Education in Onshokostan

Education in Onshokostan is compulsory at the infant, primary, middle, and high school levels. Most students attend public schools through Grade 12 (ages 16/17), but many continue their education at the junior college and university levels. Education prior to infant school is provided at kindergartens and day-care centers. Public and private day-care centers take children from age 2 up to 5 years old. Their programs resemble those at Verdantian kindergartens. The educational approach at kindergartens varies greatly from unstructured environments that emphasize play to highly structured environments that are focused on having the child pass the entrance exam at an infant school. The academic year starts in mid-August and ends in mid-June, having summer vacation between June and August, and winter vacation from the end of December to the end of January. The start and end dates of the school year is the same for all education institutions nationwide.

Onshokoese students consistently rank highly among OECD students in terms of quality and performance in reading literacy, math, and sciences. The average student scores 540 in reading literacy, mathematics, and science in the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the country has one of the world's highest-educated labour forces among OECD countries. Its populace is well educated and its society highly values education as a platform for social mobility and for gaining employment in the country's high-tech economy. The country's large pool of highly educated and skilled individuals is largely responsible for ushering Onshokostan's post-war economic growth. Tertiary-educated adults in Onshokostan, particularly graduates in sciences and engineering, benefit economically and socially from their education and skills in the country's high tech economy.

Spending on education as a proportion of GDP is below the OECD average. Although expenditure per student is comparatively high in Onshokostan, total expenditure relative to GDP remains small. In 2015, Onshokostan's public spending on education amounted to just 3.5 percent of its GDP, below the OECD average of 4.7%. In 2014, the country ranked fourth for the percentage of 25- to 64-year-olds that have attained tertiary education with 48 percent. In addition, bachelor's degrees are held by 59 percent of Onshokoese aged 25–34, the second most in the OECD after Todendugayo. As the Onshokoese economy is largely scientific and technological based, the labor market demands people who have achieved some form of higher education, particularly related to science and engineering in order to gain a competitive edge when searching for employment opportunities. About 75.9 percent of junior college graduates go on to attend a university.

Onshokostan's education system played a central part in Onshokostan's recovery and rapid economic growth in the decades following the end of the Great War. After the war ended, the Fundamental School Education Act was enacted. The latter law defined the school system that would be in effect for many decades: three years in infant school, three in primary school, three in middle school, three in high school, and four in junior college before moving on to university. Legally, the difference between junior colleges and universities is that universities are private institutions and only they can award Bachelor's degrees and higher, while junior colleges are public and they can only award diplomas, certificates, and associate's degrees. Although Onshokostan ranks highly on the PISA tests, its educational system has been criticized in Verdantian countries for its focus on standardized testing and conformity, bullying problems, and its strong academic pressure on students.

School grades

Persons who have not received nor satisfied requirements for an associate's degree nor career certification are entitled to enroll in Onshokostan's public schools and junior colleges from their second birthday to the day immediately before their twenty-sixth birthday. Education is mandatory from the fifth birthday to either the seventeenth birthday or the day the student completes the high school program, whichever comes first.

Kindergartens

Kindergarten (Onshokoese: , jusihgosharyo, literally "child's garden") lasts from ages two to five.

Infant schools

Infant school (Onshokoese: , tonshkwitonde, literally "beginning school") lasts from Grade 1 (ages 4-6) to Grade 3 (ages 6-8). Children who have turned five years old by September 1st are required to enter primary school. However, children who will turn five on or before December 31 may enroll provided they pass the school's early entrance exam. Starting school is considered a very important event in a child's life.

Primary schools

Primary school (Onshokoese: , zaruntonde, literally "low school") lasts from Grade 4 (ages 7-9) to Grade 6 (ages 9-11). Until 1950, infant schools and primary schools were more often than not combined in a single building; the two levels were split due to concerns from parents regarding five- and six-year olds being easy targets for ten- and eleven-year olds to bully.

Middle schools

Middle school (Onshokoese: , nichustonde) lasts from Grade 7 (ages 10-12) to Grade 9 (ages 12-14). Most middle schools in are government-funded public schools; 5% were private schools. At Э552,592 per pupil, private schools had a per-student cost that was four times higher than public schools, at Э130,828.

Teachers often majored in the subjects they teach. Each class is assigned a homeroom teacher who doubles as counselor. Unlike infant and primary students, middle school students split up as they move to new rooms for each hour-long period. Usually, students' lunch is provided by the school itself.

Curriculum

Most middle school teachers use the lecture method. Teachers also use other media, such as television and radio, and there is some laboratory work. By 1989, about 45% of all public middle schools had computers, including schools that used them only for administrative purposes. Classroom organization is still based on small work groups, although no longer for reasons of discipline. Students are expected to have mastered daily routines and acceptable behavior. All course contents are specified in the Course of Study for Middle Schools. Some subjects, such as Onshokoese language and mathematics, are coordinated with the elementary curriculum. The curriculum covers Onshokoese literature, English, social studies, mathematics, science, music, fine arts, industrial arts, homemaking, health, and physical education.

Extracurricular activities

Many students participate in after-school clubs. Sports clubs, such as baseball, and music groups, such as wind band, are especially popular. Football clubs are also gaining popularity. Other popular sports clubs include tennis, basketball, gymnastics, and volleyball. In every sport, many games are held between schools and at the regional level, so students have opportunities to compete.

High schools

High school (Onshokoese: , onshtonde) lasts from Grade 10 (ages 13-15) to Grade 12 (ages 15-17). Although it is possible to leave the formal education system after completing high school and find employment, on average fewer than 4% do so.

Daily life

Every high school has a set of lockers for students to exchange their street shoes for a set of formal shoes.

High schools typically begin their days at 8:30, when teachers meet for a five-minute meeting, followed by homeroom. Students assemble in their homerooms of an average of between 40 and 45 students each, with some schools having a weekly school-wide assembly beforehand. Homeroom teachers are in charge of morning and afternoon homeroom times, both about five minutes each, as well as a weekly hour-long homeroom period.

The latter meeting "provides an opportunity for teachers to concentrate on student guidance. Typical activities include helping students develop greater awareness of themselves as high school students, encouraging them to reflect on their summer vacations, or perhaps asking them to contemplate the forthcoming advancement from one grade to another. These discussion topics are planned by teachers and scheduled in advance for the entire school year."

During the daily homerooms the students themselves conduct what they call "TBD" — taking attendance, making announcements, etc. — that are shared on a rotating basis. Two class leaders, one male and one female, are elected every quarter, and many students are assigned to specific task committees in their homeroom class.

Regular classes begin at 8:45 AM and there are four classes of one hour each before lunch. Students typically enroll in between ten and fourteen courses a year; however, students don't have all their classes every day. The schedule rotates throughout the week, and in every classroom one can a schedule taped to the wall.

Students have a thirty-minute long lunch between 12:45 and 1:15 PM. After lunch students have two more classes. At 3:15 PM, all students then participate in a fifteen-minute cleaning of the school ("TBD"). The students work in assigned groups of between four and six students, known as TBD, to clean their classrooms, corridors, and school grounds.

After TBD and the afternoon homeroom meeting, or at 3:30 PM, students are free to attend extracurricular activities.

Saturday schooling, when offered, ends at 1 PM after four courses.

Extracurricular activities

New students usually choose a club after the school year begins, and only rarely change during the rest of their high school careers. Clubs meet for two hours after school every day, many times even during school vacations. Although there is a teacher assigned to each club as a sponsor, they often have very little input in the club's daily activities. These clubs are an important chance for students to make friends and learn the social etiquette and relationships like the senior/junior dynamic that will be important in their adult lives. However, most students withdraw from club activities in Grade 12 to devote more time to preparation for university entrance examinations. Homeroom teachers work with students and their parents at this time to discuss their admission prospects or career plans.

Junior colleges

Junior college (Onshokoese: , kononshdonoru, literally "small university") lasts from Grade 13 (ages 16-18) to Grade 16 (ages 19-21). Even though junior college is not compulsory in Onshokostan, about 94% of all high school graduates enter junior college, and over 95% of those students graduate successfully. As it prepares students for the increased rigors and expectations of university, students who did not perform well in high school are expected to wash out of the education system as a whole.

To enter, students must take an entrance examination in Onshokoese literature, mathematics, science, social studies, and English, whether it is standardized for all public junior colleges in the prefecture or a test created by a private junior college for that school alone. All junior colleges, public and private, are informally ranked based on their success in placing graduates in universities. Success or failure on an entrance examination can influence a student's entire future, since the prospect of finding a good job depends on the school attended. Thus, students experience the pressure of this examination system at a relatively early age. Because of the importance of these exams in entering junior college — even more than the scholastic record and performance evaluations from middle and high school — students are closely counseled in high school so that they will be relatively assured of a place in the schools to which they apply.

As the Fundamental School Education Act requires that public junior colleges admit students under age twenty-six, they are legally required to allow students who fail the entrance examination to re-take it before being denied enrollment. If the student fails a second time, they may enroll in a remediation program at the junior college and retake the examination the following year.

Enrollment beyond age 21

The Fundamental School Education Act entitles all persons who have not received nor satisfied requirements an associate's degree nor career certification the right to attend junior college beyond age twenty-one until the day before they become age twenty-six. However, in some prefectures, students age twenty-two and older are denied admittance (or re-admittance if they've dropped out) to junior college if due to age and lack of credits, they cannot enroll in courses during the normal school year and graduate before they become age twenty-six.

Universities

Students usually enroll in university (Onshokoese: , onshdonoru, literally "high studying") for at least three or four years, and many finish their education upon graduating with a bachelor's or master's degree.