| Education System in San Marino |
San Marino, which has the distinction of being the smallest republic in the world, is landlocked in the Italian Pennine Mountains not far from the Adriatic Sea. Here the literacy rate is 98%, and school education based on the Italian model free and compulsory from age 6 to 14. Children attend elementary school for 5 years. There is a national examination at the end of each of these, to determine whether they are ready to proceed on to the next grade.
The next 3 years are spent at middle school. This is a significant break point in a young person’s career. After this, they may legally go out to work with their basic education behind them, or they could study further to improve their long-term prospects.
Higher secondary education takes a further 5 years to complete. The qualification obtained is equivalent to an Italian secondary school completion certificate.
Young people disinterested in an academic senior school education have opportunities to attend vocational schools and adult education programs instead.
The University of San Marino was established in October 1995 to attend to the tiny nation’s tertiary education needs. It has faculties of biomedical studies, communication, economics and technology, historical studies, and law that offer programs through to master's degrees. It has a well-stocked library of over 30,000 books and 500 journals.
Amongst its treasures are two hundred Pre-18th Century Manuscripts, of which one is from the 15th Century and a further ten are deemed irreplaceable.
