Education in Vulshain
Education in Vulshain is quite unique, setting it apart from its western neighbor, Laiatan.
Contents |
School Year
In Vulshain, the school year extends from early-September to early-July. The school calendar is standardized throughout the country, and is the sole domain of the Ministry of Education.
In May schools need time to organise the exams, so all schools and universities give students two weeks off in mid or late May so students can start preparing for finals, while teachers and professors can start setting the exams up.
School Uniforms
Unlike Laiatanese schools where only private schools have school uniforms, Vulshainian schools have uniforms, regardless if they are private or public. While the uniforms vary from school to school, most are modeled after the school uniforms used in Japan.
Regardless of what type of uniform any particular school assigns its students, all schools have a summer version of the uniform (usually consisting of just a white dress shirt and the uniform slacks for boys and a reduced-weight traditional uniform or blouse and tartan skirt with tie for girls) and a sports-activity uniform (a polyester track suit for year-round use and a t-shirt and short pants for summer activities).
Boy School Uniforms
The color for school uniforms for boys is normally black, but some schools may use navy and dark blue as well.
The top has a standing collar buttoning down from top-to-bottom. Buttons are usually decorated with the school emblem to show respect to the school. Pants are straight leg and a black or dark-colored belt is worn with them. Boys usually wear penny loafers or sneakers with this uniform. Some schools may require the students to wear collar-pins representing the school and/or class rank.
The second button from the top of a male's uniform is often given away to a female he is in love with, and is considered a way of confession. The second button is the one closest to the heart and is said to contain the emotions from all three years attendance at the school.
However, other schools follow a more Western-pattern parochial school uniform styles. These uniforms consist of a white shirt, tie, blazer with school crest, and tailored trousers (often not of the same color as the blazer) for boys.
Girl School Uniforms
The sailor outfit is a common style of uniform worn by female middle school students, traditionally by high school students, and occasionally, primary school students. While other schools use parochial uniforms, which consist of a white blouse, tie, blazer with school crest, and tartan culottes or skirt for girls, the vast majority of Vulshainian schools use the sailor suit, or some variation consisting of a mixture of the two styles.
Most high school students will wear the parochial uniform styles as a way to symbolize adulthood. In fact, a Laiatanese businessman once said that it was actually quite easy to find which school his daughter when she was part of a foreign exchange program was attending as each school has its own unique style of uniform. No two schools have the same style of school uniform. While there maybe some similarity between uniforms, there is always several differences, be it color, length of the skirt, necktie, etc.
Common colors are navy blue, white, grey, light green and black.
Shoes
In the classroom, Vulshainian students are required to take off the shoes they wear outdoors and put on a kind of soft slipper meant to be used only indoors.
School Grades
The year structure is summarized in the table below. Again, unlike Laiataneses, who use the term elementary school, Vulshainians use the term primary school instead.
| Age | Grade | Educational establishments | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-4 | Kindergarten | ||||||
| 4-5 | |||||||
| 5-6 | |||||||
| 6-7 | 1 | Primary school Compulsory Education | |||||
| 7-8 | 2 | ||||||
| 8-9 | 3 | ||||||
| 9-10 | 4 | ||||||
| 10-11 | 5 | ||||||
| 11-12 | 6 | ||||||
| 12-13 | 1 | Junior high school / Lower secondary school Compulsory Education | |||||
| 13-14 | 2 | ||||||
| 14-15 | 3 | ||||||
| 15-16 | 1 | High school / Upper secondary school |
College of technology | ||||
| 16-17 | 2 | ||||||
| 17-18 | 3 | ||||||
| 18-19 | University: Undergraduate |
National Academy |
Medical School Veterinary school Dentistry School Pharmaceutical School National Defense Medical College |
Community College Vocational School | |||
| 19-20 | Associate | ||||||
| 20-21 | |||||||
| 21-22 | Bachelor | ||||||
| 22-23 | Graduate School: Master |
National Academy: Master | |||||
| 23-24 | Master | ||||||
| 24-25 | Graduate School: Ph.D |
National Defense Academy: Ph.D |
Medical School: Ph.D Veterinary School: Ph.D Dentistry School: Ph.D Pharmaceutical School: Ph.D | ||||
| 25-26 | |||||||
| 26-27 | Ph.D | ||||||
| 27-28 | Ph.D | ||||||
