Education in Belgium

The federal government plays a very small role: it decides directly the age for mandatory schooling and indirectly the financing of the communities.

The different stages of education are the same in all communities: Free pre-primary schooling (Dutch: kleuterschool; French: enseignement maternel; German: Kindergarten) is provided to every child from the age of 2 years 6 months.

The aim of pre-school is to develop, in a playful way, children's cognitive skills, their capacity to express themselves and communicate, their creativity and independence.

Primary education is divided into three cycles (Dutch: graden; French: degrés): While some notable exceptions exist,[3][4] education in primary schools is rather traditional: it concentrates on reading, writing and basic mathematics, but also touches already a very broad range of topics (biology, music, religion, history, etc.).

Flemish schools in Brussels and some municipalities near the language border, must offer French lessons starting from the first or the second year.

There are also some private schools set up to serve various international communities in Belgium (e.g. children of seafarers or European diplomats), mainly around the larger cities.

The first cycle provides a broad general basis, with only a few options to choose from (such as Latin, additional mathematics and technology).

This mix between compulsory and optional lessons grouped in menus, makes it possible to keep class structures even for the oldest students.

The 4 major exceptions to this rule are those wanting to pursue a degree in: The registration fee for any university or college is fixed by the government of the French-speaking or the Dutch-speaking community, and indexed annually.

For example, a student with a mathematics candidate diploma was often allowed to start in the third year of computer science class.

Since the adoption of the Bologna process in most European countries, the higher education system in Belgium follows the Bachelor/Master system: After obtaining a master's degree, talented students can pursue research projects leading to a doctorate degree.

[7] The United Nations Education Index, which is measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment ratio, ranks Belgium on the 18th place in the world as of 2011.

A 2007 study found that violence experienced by teachers in francophone Belgium was a significant factor in decisions to leave the teaching profession.