The Ukrainian educational system combines the features inherited from the Soviet Union with the quest for national revival. Article 29 of the Law on Education outlines the following types of education: preschool, general secondary, extra school, vocational technical, higher, post-graduate, aspirantura, doctorantura, and self-education.
Preschool education is optional. It is provided by nursery schools, which cater to the needs of infants from six weeks to three years old, and kindergartens for children from three to six years old. General education is represented by primary, basic (incomplete) secondary, and complete secondary schools, which usually coexist under the same roof. Basic secondary education is compulsory and requires three or four years of primary school plus five years of secondary school. Students who intend to continue their studies can follow one of three main tracks: they can pursue their studies on the upper secondary level (grades 10 and 11), enter a vocational secondary school, or apply to a higher educational institution of the first or second accreditation level (technicum or college). The third and fourth accreditation levels of higher education are represented by institutes, academies, conservatories, and universities. They require complete secondary education as a prerequisite for entry. Aspirantura and doctorantura provide postgraduate education, which leads to the defense of a dissertation and advanced scholarly degrees of Kandydat nauk and Doktor nauk.
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