Side by Side: How Many Years of School Does the Law Require?
A forged graphic in Manila this week abolished two years of senior high school by fake decree, so it is worth asking how many years governments make compulsory in the first place.
On 20 October a forged graphic under the Philippine presidential seal announced the end of grades 11 and 12 (today’s Tea has the rest). The real Philippine requirement is 13 years, second in Asia in UNESCO’s 2020 figures. Hence one table, one year and one unit for every passport at the desk: how many years of school does each government make compulsory?
Israel
Fifteen years, the longest in Asia and two more than the Philippines. Israel keeps its pupils in school longer than it keeps most of its coalitions in office.
United Arab Emirates
Twelve years. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain each require nine and Oman ten, so the Emirates ask for at least two more than any Gulf neighbour in the table. The country that builds upward has also built the tallest school requirement on the peninsula.
Saudi Arabia
Nine years, level with Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain and three behind the Emirates next door. The kingdom is drawing up cities for the next half century under a school law that, on paper, is done in nine.
Pakistan
Twelve years, the most in South Asia: four more than India, one more than Sri Lanka, three more than Nepal and seven more than Bangladesh. Islamabad has written the longest requirement in the region. Building schools to the same length is a separate ledger, kept by a separate ministry.
India
Eight years, the fewest of any focus country here. It is still two more than Singapore, which requires six and is not generally accused of neglecting its pupils. India requires the least and can point, if pressed, at the city state.
China
Nine years, the same as Japan and South Korea. Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul disagree about history, islands, fishing grounds and export controls, and agree to the year on when a child may legally stop.
Japan
Nine years. The statute stops there; the entrance examinations take over, and they have never needed a law to keep anyone at a desk.
South Korea
Nine years, which makes the legal requirement the shortest part of a Korean education. UNESCO counts the years of school and keeps no column for the evenings after it.
Verdict
Israel requires the most and India the least among the focus countries, and Singapore’s six suggests the number in the statute mostly measures the statute. The Gulf splits three ways between nine, ten and twelve, while East Asia settles on nine and competes over everything that comes after. Pakistan and the Philippines wrote long requirements into law, which is what made the second one worth forging. Of every government in the table, the only one shortening school by decree this week did not exist.