Primary and secondary education

In Syria, primary and lower secondary education together form 1 phase: the basic phase. Since 2002, pupils aged 6 to 15 must complete the 9-year basic phase. They complete the basic phase with a central national exam for the Basic Education Certificate.

After the basic phase, students can move on to the upper secondary education. They have to choose one of the following types of upper secondary education:

• general upper secondary education, concluded with exams for a General Secondary Education Certificate; or
• vocational upper secondary education, concluded with exams for a Vocational Secondary Education Certificate.

The Basic Education Certificate is the diploma of the basic phase: primary education + lower secondary education.

• Duration i : 9 years.
• Content: general subjects, such as Arabic, a foreign language, mathematics and religion.
• Function of the diploma: access to upper secondary education.
• Diploma: Basic Education Certificate / شهادة الدراسة التعليم الأساسي.

The General Secondary Education Certificate is the diploma of general upper secondary education. Students with good results for the Basic Education Certificate usually choose this type of upper secondary education.

• Duration: 3 years.
• Content: the 1st year is an introductory year for all students. From the 2nd year onwards, they specialise: they either choose the literary section or the scientific section. In the 3rd year, students complete a national school-leaving exam.
• Admission requirements: a Basic Education Certificate.
• Function of the diploma: access to higher education.
• Diploma: General Secondary Education Certificate / شھادة الدراسة الثانویة العامة. The diploma is also called the Baccalaureate.

The Vocational Secondary Education Certificate is the diploma of vocational upper secondary education. This type of education is offered by technical schools.

• Duration: 3 years.
• Content: mainly vocational subjects with a lot of emphasis on practice. Students choose a specialisation, for example industry, trade or agriculture.
• Admission requirements: a Basic Education Certificate.
• Function of the diploma: access to secondary vocational education. In some cases, access to higher education is also possible.
• Diploma: Vocational Secondary Education Certificate / شهادة الدراسة الثانوية المهنية. The specialisation is always part of the diploma name. Therefore, the name depends on the specialisation the student has taken. For example:
  • Agriculture Vocational Secondary Education Certificate
    الشهادة الثانوية المهنية الزراعية
  • Commercial Vocational Secondary Education Certificate
    الشهادة الثانوية المهنية التجارية
  • Industrial Vocational Secondary Education Certificate
    الشهادة الثانوية المهنية الصناعية