Brussels

Education

The Brussels school system teaches approximately 35,000 students who live in the Brussels Capital Region. Schooling is compulsory from six to 15 years of age, while nearly all children start with nursery and kindergarten. This system is fairly successful, considering the virtually nonexistent illiteracy rate among Brussels adults, which is practically unheard of, even in other advanced societies. Classes are taught in French, Dutch, and German, and some schools teach a combination of these languages in order to prepare students for the international European business scene. Both public "official" schools and private "free" schools (Catholic) are financed by the Brussels government, which has come under scrutiny from those who advocate the separation of church and state, religious and secular lives. The government has recently started an Internet system called BRUNETTE (Brussels Network for Telematics in Education), connecting all schools to the Internet with advanced technology.

Brussels has been a major center of learning since the Middle Ages and hosts eight major universities and numerous technical and vocational colleges. The Free University of Brussels was originally created to alleviate the Catholic rule over education in the country. It is separated into two almost completely different institutions, one French-speaking and the other Dutch-speaking. The constitution guarantees the freedom of choice of education, which draws foreign students seeking refuge from educational, political, and religious persecution in their own homelands.