Education System Australia

Education System in Australia

Australia is a vibrant economy and a rich cultural melting pot. One of the cornerstones of the development of the once penal colony is the system of education in Australia. There are many rules regarding schooling in Australia and it is these rules that help keep the country moving forward towards greatness and further prosperity.
School attendance in Australia is compulsory to children from five years of age. It is mandated that all citizens and residents are to receive eleven years of compulsory education. With these particular rules, the adult literacy rate in the country is at a high 99%. After the basic education of eleven years, the country has many government funded universities and educational institutions. This has allowed many individuals to enjoy higher education and degrees that can help not only themselves but also their families.
Aside from university education, there is another set of options for education in the country. There are many schools in Australia called TAFE Institutes. These institutions are college level educational systems that provide apprenticeship programs for individuals to train them towards an economic skill needed in the workplace. As of 2009, more than half of Australians between the ages of 25 and 64 have earned vocational qualifications. With both university training and vocational training available in schools in Australia, this has made the country a favored destination for students and other immigrants from all over the world.
After learning about the kinds of schools in Australia, the educational system in the country is primarily governed by individual states and territories in the Australian confederation. The model followed by the country is a three-tier model, with eleven years of primary and secondary education soon followed by tertiary education. The normal school year in Australia runs from January to December for primary, secondary and TAFE education. As for tertiary level schools in Australia, the schedule opens in February and closes in November.
As for the aspects of reporting and assessment, this has been standardized in primary and secondary levels throughout the continent. The grading system has been simplified as follows:
a) A (Excellent) - 85 and above;
b) B (Good) - 70 to 84;
c) C (Average) - 50 to 69;
d) D (Fail) - 25 to 49;
e) E (Failure) - 0 to 24.
The High School Certificate has mandated minimum requirements and depends largely on the legislation per state. Each state has a different set of requirements and is administered by the state's education authorities. In order to obtain the coveted certificate, each subject taken in schools in Australia would be counted to determine the Tertiary Entrance Rank of the individual student. Equivalencies are important to ensure that the individual complies with the minimum requirements set by the state.
As for the tertiary level schools in Australia, the system is built upon the percentage of maximum raw marks obtained by the individual student. This is the system adhered to by many universities to comply with legislated policies. The highest distinction grades are obtained only by at most 5% while fifty percent would receive a basic passing grade. As for those who fail, their grades are not scaled since grade point averages are not always used at the tertiary level.
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By Jose Marc Castro.