Education
What rank for mean years of schooling does Denmark achieve?
Denmark
The Danish education system provides access to primary school, secondary school and higher education. All college and university education in Denmark is free of charges; there are no tuition fees to enroll in courses. Students in secondary school or higher and aged 18 or above may apply for state educational support grants, known as "Statens Uddannelsesstøtte (SU)" which provides fixed financial support, disbursed monthly. The Education Index lists Denmark 16th in 2011 based on mean years of schooling (of adults) and expected years of schooling (of children). Primary school is known as the folkeskole. Attendance at primary school is not compulsory, but most Danish children go to primary school for 10 years, from the age of 6 to 16. Whilst attending a primary school is not compulsory, receiving education at primary school-level is and must be provided for nine years. There are no final exams, but pupils in primary schools can choose to go to a test when finishing ninth grade. The test is obligatory if further education is to be attended. Pupils can alternatively attend a private independent school (), or a private school () – schools that are not under the administration of the municipalities, such as Christian schools or Waldorf schools. Following graduation from primary school, there are several educational opportunities; the Gymnasium (STX) attaches importance in teaching a mix of humanities and science, Higher Technical Examination Programme (HTX) focuses on scientific subjects and the Higher Commercial Examination Programme emphasizes on subjects in economics. Higher Preparatory Examination (HF) is similar to "Gymnasium (STX)", but is one year shorter. For specific professions, there is the vocational education, training young people for work in specific trades by a combination of teaching and apprenticeship. Danish universities and other higher education institutions offer international students a range of opportunities for obtaining an internationally recognised qualification in Denmark. Many programmes may be taught in the English language, the academic lingua franca, in bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, Ph.D.s and student exchange programmes.