Primary education covers phase 1 of the ISCED scale.

National approaches Africa

Angola

Ghana

Ivory Coast

Kenya

Libya

1st grade: 6 to 7 years old 2nd grade: 7 to 8 years old 3rd grade: 8 to 9 years old 4th grade: 9 to 10 years old 5th grade: 10 to 11 years old 6th grade: 11 to 12 years old 7th grade: 12 to 13 years old 8th grade: 13 to 14 years old 9th grade: 14 to 15 years old

Morocco

crèche (0–3 years old) École maternelle (pre-school)toute petite section (2–3 years old) Cycle I petite section (3–4 years old) moyenne section (4–5 years old) grande section (5–6 years old) (September - January) Cycle II grande section (5–6 years old) (February - July) École primaire (primary/elementary) CP (cours préparatoire) (6–7 years old) CE1 (cours élémentaire 1) (7–8 years old) Cycle III CE2 (cours élémentaire 2) (8–9 years old) CM1 (cours moyen 1) (9–10 years old) CM2 (cours moyen 2) (10–11 years old) Collège (11 – 15 years old - junior high school) Brevet diploma Lycée (15 – 18 years old - senior high school) Baccalauréat diploma

Mozambique

Somalia

In Somalia, pupils start primary school when they are 7 and finish it at the age of 11 starting from form 1 to form 4. Pupils must firstly have attended casual school known as dugsi and learnt the Muslim holy book Qur'an, and the meaning of the Arabic language. Pupils who had not done this are not permitted to start primary school as they will be examined before starting. Pupils' age may sometimes vary seeing that some pupils achieve higher than their predicted grade and may skip the year while some require to repeat the year if they had not achieved the grade required from them. After finishing primary, students move to intermediate school.

South Africa

Tanzania

Tunisia In Tunisia pre-school education (3–6 years) is optional and provided primarily in three settings:

Kindergartens:socio-educational institutions that come under the supervision of Ministry of culture.

Kouttabs:religious institutions also cater for children between 3 and 5 years of age. Their task is to initiate them into learning the Quran as well as reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are under the supervision of the Ministry of Religious Affairs

Preparatory year: It is also an integral part of basic education but it is not compulsory. It is supervised by the Ministry of Education and is provided in public, private and quasi-public primary schools

9 years of basic education are compulsory.

Kindergarten (optional): 5–6 years 1st grade: 6–7 years 2nd grade: 7–8 years 3rd grade: 8–9 years 4th grade: 9–10 years 5th grade: 10–11 years 6th grade: 11–12 years 7th grade: 12–13 years 8th grade: 13–14 years 9th grade: 14–15 years

Uganda

Asia Bangladesh In Bangladesh, students attend primary schools for six years. Primary/secondary education in Bangladesh is segregated as Primary (Pre school 1 Year + Class 1 -5), Junior High School (Class 6 - Class-10) and Higher Secondary or intermediate (11th and 12th Class) are as follows :

Preschool: 5 years.-6 years. (optional) Class 1: 6-7 Class 2: 7-8 Class 3: 8-9 Class 4: 9-10 Class 5: 10-11

After completing primary education students join junior high school (Class-6 to Class-10) and sit for S.S.C (Secondary school certificate) Exam Class 6: 11-12 Class 7: 12-13 Class 8: 13-14 Class 9: 14-15 Class 10: 15-16

H.S.C (Higher Secondary Certificate) Class 11: 16-17 Class 12: 17-18 Class 13: 18-19

China

Hong Kong In Hong Kong, students attend primary schools for the first six years of compulsory education.

Indonesia The Indonesian term for elementary school is "sekolah dasar" and it consists of six grades.

India In India, elementary schools provide education from Class 1 to Class 8. The children in these classes are generally aged between 6 and 15 years. It is the next stage after kindergarten (Pre-Nursery, Nursery, Prep or Lower Kindergarten and Upper Kindergarten). The next stage after primary education is Middle School (Class 7th to 10th). In most schools in North India, children in Classes 1st to 3rd are taught English, Hindi, Mathematics, Environmental Science, and General Knowledge. In class 4th and 5th the environmental science subject is replaced by General Science and Social Studies. However some schools may introduce this concept in Class 3 itself. Some schools may also introduce a third language in Class 6th or even in Class 5th. Sanskrit, French language and local state language are the most common third languages taught in Indian schools. At some places, primary education is labeled as the education of Class 3rd to Class 5th and up to class 2nd as pre-primary education. This is because many new concepts are introduced in this class. Children are taught painting instead of drawing and colouring, exams are taken, and Word Sum Puzzle in maths are introduced along with geometry.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is the apex body for school education in India.India 2009: A Reference Annual (53rd edition), 233 The NCERT provides support and technical assistance to a number of schools in India and oversees many aspects of enforcement of education policies.India 2009: A Reference Annual (53rd edition), 230–234 In India, the various bodies governing school education system are:

The state government boards, in which the majority of Indian children are enrolled. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board. The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board. The National Institute of Open Schooling. International schools affiliated to the International Baccalaureate Programme or the Cambridge International Examinations. Islamic Madrasah schools, whose boards are controlled by local state governments, or autonomous, or affiliated with Darul Uloom Deoband. Autonomous schools like Woodstock School, Auroville, Patha Bhavan and Ananda Marga Gurukula.

Primary/secondary education in India is segregated as Primary (1st standard to 5th standard), Upper Primary (6th standard to 8th standard), Lower Secondary (9th standard to 10th standard), and Higher Secondary (11th and 12th standard).

Kindergarten: nursery - 3 years, Lower Kindergarten (LKG) - 4 years, Upper Kindergarten (UKG) - 5 years. These are not mandatory as per government rules but are recommended before joining 1st standard. 1st Standard: 5 years or 6 2nd Standard: 7 years 3rd Standard: 8 years 4th Standard: 9 years 5th Standard: 10 years 6th Standard: 11 years 7th Standard: 12 years 8th Standard: 13 years 9th Standard: 14 years 10th Standard: 15 years 11th Standard: 16 years 12th Standard: 17 years

Iran There are 6 years of education in primary school from ages 6 to 12 years old (new educational system).

Primary school is required by law in Iran. There are many free public schools for students to attend, and they can also choose to attend private schools with high tuition fees. There are also 'Nemuneh Mardomi' schools, which are considered by some to be better than public schools and less expensive than private schools, however they are very difficult to get accepted into. In order to attend 'Nemuneh Mardomi' schools you must take an entrance exam, which is used to identify the best students. This is a very competitive and stressful process for students.

Israel

Daycare (optional): 4 months-1.5 years Preschool: 2 yr.-6 yr. (optional for 2 yr.) Kindergarten or Pre-1A: 5-7 Class 1: 6-7 Class 2: 7-8 Class 3: 8-9 Class 4: 9-10 Class 5: 10-11 Class 6: 11-12 Class 7: 12-13 Class 8: 13-14 Class 9: 14-15 Class 10: 15-16 Class 11: 16-17 Class 12: 17-18

Some schools include classes 7 and 8 as elementary school; some include them as high school.

Japan Kindergartens nursery schools are private institutions and attendance is not mandatory.

Nursery School / Kindergarten (Junior): 3- to 4-year-olds Nursery School / Kindergarten (Intermediate): 4- to 5-year-olds Nursery School / Kindergarten (Senior): 5- to 6-year-olds Elementary School Grade 1: 6- to 7-year-olds Elementary School Grade 2: 7- to 8-year-olds Elementary School Grade 3: 8- to 9-year-olds Elementary School Grade 4: 9- to 10-year-olds Elementary School Grade 5: 10- to 11-year-olds Elementary School Grade 6: 11- to 12-year-olds Middle School Grade 1: 12- to 13-year-olds Middle School Grade 2: 13- to 14-year-olds Middle School Grade 3: 14- to 15-year-olds High School Grade 1: 15- to 16-year-olds High School Grade 2: 16- 17 to Year-olds High School Grade 3: 17- to 18-year-olds

English has become a compulsory subject at primary schools in Japan, since April 2011 in order to compete with other Asian countries in English proficiency; Japanese students have among the lowest English TOEFL scores in Asia.

Malaysia In Malaysia, the first six years of compulsory formalised education take place in primary schools, and starts at the age of seven.

Primary education is compulsory in Malaysia. Children spend 6 years in primary schools. In 6th year, students sit for a national standardized test known as the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR, Primary School Achievement Test).

Level One

Kindergarten: age 5 - 6

Standard 1: age 7 Standard 2: age 8 Standard 3: age 9

Level Two

Standard 4: age 10 Standard 5: age 11 Standard 6: age 12 (UPSR: Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah or Primary School Achievement Test)

After completing Standard 6, students go on to secondary schools.

Lower Secondary

Remove Class / Kelas Peralihan : age 13 (optional for Chinese educated students coming into secondary schools so they will be a year older when they start Form 1) Form 1: age 13 Form 2: age 14 Form 3: age 15(PT3: Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3 or Lower Secondary Evaluation)

Upper Secondary

Form 4: age 16 Form 5: age 17 (SPM: Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or Malaysian Certificate of Education) Form 6 (Lower): age 18-19 (optional) Form 6 (Upper): age 19-20 (optional)

Next, the students will be moving on into universities or college

Pakistan

In Pakistan, children aged between 3–6 years begin attending Pre School which is not mandatory but recommended by the government and private education sectors.

The Pre-School is associated with the Early Years of Education (EYE) programme which is basically consists of initial three years of education starting from Play or Pre Nursery Class students age 3+ and Nursery Class Students age 4+ and Prep Class Students age 5+. The most private school have varied classes names for Pre School Classes I-e, Nursery, Kindergarten-1 and Kindergarten-2. Whereas, some other private schools names pre school classes like Nursery, Kindergarten and Prep.

Primary Education is free and mandatory by the Government of Pakistan in the Provincial Government and Federal Government Public Schools. The government obliged parents to enrolled their children in the schools. The student age should be 5 to 6 years when admitted in class 1. Besides Government Schools there are many Private Schools who provide Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary education at a higher cost.

The Primary education in Pakistan is 5 years of education program starting from Class 1 to 5. The elementary school is called middle school in which classes 6 to 8 are taught. The high school is two years of education called Metric which consists of classes 9th and 10th. The students after passing the 10th year of education from Board of Secondary Education examination (BSEE) OR Secondary School Certificate (SSC) often called out matriculate. The 11th and 12th years of education classes mostly held in Higher Secondary Schools or at Colleges situated in the jurisdiction of the Board Of Intermediate Education (BIE). The classes called 1st Year and 2nd Year of Intermediate level at colleges. After that students are allowed to go to universities for their bachelor's degree in respective subjects.