Faroe Islands institutions started operating in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and developed throughout the twentieth century. The status of the Faroese language in education was a significant issue for decades, until it was accepted as a language of instruction in 1938. Initially education was administered and regulated by Denmark. In 1979 responsibilities on educational issues started transferring to the Faroese authorities, a procedure which was completed in 2002. The Ministry of Education, Research and Culture has the jurisdiction of educational responsibility in the Faroe Islands. Since the Faroe Islands is a constituent country of the Danish Realm, education in
Faroe Islands "sýslur" (similar to the British "shire": Norðoyar, Eysturoy, Streymoy, Vágar, Sandoy, and Suðuroy). Although today "sýsla" technically means "police district", the term is still commonly used to indicate a geographical region. In earlier times, each "sýsla" had its own assembly, the so-called "várting" ("spring assembly"). The Faroe Islands have been under Norwegian/Danish control since 1388. The 1814 Treaty of Kiel terminated the Danish-Norwegian union, and Norway came under the rule of the King of Sweden, while the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland remained Danish possessions. From ancient times the Faroe Islands had a parliament ("Løgting"), which was abolished in 1816,