Follow Greece Investment Immigration and Greek Education: Preschool education lasts for 2 years. Primary education lasts for 6 years, starting at age 6. Secondary education is divided into two stages: junior high school and senior high school, each lasting 3 years. This is followed by higher education. Compulsory education begins in primary school and continues until the completion of junior high school.
The purpose of primary education is to cultivate students' national, religious, and moral values, provide training in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and develop oral and written language skills. Primary schools offer 11 subjects, including religion, Greek language, history, geography, environment, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and civic education. In 1980, there were 9,583 primary schools with 910,576 students.
After graduating from primary school, students proceed directly to junior high school without an entrance examination. The main task of junior high school is to provide general education. Junior high schools offer 16 subjects, including religion, ancient Greek literature, modern Greek, mathematics, geography, physics, chemistry, biology, and anthropology. All three grades of junior high school include technical courses; the third grade includes educational and vocational guidance courses; and the first and second grades include home economics for female students. In 1980, there were 1,326 junior high schools with 406,374 students.
After completing junior high school, students can either enter a 2-year secondary vocational and technical school or take the national unified senior high school entrance examination to enter a senior high school. Senior high schools are divided into two categories: general senior high schools and vocational and technical senior high schools. General senior high schools offer 15 compulsory subjects and 5 elective subjects. In 1980, there were 842 general senior high schools in the country with 207,346 students. Vocational and technical senior high schools offer both general courses and vocational and technical courses, allowing students to either enter the workforce or continue to higher-level institutions upon graduation.
Higher education institutions in Greece are divided into two categories: universities and higher technical colleges. Students must pass an entrance examination to enter higher education institutions. University studies last for 6 years. In 1980, there were 13 universities and equivalent institutions with 128,000 registered students. Higher technical colleges mainly provide higher vocational and technical education, with a typical duration of 2 to 3 years. In 1980, there were 25 such schools with 33,000 students.
In addition to public schools, there are also private schools in Greece. Their funding comes from the organizations or individuals running them, as well as student tuition fees. Private schools are supervised by local educational inspectors affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The organization, curriculum, examinations, student promotion and graduation, and teacher assessment of private schools must all comply with the relevant regulations of the Ministry of Education.