Facts about Germany 2015 2015 | Page 114

112 | 113 EDUCATION & KNOWLEDGE TOPIC ATTRACTIVE SCHOOL SYSTEM In Germany responsibility for the school sys- general-education and vocational schools. In tem is primarily with the 16 federal states. general, school attendance is compulsory for This is why there are different education sys- all children from the age of six for a nine-year tems and plans, along with different types of period. At the same time the promotion of ear- school. The Standing Conference of the Minis- ly education at pre-school age and its inter- ters of Education and Cultural Affairs of the locking with primary schooling is a high-pri- Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany ority issue in education policy. 10,000 all-day (KMK) guarantees the conformity or compar- schools now have a firm place in the education ability of the education programmes and the system. It is expected that teaching in these certificates awarded. In the 2014-5 academic schools will result in an increased level of year there were almost 11 million pupils equal opportunities, especially for children attending from educationally deprived backgrounds. 44,880 general-education and vocational schools, with 795,600 teachers giving instruction. Furthermore there are some Attendance at state schools is free of charge. 969,000 pupils enrolled at 6,620 private The school system is divided vertically into three levels: primary education and secondary education levels I and II. As a rule, all GLOBAL children attend a primary school, which lasts from Year 1 to 4 (in Berlin and Brandenburg PISA survey Published in late 2013, the fifth Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) comparative survey conducted by the OECD revealed that for the first time schoolchildren in Germany were well above the OECD average in all subjects. Among other things, this success is thanks to the extensive measures taken by the Federal Government and the states to improve education. The next PISA survey will be  published in late 2016. 1 to 6). Subsequently there are three standard → oecd.org/pisa hensive schools – three of the curricula and curricula: the secondary general school curriculum (Years 5 to 9 or 10), the intermediate school curriculum (Years 5 to 10, “Mittlere Reife” or middle school diploma) and the grammar school curriculum (Years 5 to 12 or 13, general higher education entrance diploma; or Abitur). These are taught either in separate types of school or in schools which combine two or – as in the case of comprefacilitate switching between the different types of school. The names of these types of school vary depending on the state; only grammar schools (Gymnasium) are known