Education is universal and mandatory through the secondary level.  Under former President Niyazov, the total duration of primary and secondary education was reduced from 10 to 9 years.  President Berdimuhamedov restored 10-year education as of the 2007–2008 school year. Effective 2013, secondary general education in Turkmenistan was expanded to three-stages lasting 12 years: elementary school (grades 1–3), high school – the first cycle of secondary education with duration of 5 years (grades 4–8), and secondary school (grades 9–12).