Education in Margate

Education in Margate is provided primarily by state schools, with the the few private schools open primarily catering to foreign nationals.

The Ministry of Education controls the overall administration, development and strategic aims of education in the Republic's state schools, and also mandates certain policies to be implemented in private schools. There are variations in the type of education received at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, with the aim of developing a workforce with diverse skills and 21st century-relevant skills. The Margatian education system is ranked as one of the top few in the continent, thanks to the implementation of teaching styles that emphasise depth of understanding over breadth as well as compulsory teaching of life skills and emphasis on personal development.

History
Before voting to join Sherby Hoodwounds in 1921, education was primarily provided by private schools, and attended by children of the upper class or wealthy. The colonial government of the High Penguin Confederacy cared little about providing education to the primarily migrant population, with subsidies generally only given to the wealthier High Penguins. Education back then for most of those who did go to school was mainly up to the secondary level equivalent of today's modern education, and was taught in Penguinian. Further education meant that one would have to attend a boarding school or university overseas. A few schools were opened for the local Zhouese, Male and Hindian migrants, but these were usually funded by the local communities themselves, and curriculum based off whatever was being taught in their countries of origin. As a result, education remained unstandardised and the populace as a whole remained uneducated.

After joining the Principality of Sherby Hoodwounds in 1923, state-funded education for all finally taking root. The Sherbian administration, having promised basic primary education for all races and genders during the League of Antarctic Nations referendum in 1921, set to work on building state schools and enrolling as many children as possible. The Sherbian education model was based off the Permish model of education, which consisted of 6 years of primary education and 5 years of secondary education, which can still be seen in the education system of today. Classes were taught in a variety of mediums and schools primarily catered to those of the same race, and although the Sherbian government heavily subsidised primary education, it dragged its feet on the provision of secondary education for all up to Margatian independence in 1963.

Post independence, work began on properly educating the populace to prepare to create a workforce ready for the manufacturing economy. Subsidies for secondary school education began in 1967, and from 1969 onward education was allocated the second-largest share of the governmental budget, a practice that still continues today. It was also during the post independence period when the government established the Bilingualism Policy. This mandated the use of English as the main language of instruction, while making the learning of a second language, usually one's mother tounge (based off their ethnicity), compulsory. Where curriculum had previously been taught in one of the five languages - English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil or Penguinian, by 1978 all schools had switched over to using English as the main medium of instruction, although some schools, owing to their heritage and history, mandate students to offer their second language at the Higher level, or only offer one type of second language course, typically Chinese.

Educational reforms came in 1989, where the curriculum was changed to reduce rote learning and promote content understanding rather than memorisation, and again in 1999, and 2010. The education system now offers more pathways for students who are not as academically inclined or only become so at a later age, and aims to prepare students for the future economy.

Educational Policies
Education in Margate is very much still academically oriented, in spite of ongoing reforms. The six strategic goals set down by the Margatian government in 2016 aims for students to, at the end of their education journey through the public school system (a period lasting 12-14 years):


 * 1) Be knowledgeable in a variety of subject areas, including the sciences and humanities
 * 2) Be able to engage in critical and creative thinking
 * 3) Be able to collaborate and communicate with others meaningfully
 * 4) Be aware of and able to engage with others of different cultures and social status
 * 5) Be technologically competent and aware of changing technologies
 * 6) Be able to adapt to the economy of disruption through building a habit of lifelong learning

Primary Education
Compulsory education for all begins the year they turn 7, although most parents typically send their children to kindergartens and daycare centres from early as the age of 2, where they are exposed to basic maths, language skills in both English and their mother tongue language of choice, and are taught basic social and play skills. Curriculum before formal education starts has been heavily toned down since 2015 to promote play-based learning and social interaction as the focus of kindergarten education.

All children are sent to nearby primary schools within a kilometre of their home, or the nearest public school in the case of low-density housing estates, regardless of their parents' social status or wealth, in order to promote mixing of children hailing from different social classes and ethnic backgrounds. Pupils generally are sorted into their classes randomly, with only ethnic and gender quotas to ensure an even mix of students in each class - there is no entrance testing or academic sorting for the first 2 years.