Space Union's Education
Space Union's Educational System is an generously funded system in the entire nation, being directly overseen by the Federal Government. Considered a very high quality system in terms of education and overall teaching. But on major complaint by mostly foreigners is the level of toughness in the school, citing that children having to get at least a 84% as an overall grade to pass that class but many analyst cite this as the main reason why Space Union's educational system and graduates are some of the top and brightest in the world.
Contents
Preschool/Phase I:
Preschool or Phase I, as called in Space Union, is the beginning of the educational system and starts at the age of 3. It is required by every student and is absolutely free to the public, though, non-citizens staying in Space Union must pay a small fee to enroll in the school. At this level, Space Union children learn how to do basic reading, mathametics, writing, and skills that form the foundation for later years to build upon. There are three divisions, or classes/grades as called by other nations, in Phase I school, Division 1, 2, and 3. Phase I follows a one class/teacher system where one teacher instructs the students in all these skills all day. Students between age 3-5 attend this school. At the end of the last divisional year, students take a exam called Exam I that they must score 84% or higher to gain acceptance into Phase II or face staying behind a division.
Primary School/Phase II:
Primary, or Phase II school is the next step in the educational ladder for every student. All children are required to have taken Phase I school or passed an entrance exam (seperate from Phase I exams) to gain admission into a Phase II school. In Phase II school, students build upon their basic skills and take a wide variety of subjects. The core subjects are Science, Math, Language/Conabi, Language/English, and Social Studies. Other subjects are PE, Health, and an elective that may include early beginning of a new school. Unlike other nations, Phase II does seperate classes for each subject instead of one class/one teacher system, similar to high schools in other nations, but instead has a 8 Period-Day. Phase II schools also generally have sports and academic clubs that students are allowed to join as after-school activity or elective. Phase II is attended by students age 6-13 in Divisions 4-12, all of which is mandatory to take by all students. At the end of the last divisional year, students must pass an exam at the end of the year called Exam II and must gain 84% of higher to pass and move on to Phase III school or face staying behind.
Secondary School/Phase III:
Secondary, or Phase III school, is the next step in the educational ladder after Phase II school graduation. All students must have taken Phase III school or passed an entrance exam (seperate from Exam I or II). In Phase III school, students build upon the skills and knowledge they have learned in Phase II to finish their learning. The main difference between a Phase III school and a Phase II school is that students are no longer required to take Language/English or Language/Conabi (their choice of which one) and instead choose a foreign language to take. Foreign languages vary from Pacitalian to Dienstadi to Hindi to French. At least 4 years of one foreign language must be taken to pase Phase III school. Like Phase II school, Phase III school has an 8 Period-Day, having the five core subjects, PE, one elective, and a foreign language they may choose. The Core subjects are available in 3 forms: Regular, Honors, and Advanced Placement (AP), ordered in hardest. While Regular gives you no benefit, Honors allows you to add 0.3 to your GPA for that class while Advanced Placement allows you to take that course for college and also add 0.5 to your GPA. Extracurricular activities like sports are also heavily encouraged. Students from age 14-18 take Phase III school in Divisions 13-17. At the end of Division 17, students must take Exam III and get 84% at least to pass. Diplomas are then given out, which fall into three categories: Proficient Diploma, Advanced Diploma, or Master Diploma. Student's score on Exam III along with their entire averaged score of their entire life are average together to give the GPA. Students that have a GPA of 3.0-3.4 get the Proficient Diploma. Students with a GPA of 3.5-3.9 get an Advanced Diploma. Finally, students that get a GPA of 4.0 or above (in some circumstances) get the Master Diploma. A diploma is mandatory to leave Phase III school and gain admittance in an Institution.
Institution:
Institutions are the next step in Space Union education after graduating from Phase III school. It is similar to colleges and universities in other nations, being the place where students become specialized. In Institutions, sutdents begin to specialize their subjects and classes based on what career they will take, no longer having to take any core subject unless on their own, though, Mathematics is required no matter what. Space Union's Institutions are one of the world's best in terms of education having a huge sum of foreign students trying for admission within Institutions. Students being to take subjects based on their future goals like if they wish to be doctors they will take Medical Science or Advanced Chemical Medicines courses. But unlike other colleges in the world, Institutions have a set time of the day that students must attend similar to Phase I, II, and III schools, but Institutions generally start later, like at 10:00 being the norm across the nation. Generally, Institutions are broken down into 4 domains (similar to divisions), which are attended to by students 19-23 years old. At the end of the 4th Domain, students must pass an Institutional Exam, which they must score higher than 85% to pass. Based on their score and GPA of all years of education, colleges give out three degrees: the Knight Degree, Master Degree, and the Grand Degree. The Knight Degree is the minimul degree you need to go to Advanced Institutional School, you must have a GPA of 3.0-3.4 to get it. Master Degree is obtained by having a GPA of 3.5-3.9. Finally, the Grand Degree is a degree that must be obtained by getting a GPA of 4.0. Once Institution has been completed, students no longer have to go to any more schools and instead can apply for jobs in the real world, especially ones with Grand Degrees, which allows them to gain well paying jobs without going to Advanced Institutions.
Institutions are also extremely expensive for their extrordinary education, making it hard for parents to send students through them even if they are quite well off. So the Space Union government gives off many Student Loans for any amount that will be payed off once the person gains a solid job and finishes his/her education. This has allowed almost everyone in Space Union to go to an institution no matter what there background is, making Space Union one of the most enticing "Land of Oppurtunity" nations in the world.
Advanced Institutions:
Advanced Institutions is the last step in the educational system of Space Union (the last step in the public system, though, there are more places to go for higher education, albeit those are private and far more expensive, though). In Advanced Institutions, students submit what job/career they wish to take and a schedule with all the courses nessessary for that career and given to him/her. In almost everyway, Advanced Institutions are similar to Institutions, to the point that many are run by the same organization as an Institution. This is the equivalent to a post-graduate school in other countries, though, more specialized and focused. Students must take this for 4 years in Domains 5-9 from ages 24-28. Once they finish Domain 9, they must take an Advanced Institutional Exam which they must score at least 87% on to pass. If they do not, they must repeat the last year again until they do pass it. It is not uncommon to see this happen, a large majority must repeat the last year at least once more, but in the long run this help solidify all their learnings further. At the end of the year, the school averages the Advanced Institutional Exam along with all the previous exams from Exam I to Institutional Exam and then average all the grades together from Division 1 to Domain 9. Once both are done, the two statistics are average together to give the Grand GPA or GGPA, as called by officials. Based on this, the Advanced Institution gives three degrees: the Silver Degree, the Gold Degree, and the Platinium Degree. The Silver Degree is aquired by having a GPA of 3.0-3.4 and is equivalent to higher than a Bachelors degree in other countries. A Gold Degree is aquired by having a GPA of 3.5-3.9 and is the equivalent of higher than a Masters degree in other nations. Finally, the highest and one of the most prestigious degrees in the world to have is the Platinium Degree which is aquired by having a perfect GPA of 4.0. and is equivalent to higher than even a PhD. If aquired, this degree will allow you to have any job in the world because of its sheer prestige and rarity. Only 1 out of 10,000 Space Unionist has one of these.
Budget and Staff:
The Space Union education system is very well funded at around 6% of its Gross Domestic Product, giving it significant resources at its disposal. For that reason, Space Union's educational system is able to hire some of the best teachers for its schools. This is one of the reasons why the educational system is considered one of the greatest in the world.
