THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF SELECTED COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD
Name of country Levels of education Description of each level
School education (Primary and
Secondary)
 Primary school
 Secondary school
1. Australia
 Senior secondary school
Tertiary education
1
Special features
 School education (primary
and secondary) is compulsory
between the ages of six and
sixteen (Year 1 to Year 9 or
10). School education is 13 Language of instruction
years English is the official language of
Australia and the main language of
instruction in the education system.
 Primary School
Runs for seven or eight years,
Australian Qualifications
starting at
Framework
Kindergarten/Preparatory
The Australian education system is
through to Year 6 or 7.
distinguished from many other
countries by the Australian
 Secondary School
Runs for three or four years,
Qualifications Framework (AQF).
(opens in a new window) The AQF
from Years 7 to 10 or 8 to 10.
was established in 1995 and is a
national policy that covers
 Senior Secondary School qualifications from the tertiary
Runs for two years, Years 11 education sector (higher education and
and 12. vocational education and training) in
addition to the school-leaving
 Tertiary education includes certificate; the Senior Secondary
both higher education Certificate of Education.
(including universities) and
vocational education and
training (VET).
 Primary Education
Following one year at pre-primary,
children enroll at primary school for a
further 6 years. They are required to
write national tests halfway through
this period, and at the end.
PRIMARY:
Middle Education
Primary School
The following 3 years are spent at
 The education system is largely
middle school, after which students
MIDDLE: content driven, with an
write their Brunei junior certificate of
Junior Secondary Education emphasis on students passing
education examinations. the examinations. Primary
SECONDARY: Certificate of Education
Secondary Education Examination (PCE)
Senior Secondary School
Students who obtain adequate passes
at middle school, spend 2 to 3 years at
2. Brunei Darussalam POST SECONDARY:  Brunei Junior Certificate of
secondary school accumulating
Pre-University Course Education Examination (BJCE)
sufficient O-Levels to study further.
Those who succeed, may write their
VOCATIONAL:  General Certificate of
A-Levels another 2 years later.
Technical College / Vocational School Education Examination (GCE '
O ' Level)
Vocational Education
BACHELOR:
Others who complete middle school
Bachelor
go on to vocational schools instead.  A-levels
Master
Depending on their level these are
Doctorate
called technical or craft colleges.

Tertiary Education
There are a number of lower-order
tertiary education institutions in
Brunei, including institutes, technical
colleges, training centers and colleges.

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Primary Education
Also known as elementary school, this
level runs from Kindergarten or Grade
1 (age six to seven) and runs through
to Grade 8 (ages 13 to 14). The school
year normally runs from September
through to the following June.
Secondary Education
Also known as high school, this level
runs from Grade 9 (ages 14 to 15) to
 Primary
Grade 12 (ages 17 to 18). Ontario has
3. Canada  Secondary
a Grade 12+. In Quebec, students
 Post-secondary attend high school until the age of 16.
They may then proceed to CEGEP, a
publicly-funded two-year college
where students may pursue either a
university preparation diploma, or a
vocational diploma.
Post-secondary Education
Canada has a wide network of colleges
and universities, offering some of the
best post-secondary education
worldwide.
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 Private education and other
schooling systems — for
example, religious schools —
are also available at all three
levels.
 Canada is one of the most
educated countries in the
world. In 2015, 90 percent of
people in Canada aged 25 to 64
had at least completed high
school, and 66 percent had
obtained a post-secondary
educational credential. These
figures are both above the
OECD averages of 78 percent
and 40 percent, respectively.
 Education in Canada is
available to children the year
they turn five (except in
Ontario and Quebec, where
children may start a year
earlier). Depending on the
province, kindergarten may be
optional. The table below
shows, generally speaking, the
ages between which children
are required to attend school
(note that requirements may
differ for homeschooling,
which is legal across Canada).
 Primary Education
The primary-school curriculum
consisted of Chinese, mathematics,
physical education, music, drawing,
and elementary instruction in nature,
history, and geography, combined with
practical work experiences around the
school compound. A general
knowledge of politics and moral
training, which stressed love of the
motherland, love of the party, and love
of the people (and previously love of
Chairman Mao), was another part of
Primary Education the curriculum.
Secondary Education
 Junior Secondary Secondary Education
4. China  Senior Secondary Secondary education was part of the
Vocational and Technical Education nine-year compulsory education law
that made primary education (six
years) and junior-middle-school
education (three years) mandatory.
 Junior secondary
Junior secondary education is
more commonly known as
(junior) middle school
education, it consists the last
three years of nine years
compulsory education.
Students who live in rural areas
are often boarded into
townships to receive their
education.
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 Compulsory education law:
The Law on Nine-Year
Compulsory Education (中华
人民共和国义务教育法),
which took effect on July 1,
1986, established requirements
and deadlines for attaining
universal education tailored to
local conditions and
guaranteed school-age children
the right to receive at least nine
years of education (six-year
primary education and three
years secondary education).
People's congresses at various
local levels were, within
certain guidelines and
according to local conditions,
to decide the steps, methods,
and deadlines for
implementing nine-year
compulsory education in
accordance with the guidelines
formulated by the central
authorities. The program
sought to bring rural areas,
which had four to six years of
compulsory schooling, into line
with their urban counterparts.
Education departments were
exhorted to train millions of
skilled workers for all trades

 Senior Secondary
Senior secondary education
often refers to three years of
high school (or called senior
middle school) education, as
from grade 10 to grade 12.
Normally, students who have
finished six years of primary
education will continue three
more years of academic study
in middle schools as regulated
by the Compulsory education
law at the age of twelve.
Vocational and Technical Education
The "Law on Vocational Education"
was issued in 1996. Vocational
education embraces higher vocational
schools, secondary skill schools,
vestibule schools, vocational high
schools, job-finding centers and other
adult skill and social training
institutes.
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and professions and to offer
guidelines, curricula, and
methods to comply with the
reform program and
modernization needs.
 Main features of 9-year
System:
Continuity. Students finish
education from the elementary
school to the middle school.
The principle of proximity.
Students enter into the nearby
school instead of middle school
entrance examination.
Unity. Schools which carry out
the 9-year System practice
unified management in school
administration, teaching and
education.
  Primary education (ages 5 to  Legally compulsory
11), subdivided into Key Stage education
Full-time education is
1 (KS1) Infants (ages 5 to 7)
compulsory for all children
and Key Stage 2 (KS2) Juniors
aged 5 to 18, either at school or
(ages 7 to 11)
otherwise, with a child
beginning primary education
 Secondary Education (ages 11
 Primary during the school year they
to 16), subdivided into Key
5. England  Secondary turn 5.Children between the
Stage 3 (KS3; ages 11 to 14)
 Higher education ages of 3 and 5 are entitled to
and Key Stage 4 (KS4; ages 14
600 hours per year of optional,
to 16); Key Stage 5
state-funded, pre-school
education. This can be
 Higher Education (ages 16 to provided in "playgroups",
18); and tertiary education (for nurseries, community childcare
ages 18+) centers or nursery classes in
schools.
Elementary School
Compulsory Education. Consists of
grades 1-6.
 The Japanese educational
Lower secondary school
system is supplemented by a
Covers grades seven through nine,
 Elementary School heavy emphasis on
with children typically aged twelve
extracurricular activities,
 Lower secondary school through fifteen.
6. Japan also known as shadow
 Upper secondary school
education, which are any
 Higher Education Upper-secondary school
educational activities that don't
Has a full-time, general program that
take place during formal
offered academic courses for students
schooling.
preparing for higher education as well
as technical and vocational courses for
students expecting to find employment
after graduation.

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 Higher Education
Higher education in Japan is provided
at universities (daigaku), junior
colleges (tanki daigaku), colleges of
technology (koto senmon gakko) and
special training schools and
community colleges (senshu gakko).
Infant School
Infant School
 Nursery School Many students in Korea start  Education in South Korea is
 Kindergarten kindergarten at the Western age of provided by both public
three and will, therefore, continue to schools and private schools.
Primary School study in kindergarten for three or four Both types of schools receive
 1st Grade years, before starting their 'formal funding from the government,
 2nd Grade education' in 'grade one' of primary although the amount that the
 3rd Grade school. private schools receive is less
 4th Grade than the amount of the state
 5th Grade Primary school schools.
 6th Grade In Primary education, students learn
the core subjects. The curriculum
7. Korea Middle School differs from grades 1-2 to grades 3-6  It is one of the top-performing
 7th grade OECD countries in reading
 8th Grade Middle school literacy, mathematics and
 9th Grade Middle School in South Korea marks a sciences with the average
considerable shift from primary student scoring 542. The
High School school, with students expected to take country has one of the world’s
 10th Grade studies and school much more highest-educated labor forces
 11th Grade seriously among OECD countries. The
 12th Grade country is well known for its
High school obsession with education,
Post-secondary education High schools in South Korea teach which has come to be called
students for three years, from first "education fever".
 Tertiary education (College or
grade (age 15–17) to third grade (age
University)

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 17–19), and students commonly
graduate at age 18 or 19.

Post – Secondary Education

A higher form of education that has
existed continuously in South Korea
since the 4th century.
Primary education has duration of
six years. It is compulsory for all
children aged between 7 to 12 years.
 In Malaysia, primary education
Secondary education is of five years
and secondary education make
duration, which comprises of three
up 11 years of free education.
years of lower secondary and two
years of upper secondary education.
 Students sit for common public
examination at the end of
Post-Secondary Education
primary, lower secondary, and
It is a preparatory course to pursue
 Primary upper secondary levels.
higher education at the university
 Secondary level. The basic entry requirement to
8. Malaysia  The government undertakes the
 Post-Secondary the first year of Bachelor’s degree is
responsibility of a sound
 Tertiary the total of 12 years of primary and
secondary education. education system. Pre-Tertiary
education (pre-school to
Tertiary Education secondary education) is under
At the tertiary level, institutes offering the Ministry of Education
higher education grants students with (MOE) and tertiary or higher
degrees, diplomas, certificate etc. The education is looked after by the
duration of a bachelor’s degree is 3 Ministry of Higher Education
years and courses at this level are (MOHE).
offered by both government and
private institutions, attracting a fair
amount of foreign students.

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 Early Childhood Education
 Primary And Secondary
9. New Zealand
Education
 Further Education
 Primary School Education
10. Philippines  Secondary School Education
 Higher Education
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Early childhood education
Early learning helps children to be
confident and curious about the world.
It helps your child to do better when
they go to school or kura, and it helps
them develop important skills to
 Our education system reflects
become strong, happy, and successful
our unique and diverse society,
in later life. Early Childhood
which welcomes different
Education (ECE) isn't compulsory but
abilities, religious beliefs,
around 96.8% of children attend ECE.
ethnic groups, income levels
and ideas about teaching and
Primary and secondary education
learning.
Primary and secondary schools are the
second level of education. Schooling is
compulsory from age 6-16. In the  Education in New Zealand is a
majority of schools, your child can student-centred pathway
providing continuous learning
start school on the day they turn 5
progression and choice so that
years old (they don't have to wait until
students’ progress every year,
the start of a new school year).
and their learning at one level
sets the foundation for the next
Further Education
steps along a chosen pathway.
At senior secondary school level
students may begin to specialise in
vocational learning. They can get help
into work or further education from a
number of programmes and
institutions.
Primary school education in the
 The education system of the
Philippines spans 6 years in duration
Philippines has been highly
and is compulsory for all students.
influenced by the country’s
This level of education is divided into
a four-year primary cycle and a two-
colonial history. That history
has included periods of
year intermediate cycle.

 Primary School Education
 Senior School
11. Russia
 Secondary School
 Pre-school
 Primary school
12. Singapore
 Secondary school
 College
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Secondary school education is not
compulsory in the Philippines but it is
widely attended, particularly in the
more urban areas of the country. At
this level, private schools enroll a
much higher percentage of students
than at the elementary level.
Higher Education in the Philippines
is handled by CHED. Students can
study for 4 years minimum to get a
bachelor’s degree on a particular
course.
Primary School Education
for ages 6-10
Senior School
for ages 10-15.
Secondary School
from ages 15-17.
Pre-school
Optional for ages 3 – 6 Pre-schools are
run by companies, community groups
and charities, so fees may be payable.
Primary School
Compulsory from age 7 Education at
primary level is free.
Spanish, American and
Japanese rule and occupation.
 Like the United States, the
Philippine nation has an
extensive and highly inclusive
system of education, including
higher education.
 This is one of the shortest
terms of formal education in
the world.
 Russia has one of the best
mass-education systems in the
world, producing a literacy rate
of 98% (higher than most
Western European countries).
 The system consists of
obligatory basic education and
higher education.
 Singapore attained the highest
marks in the PISA student
assessments in 2016, across all
subjects tested.
 Singapore has a huge range of
international schools, teaching
in English and other major
world languages.

13. South Africa
14. United States of America
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Secondary School
Mandatory secondary education runs
for five grades, typically from age 12
to 17.
College
After completing the mandatory stage
of education, students who want to
progress to university attend a ‘pre-
university’ centre for 2 or 3 years of
further study. Alternatively, vocational
training is offered
 You can study South African
Primary schools are generally divided
educational philosophy in
into junior preparatory schools (grades
higher education
 Primary 0-3) and senior preparatory schools
 Secondary (grades 4-7) before children attend
 Most international schools
 Higher high school (otherwise known as
teach lessons in English, with
 University education college) from grades 8-12. Many
the exception of German and
senior preparatory schools act as
French schools, which teach
feeder schools for high
bilingually.
schools/colleges.
Primary School
Around age six, U.S. children begin
primary school, which is most
 The American education
commonly called “elementary school.”
system offers a rich field of
 Primary
choices for international
 Secondary Secondary School
students.
 Higher Education Secondary school consists of two
programs: the first is “middle school”
or “junior high school” and the second  Uses the K12 Curriculum
program is “high school.”
 Higher Education
After graduating high school (12th
grade), U.S. students may go on to
college or university. College or
university study is known as “higher
education.”

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