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EDUCATION
Formal schooling in the country begins at
pre-school level at the age of ve, followed
by six years of primary education. After the
primary school assessment at the end of Year
6, students will proceed to secondary (tertiary)
level.
Secondary education is divided into lower
secondary level and upper secondary level.
The lower secondary level covers two years
of common curriculum – Year 7 and Year 8.
Students then sit for the student progress
examination and proceed to the upper
secondary level.
The upper secondary level is split into three
programmes. The rst programme is the
General Secondary Education Programme, split
into two categories: Express (two years) or
Normal (three years). The second programme,
Applied Secondary Education Programme,
lasts for three years. In both programmes,
students sit for the Brunei Cambridge General
Certi cate of Education (BC GCE) ‘O’ Level and
International General Certi cate of Secondary
Examination (IGCSE).
The third programme, Special Applied
Programme, follows a different pathway.
Students enrol into Pearson Business and
Technology Education Council Programme
which gears students towards vocational
and technical education. Students with
special needs and learning dif culties have a
curriculum adapted to their abilities based on
the individualised education plan and remedial
education plan.
There are about 46 private education
institutions providing kindergarten and primary
education, and about 118 government education
institutions all over the Sultanate which have
been divided into six different clusters.