government.
In Elementary Schools, two Instituteurs teach each class the full curriculum. There are basic examinations at the middle and end of each school year from CE1 through CE4. It is not possible to fail these examinations. They are indicative of student progress so Instituteurs can adjust accordingly, and good practice for real exams.
The years of École Élémentaire are Cours Préparatoire/CP (5), Cours Élémentaire 1/CE1 (6), Cours Élémentaire 2/CE2 (7), Cours Élémentaire 3/CE3 (8), and Cours Élémentaire 4/CE4 (9).
Secondary Schooling
The Secondary schooling divisions in Meronnia are largely the responsibility of Meronnia's Departments, with direct administrative regulation from the Bureau of Education, and funding from the national budget. Secondary schooling occurs between the ages of 10 and 17 or 18 depending on stream.
Collège
Collège immediately follows primary schooling. There is no entrance examination or requirements into collège, but there is a comprehensive examination for students starting in Huitième to evaluate the academic level of pupils after graduating from primary school.
Generally a different specialized Éducateur will teach each subject at a collège, for students of different age groups. Ultimately, the goal of collège is for pupils to master the ten key competences of the "Common Core of Knowledge and Skills", which includes Soliçian, Mathematics, Social Studies, Civics, Life and Earth Sciences, Physics and Chemistry, Arts, Physical Education, Technology, and at least one modern foreign language (often Lunderfrausian or Produese). Pupils also have opportunities to explore optional courses including ancient languages or vocational training.
Over the fifth year of collège, Douzième, at the end of each unit of a course, pupils take graded tests out of twenty points. At the end of this year, final exams are taken. The average of these results gives a final grade. Pupils require an average of at least 10 out of 20 to graduate collège with the Brevet, Meronnia's first educational certification. Particularly high marks result in receiving a Brevet with a "Mention". Above 12 is Mention assez bien, above 14 is Mention bien, and above 16 is Mention très bien.
The final two years of collège split into two streams. Most collèges offer both streams, though some are specialized for one. The École Préparatoire stream academically prepares students to study at Lycées or Académies. The Écoles Professionnelles stream is intended to lead into Écoles Techniques following graduation. In practice a student can take either stream, but some particularly exclusive académies may only accept students who earned a Brevet in the École Préparatoire stream.
The years of collège are Huitième/H (10), Neuvième/N (11), Dixième/DI (12), Onzième/O (13), and Douzième/DO (14).
École Supérieure
École Supérieure follows Collège, and is the final division of Meronnia's mandatory education system. This division is divided into three streams with distinct academic institutions and facilities. Écoles Techniques are intended for students who do not plan to continue into higher education, and focus on vocational and professional education and training. Lycées are seen as the standard for higher secondary education, and a large majority of students in Meronnia will attend a Lycée. Académies are prestigious and academically exclusive, and tend to lead to the most access to more exclusive higher education courses.
Study at an École Techniques generally takes three years, at the end of which students receive a Brevet de Technicien (BT) vocational qualification based on their course grades over their final year. Students who graduate with a BT may later apply for short-term (usually one year, rarely two years depending on vocation) study to gain the Brevet de Technicien Supérieur (BTS).
Study at a Lycée or Académie generally takes four years. At the end of the final year, students take a set of examinations to obtain Meronnia's primary academic qualification - the Baccalauréat, often colloquially known as the bac. Entrance to most higher education institutions has the baccalauréat as a requirement, and some exclusive courses may have specific grade requirements. The baccalauréat tends to come with an attached series of mentions which includes mentions section, which highlight high grades in specific course sections, mentions réalisation, which highlight specific achievements (often extracurricular), and mentions bien, a grade honours system similar to the Brevet. Académies also have an jury académique which awards mentions jury to particularly successful students.
Students who fail their baccalauréat exams have the option to sit for épreuve de rattrapage, supplemental examinations which can raise the overall weighted grade. Additionally, individuals may enter as a candidat libre to attain the baccalauréat without affiliation to a school, an option generally used by students who formerly failed their studies or by Écoles Techniques students who later wish to attend higher education.
The years of École Supérieure are ES Troisième (15), ES Seconde (16), ES Première (17), and for Lycée and Académie students ES Terminale (18).
Higher Education
Enseignement Supérieur is the Meronnian term for all forms of tertiary or higher education. The Office National de l'Enseignement Supérieur (ONES) oversees all Meronnian institutions of higher education and certifies the qualifications they offer.
Though sometimes differently named, tertiary qualifications in Meronnia fall into four categories. The Certificat is a generalized term for a number of different post-school qualifications that are considered below the equivalent tier of a License. The other three types of qualification are generally measured by the amount of crédits académiques standard (CAS) required to attain them (the standard in Meronnia is for one year to include courses worth 80 CAS, split among two semesters).
The License equates to a Bachelor's Degree in other countries, and generally takes three years to attain (that is, it requires 240 CAS). The Diplôme equates to a Master's Degree in other countries, and generally takes two years to attain following studies for a License (400 CAS total). Finally, the Doctorat is the highest level of formal education, and generally takes three years to attain following studes for a Diplôme.
The Licence Professionnelle is a License-level qualification offered at polytechniques, the highest general qualification available in vocational education. While the Baccalauréat is required for other studies at the License level, students holding a Brevet de Technicien Supérieur are able to obtain a License Professionnelle. The License Professionnelle coursework generally includes apprenticeship, and attaining this qualification is mandatory to work in a few fields, for example electricians.
Broadly, there are three types of higher education institutions. Polytechniques include a wide range of institutions offering certificats and licenses professionnelle in many subjects, predominantly vocational subjects. The Universities include many hundreds of institutions that offer qualifications at all levels. There are Communal, Private, and Parochial universities in Meronnia, but most are part of the National University Network, a large system of federal universities which have no student fees. Uncommonly, Meronnia's universities tend to be much smaller and more numerous, rather than centralized. Large cities might have ten or more general universities, though many share and commonly operate more specialized and higher-level courses.
Finally, the Grandes Écoles are the most selective and academically advanced institutions of the Meronnian education system. They have highly competitive admission requirements which often include interviews and entry examinations. While Universities tend to be comprehensive, offering courses in a number of different subjects, Grandes Écoles are more specialized. The Grandes Écoles are mostly private and predate the National University Network, though there are a handful of institutions that have come into public ownership that maintain their position.