section_path: Demographics/Education
section_name: Education
paragraph_text: Education
  
  Education is predominantly public, run by the Ministry of Education. Preschool - kindergarten education is compulsory and provided for all children between three and six years old, after which school attendance is also compulsory until the age of sixteen. Primary education usually lasts for eight years. Secondary education includes three traditional types of schools focused on different academic levels: the Gymnasium enrolls the most gifted children and prepares students for university studies; the secondary vocational schools for intermediate students lasts four years and the technical school prepares pupils for vocational education and work. The system is partly flexible and bridges exist. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study rated 13–14-year-old pupils in Hungary among the best in the world for maths and science.
  
  Most of the universities are public institutions, and students traditionally study without fees. The general requirement for university is the Matura. The Hungarian public higher education system includes universities and other higher education institutes that provide both education curricula and related degrees up to doctoral degree and also contribute to research activities. Health insurance for students is free until the end of their studies. English and German language are important in Hungarian higher education; there are a number of degree programmes that are taught in these languages, which attracts thousands of exchange students every year. Hungary's higher education and training has been ranked 44 out of 148 countries in the Global Competitiveness Report 2014.
  
  Hungary has a long tradition of higher education and an established knowledge economy. Several universities are among the oldest in continuous operation in the world, including the University of Pécs (founded 1367), Óbuda University (1395), and Universitas Istropolitana (1465). Nagyszombat University was founded in 1635 and moved to Buda in 1777, and it is called Eötvös Loránd University today. The world's first institute of technology was founded in Selmecbánya in 1735; its legal successor is the University of Miskolc. The Budapest University of Technology and Economics is considered the oldest institute of technology in the world with university rank and structure, its legal predecessor the Institutum Geometrico-Hydrotechnicum was founded in 1782 by Emperor Joseph II.
  
  Hungary ranks fourth (above neighbour Romania, and after China, the United States and Russia) in the all-time medal count at the International Mathematical Olympiad with 336 total medals, dating back to 1959.