A- 11 B+, 10 B, 9 B- 8 C+, 7 C, 6 C- 5 D+, 4 D, 3 D- 2 E 1 EDUCATION SYSTEM
A system culminating in A levels was discontinued in 1989. The main structural changes were to extend primary education by one year to eight years (completed about aged 14) and to reduce secondary education from six to four years. The medium of instruction is English. The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), which is administered by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC), is sat in the fourth year of secondary education. The examination is taken in seven subjects. ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION
Access to HE in Kenya is on the basis of the KCSE examinations. The overall minimum grade required for admission is C+. Admission is regulated by an aggregate of points accumulated from specified subject clusters appropriate to the intended degree course. Points are awarded for four subjects on a scale of A12 ... C+ 7 ... E 1. Cut-off points scores vary from 31 for the Bachelor of Science (Agriculture), a four-year general degree, to 47 for the Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery or the Bachelor of Pharmacy. Admission to non-university HE studies is on the basis of KCSE for post-secondary programmes. Apprenticeship programmes are organised by industries for their employees. Progression depends on passing a government trade test at various levels.
Kuwait
This entry was reviewed for the 2015 qualifications guide. EVALUATION
Shahadat-al-thanawia-al-a’ama (General Secondary School Certificate)
Acceptable at 60% or better in lieu of GCSE on a subject for subject basis (except English language).
Would need to be supplemented by GCE A levels, Scottish Highers or Advanced Highers, or a bridging course. GRADING SYSTEM
The grading varies between subjects; the maximum and minimum marks per subject are shown on the certificate. The main Grading System generally used by HEPs is:
Grade Percentage Result
A 100–90 excellent
B 89–80 very good
C 79–70 good
EDUCATION SYSTEM
Education in Kuwait is compulsory from grade 1 to 10 (age six to 16), following a 5+4+3 system – five years elementary, four years intermediate and three years at high school. Intermediate education culminates in the Intermediate School Certificate. To progress to secondary education, students must achieve a minimum of 50% in Islamic education, Arabic, English language, mathematics, science and social studies. Secondary schooling lasts for three years, with all final three years being streamed. The General Secondary School Certificate is awarded provided students achieve the pass mark of 50% in all subjects. Arabic is the medium of instruction and English language is compulsory throughout school education, commencing in the first grade.
There are numerous private schools in Kuwait which, while not free, are generously subsidised.
ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION
Kuwait has one state university, several technical schools, with private universities recently established. Admission to the university is on the basis of the General Secondary School Certificate. Individual departments set their entry requirements in the examination as a whole (e.g. 85% in medicine), and in addition require a competitive university entrance examination. The bachelor’s degree would usually take four years, except in engineering and pharmacy (five) and medicine (seven).
Latvia
This entry was last reviewed prior to 2010. EVALUATION
Atest ¯ats par vispārējo vid ējo izglītību (Certificate of General Secondary Education)
May be acceptable for entry to higher education, with the exception of English language skills, which should be tested separately.
Considered to be comparable in standard to GCE AS/ Scottish Higher.
GRADING SYSTEM
Centralised exams are marked A–F. For HE accession, usually grades A–D are needed. In general, the grading system for subjects appearing on the Certificate of General Secondary Education (Atestāts par vispārējo vid ējo izglītību) is as follows:
10 izcili (with distinction) 9 teicami (excellent)
8 ,Ioti labi (very good) A
7 labi (good) B
6 gandrīz labi (almost good)
5 viduvēji (satisfactory) D
4 gandrīz viduvēji (almost satisfactory) E lowest pass mark
3 vāji (weak)
2 ,Ioti vāji (very weak) 1 ,Ioti, ,Ioti vāji (very, very weak)
The mark 8 indicates that the knowledge and skills acquired correspond fully to the expected maximum level. Marks 9 and 10 are evidence of knowledge and skills substantially higher than expected at the appropriate level of learning and are therefore somewhat like A+ and A++.
EDUCATION SYSTEM
Two year compulsory pre-school education is provided from the age of five. Nine year compulsory basic education begins at age seven, with four years of primary education, followed by five years of lower secondary education. The language of instruction at basic level is either Latvian or Russian. At age 16, after completion of compulsory education, students may choose to continue education at upper secondary level. There are two types of upper secondary education programme; general secondary and vocational secondary education and training programmes. The compulsory curriculum of three-year general secondary schools (vidusskola, ģimnāzija), determined by the National Standards, is available in the following profiles: general comprehensive; humanities/social; mathematics/natural sciences/technical; vocational/professional (arts, music, business, sports). General secondary education is aimed at students wishing to pursue their studies to HE level, and comprises eight compulsory and four to seven elective subjects according to the requirements of the chosen profile. Upon graduation, students have to take at least four centralised national school leaving examinations. Since study year 2008/2009 graduates must also take a mandatory centralised state exam in mathematics. The Certificate of General Secondary Education (Atestāts par vispārējo vidējo izglītību) and a certificate of the centralised exams passed detailing scores is awarded to all students who have received passing final marks in all the subjects studied according to their chosen profile, as well as a positive assessment in the national examinations. Vocational education and training programmes have also been developed, with the majority of schools providing three- and four-year vocational education and training programmes at upper secondary level. Students of four-year programmes have the opportunity to combine the acquisition of vocational qualifications with general secondary education. The number of general education subjects integrated in the four-year vocational educational curricula qualifies the graduates to enter tertiary education programmes.
The secondary vocational education programme culminates in five centralised school leaving
examinations. One of these is a national qualification or national examination. The remaining four are held in compliance with the terms of general secondary education acquisition. Among graduates of vocational education and training programmes, only holders of a Certificate of Vocational Secondary Education (Diploms par profesionalo vidējo izglītību) are eligible for access to tertiary education.
ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION
The certificate of general secondary education (Atestāts par visp ār ējo vid ējo izglītību) or secondary vocational education (Diploms par profesionalo vidējo izglītību) give the right for entry to HE.
The admission procedure may vary, depending on the level of student demand for a certain programme, ranging from one to four competitive entrance examinations, to a ranking of applicants by results of centralised national school-leaving examinations, or final marks in subjects relevant to the programme. As of October 2006, students who have either completed their upper secondary education prior to 2004, or acquired their education abroad or been exempted from national centralised examinations due to health
reasons are not required to demonstrate centralised examination certificates. The admissions board may conduct interviews. HE institutions establish their entry requirements for the next academic year by 1 November of the current year.
The HE system is binary. Academic programmes are based on fundamental and/or applied science and comprise a thesis at the end of each stage. The Bakalaurs (bachelor’s) degree is awarded at the end of the first stage, and Maģistrs (master’s) degree is awarded at the end of the second stage. The Maģistrs degree or equivalent is required for admission to doctoral studies. Since the year 2000, professional degrees can also be awarded. The Diploma of first level professional HE/college
programmes is the Diploms par pirmā līme,na profesionālo augstāko izglītību and Diploma of second level professional HE is called Diploma of Higher Professional Education (Profesionālās augstākās izglītības diploms).
Lebanon
This entry was reviewed for the 2015 qualifications guide. EVALUATION
Baccalauréat
Acceptable at a mark of 11 or better in lieu of GCSE on a subject for subject basis (except English language). Would need to be supplemented by GCE A levels, Scottish Highers or Advanced Highers, or a bridging course. GRADING SYSTEM 20–18 excellent 17–15 very good 14–12 good 11–10 pass 9–0 fail EDUCATION SYSTEM
Six years of primary education is followed by three years of intermediate and three years of upper secondary education. The Baccalauréat is taken at the end of year 12. The medium of instruction in state schools are Arabic/ French or Arabic/English.
ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION
The Baccalauréat may satisfy university entrance requirements in Lebanon, but for some institutions there may also be an entrance examination. The American University of Beirut (AUB), which is linked to New York State University, also requires an English language test and the AUB Scientific-Quantitative General Test for admission to a four-year first degree.
Liechtenstein
This entry was reviewed for the 2015 qualifications guide. EVALUATION
Berufsmaturität
BTEC National Diploma standard. May be considered to satisfy the general entrance requirements of UK HEPs.