Republic Education

Education in the Republic of Biesel is decentralised, with planetary, regional governments, and the private education sector expected to organise education that adheres to the federal government’s standards and inspections.

Curriculum, educational pathways, and assessment material can all vary, but is evaluated and approved by the federal government who recognise any certifications and qualifications thereof. A few small components of the education system have been set in place by the federal government, such as Republic core subjects, strong accommodations for non-humans, and the rare federal financial incentives and regulations. In the megacorporate-dominated economy of the Republic, the megacorporations also play a major role in education, with a significant number of learners receiving private education with one of the megacorporations.

Across the Republic of Biesel, an academic year has been standardised to start on the 15th of September and end on the 15th of July. Attendance between the ages of 6 and 16 (other ranges are used for aliens) are compulsory, however some local governments extend this to 18.

Cetian Model

The Cetian Model of primary to secondary education is the standard throughout the Republic of Biesel, being the model in use on both Biesel, Valkyrie, and over time adopted by other minor bodies and habitats throughout Tau Ceti. New Gibson has its own educational model for primary—secondary education, and the Corporate Reconstruction Zone still makes use of Solarian styles of education.

Education is compulsory for children between 6 and 16 years of age if human, 4—14 if tajara or unathi, and 10—40 for skrell. For diona, education is compulsory between ages 0—5 for the first nymph, with subsequent nymphs forming gestalts with the original nymph able to ‘skip’ compulsory education.

Primary School

Primary school caters to children between 6 and 12 years old (human), 4—10 years old (tajara and unathi), 10—30 (skrell), and 0—5 (diona).

Parents can elect to enroll their students year early in a ‘Preschooling Year’ at age 5 (human), 4 (tajara, unathi), or 5—9 (skrell), which is encouraged but not essential, and prepares children for proper schooling and ensures they are meeting basic arithmetic, reading, and oral language milestones — not all public primary schools provide a preschool year, however most corporate private schools do.

Primary education is responsible for early socialisation, teaching student skills to best prepare students for education ahead, and essential subjects such as mathematics, language, literacy, and local history (typically the planet, moon, or station the school is on are covered in the best depth, with Tau Ceti history touched on in some depth).

In public primary schools, it is typical for them to have mixed-classes, with all species that can be found in the Republic of Biesel sharing the same classes. A priority of these mixed-classes is to foster acceptance and understanding in the Republic’s diverse environment. Teachers are frequently alien, and so it is not uncommon for one’s early role models and authority figures in public school to be of another species. Corporate primary schools, particularly those run by NanoTrasen Corporation, differ in that they often provide additional, single-species tutoring or classes, marketing a better quality of education. Corporate schools of other megacorporations, particularly Idris Incorporated and Einstein Engines, tend to lack alien teachers, and are sometimes criticised for focusing on the learning outcomes of humans over attending aliens.

In the final year, students take the Cetian Standardised Assessment Tests (CSATs). This test cannot be failed, is independently examined, and is used only as a measure of the progress made by a student, determining the level of support needed in college or if a school is underperforming.

Skrell Scuttle Schools

Major cities, including Mendell City, have public scuttle schools that employ only skrell lecturers and take on skrell children, however outside of major cities and especially off Biesel, these skrell-tailored primary schools are scarce. As a result, many skrell aged 10 to 40 continue to be home-schooled by their quya. This is a gap in education that Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals fills with private education, with corporate scuttle schools being much more common than their public counterparts, but still only in more developed towns and cities.

College

College caters between 12 and 16 years old (human), 10—14 (tajara and unathi), 30—40 (skrell).

Colleges are responsible for the provision of a well-rounded education that prepares them for either higher education or entering the workforce, and handles both lower and higher secondary education. It is divided into the First Cycle, in which students study Republic Core Subjects and Local Core Subjects, with each school term offering a different Elective Subject for the year’s cohort. The Second Cycle follows, in which students can select three Elective Subjects per their interests to study alongside the core subjects for their eventual exams.

Republic Curriculum

Federal Core Subject	Local Core Subject (Biesel Core Subjects as example)	Elective Subject
Tau Ceti Basic Language & Literature	Biesel Geography	Tau Ceti History
Mathematics	Biesellite History	Astronomy
Combined Sciences (divided into Physics, Chemistry, Biology during the Second Cycle; students select 2 of the 3)	Finance Management & Megacorporate Studies	Computer Science
Biesellite Cultural Studies		Performance Arts
Physical Education (relegated to Elective Subjects in the Second Cycle)		Health & Social Care
One of the following Contemporary Foreign Languages: Sol Common, Tradeband, Biesel Sign Language, Elyran Standard		Economics
		Culinary Arts
		Any Other Number of Electives

Generally, the quality and richness of education is markedly better in private corporate colleges and public secondary schools tend to fall behind when it comes to learning outcomes — corporate colleges offer a greater variety of elective subjects and host more extra-curricular events. However, social environments in public schools tend to be regarded as better — more diverse student environments, more relaxed and supportive teachers — with corporate colleges often having terse student-teacher relations and competitive student-student relations. Public colleges tend to foster cooperation and support their students, whereas corporate colleges aim to create competition and challenge their students. Corporate colleges often tend to expect their students to enter a megacorporate career, with job fairs and mock job interviews a yearly occurrence, and so students who vocalise a desire not to are sometimes allowed to fall to the wayside. Public colleges on the other hand are supportive of any career outcome, with the infrequent megacorporate jobs fair or Tau Ceti Armed Forces fair.

In public colleges, students take the Cetian Assessments of College Education (CACEs) to receive a Cetian College Diploma (CCD, ‘Diploma’) in their selected subjects, graded A to E, with C as a pass. Grades are assigned after an examination of a student’s portfolio: one computer exam at the end of year for each subject which determines a base grade, which can be modified by four coursework items completed throughout the Second Cycle and a review of a student’s school notebooks and similar material during the Second Cycle. This comes with the usual pros and cons of portfolio testing — qualitative results, avenues for preferential treatment, and increased time to examine.

In corporate colleges, students take the Standardised College Tests (SCTs) to receive a Certificate of College Education (CCE) in their selected subjects, graded A to E, with C as a pass. These examinations are standardised, with students sitting two computer exams for each of their core subjects and one exam for elective subjects. This comes with the usual upside and downsides of standardised testing — quantitative results, uniformity, pressure — but often presents problems in the Republic’s diverse society which resists uniformity and where other social factors already provide plenty of pressure.

Most employers, especially megacorporate employers of course, look upon CCEs as a more valuable secondary education qualification than a Diploma for entry-level postings, and so they are often more desirable for students looking to get straight into the workforce. However, post-16 senior colleges value the Diploma more due to similarities in assessment.

In both cases, if a core subject is failed, a single repeat computer exam can be taken; failing a core subject twice sees a student required to repeat the failed subject’s course until they do pass (and paying for it, in the case of private corporate schooling), often alongside their post-16 education or employment.

Skrell Reef Colleges

Reef colleges are significantly more common than scuttle schools across Biesel and Valkyrie, though are often scarce in more rural regions of Biesel or more deprived parts of Valkyrie. They are common enough that homeschooling a skrell’s secondary education is generally not required, with few home schooling at this level. They are, for all intents and purposes, the same as Colleges in course structure and variety, however lecturers are all skrell, with non-skrell serving only in teaching support roles. Skrell students take the Cetian Skrell Assessments of College Education (S-CACE) to receive a Cetian Skrell College Diploma (CSCD, ‘Skrell Diploma’), though unlike the standard CACEs, they follow a similar standardised assessment as a corporate college’s SCTs. The Nralakk Federation only recognises a CSCD after a formal re-examination conducted by a Federation authority.

Senior Colleges

Senior colleges cater to students aged 16—18 (human), 14—16 (tajara, unathi), and 40—50 (skrell) and are responsible for preparing students for higher education or providing vocational qualifications.

At senior college, students take the Baccalaureat or ‘Bac.’. The Baccalaureat has a small roster of core subjects (mathematics, Tau Ceti Basic language & literature and philosophy), and then two streams with variable courses. Senior colleges are usually dedicated to one stream, though larger colleges may offer multiple. They are:

• General College, offering General Baccalaureats (GBac.): in addition to the core subjects, students select three subjects from a large variety of academic-focused courses (eg. Arts, Valkyrian Geography, Government & Politics, Tradeband, Chemistry, Psychology, Mechanical Engineering). A General Baccalaureat with a subject profile matching a desired university course is generally expected of students applying for university (eg. Mathematics, Chemistry, and Biology to study Medicine).

• Vocational College, offering Vocational Baccalaureats (VBac.): in addition to the core subjects, students select one course that is tailored to a profession they intend to enter (eg. Cook, Electrician, Spacefreighter Pilot). A Vocational Baccalaureat allows one to quickly enter the workforce in a desired occupation, though unlike apprenticeships are still largely classroom-based. They tend to be heavily tailored to the college’s locale.

• Combined College, where multiple streams of the Baccalaureat are offered at the same campus.

The Baccalaureat is continuously assessed by exams throughout the course, a final exam, material produced by the student, coursework, and presentations. They are graded Distinction, Merit, Pass, or Fail, and cannot be retaken.

Senior colleges suffer similar environment and culture problems as colleges, with a disparity in learning outcomes, provision of extra-curricular events, teaching support, student relations, etc. between public and corporate senior colleges.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are widely available for persons after leaving college and tend to be weighted more towards practical, on-the-job experience than classroom work. Most Vocational Colleges and universities provide easy access to potential employers, the facilities for classroom learning, and any computer examinations required throughout the apprenticeship, however many Level 1 and 2 Apprenticeships can be directly accessed from an employer.

Apprenticeships allow an individual to prepare for:

• Level 1 Apprenticeships: Vocational Diploma, which is roughly equivalent to 2/3rds of a Vocational Baccalaureat, and generally takes 1 year of study to acquire.
• Level 2 Apprenticeships: Advanced Vocational Diploma, which is equivalent to a Vocational Baccalaureate and can be accepted by universities, taking another 1 year of study to acquire.
• Level 3 Apprenticeship: Apprentice Degree, which is equivalent to a Bachelor’s in learning material.
• Level 4 Apprenticeship: Higher Apprentice Degree, which is equivalent to a Master’s in learning material.

They are graded Distinction, Merit, Pass, or Fail.

University

The majority of universities in the Republic of Biesel are private and corporate-sponsored, or entirely corporate-owned. Publicly-funded universities are generally only found in major cities and are reliant on the local government to fund.

The federal government has standardised course lengths to 3 years for a Bachelors (always with Honours; one can take their finals in their 2nd year to graduate without Honours), 2 years for a Masters, and 3 years for a Doctorate. Though, placement or other ‘extra’ years are occasionally added. Part-time studying typically doubles the length of a course. In cases like Medicine, the Bachelors and Masters may be offered in a single 5-year course.

Various federal programmes also exist which award funds or tax breaks to participating universities:

• The Republic Abroad programme allows students to study 1 year of their course in a university also participating in the programme on another planet or moon within the Republic of Biesel. The aim of the programme is to foster acceptance and mutual respect between the Republic’s various cultures and species, and to generally provide opportunities for students to see and visit another area. However, it has been criticised as a mechanism through which Biesellite cultural hegemony is established.

• Multiple equal opportunities programmes exist that expect a proportion of admitted students to be of a certain demographic — with focus on alien species. As a result of many alien species arriving without significant resources or residing in more deprived areas, the programme was devised to ensure participation in higher education for aliens remained accessible.

• Naturally, a significant amount of funding universities receives comes from federally-issued research projects, which are typically concerned with phoronic technologies (civil to theoretical to military applications), the effects of multiculturalism and, as of late, astromilitary and interstellar state rights. Many Masters and Doctorate students find themselves contributing to research or taking on projects in these fields important to the Republic of Biesel.

Degrees in the Republic are graded Fail, Pass, Merit or Distinction.

Students who join the Tau Ceti Armed Forces as reservists can also potentially have their tuition fees entirely paid off by the TCAF, contingent on active participation in reservist training and a necessary 3 years of active service (either served on graduation, or ‘owed’ down the line where the TCAF can contractually draft the individual). This was recently introduced by President Åke Torvald and the Congress of Cetian Conservatives, in response to dwindling recruitment rates.

IPCs and Education

IPCs are able to avoid conventional education through the use of datapacks, which are small chips or drives capable of uploading technical knowledge to an IPC’s positronic. Where more in-depth professional or formal education is uploaded, it is required for an accrediting body to ensure the uploaded knowledge is on par with what is expected for the field.

For IPCs owned by megacorporations and large private bodies, the matter is simple. More expensive and in-depth datapacks that are pre-accredited by a professional or government body are uploaded. The owner of the IPC needs only to upload the datapack and send off the appropriate proof of installation to the accrediting body. No examinations are required and the ordeal is over in a few business days with minimal inconvenience. If all goes well, an IPC will receive back, depending on the breadth of their datapack: Level 1 Certificate of Datapack Knowledge (CDK-1), equivalent to an Advanced Vocational Diploma and generally concerning non-academic, technical knowledge; Level 2 Certificate of Datapack Knowledge (CDK-2), equivalent to a Bachelor’s Degree; Level 3 Certificate of Datapack Knowledge (CDK-3), equivalent to a Doctorate and quite expensive.

For the average free IPC, pre-accredited datapacks are out of reach. As such, these IPCs must make do with more affordable, non-accredited datapacks, and then sit short, standardised examinations to determine if their professional datapack installed the full-breadth of knowledge required for the qualification they hope to achieve. The accrediting body will then dispense either a Positronic Vocational Diploma (PVD), equivalent to an Advanced Vocational Diploma and concerning non-academic, technical knowledge; Positronic Degree (PDeg.), equivalent to a Bachelor’s Degree; Advanced Positronic Degree (APDeg.), equivalent to a Doctorate.

For IPCs owned by individual or small private bodies and wealthy free IPCs, pre-accredited datapacks awarding Level 2 and 3 Certificates are often unaffordable due to their exclusivity. As such, these IPCs tend to only receive Level 1 Certificates concerning non-academic vocational and technical knowledge, or must take non-accredited datapacks and sit the same formalisation exams free IPCs do for Positronic Diplomas and Degrees.

Some IPCs nonetheless opt to pursue vocational or higher education conventionally, typically out of wanting to integrate into human culture and experiencing the same formational life experiences, however this is both a bit more expensive than non-accredited datapack and demands a greater level of commitment. For those that enter higher education at major universities, these academic bodies often commission course-tailored, pre-accredited mini-datapacks that supplement a positronic’s learning (though are more piece-meal than an all-in-one datapack). These mini-datapacks combined shave one year off a course, though add up to cost the same in tuition fees as the skipped year.

Vaurca and Education

Vaurcae are able to avoid conventional education through the use of Virtual Reality. Like IPCs, where more in-depth professional or formal education is uploaded, it is required for an accrediting body to ensure the uploaded knowledge is on par with what is expected of the field.

For the initial education of both Bound and Unbound vaurca, the Zo’ra Hive cooperates with accrediting bodies to ensure all VR education material is up to expectations. A vaurca’s alate sends off the appropriate paperwork related to a spawned vaurca’s initial VR education to the accrediting body who will award a certification, depending on the breadth of training: Level 1 Certificate of VR Training (CVRT-1), equivalent to basic, non-academic vocational training; Level 2 Certificate of VR Training (CVRT-2), equivalent to an Apprentice Degree, with a balance of academic and vocational training; Level 3 Certificate of VR Training (CVRT-3), equivalent to a Masters. Level 4 Certificates of VR Training (CVRT-4) are equivalent to Doctorates, with a strong focus on academia and management in their discipline, but only available to Ta.

Any additional education or training an Unbound vaurca undertakes after this requires them to a sit a short, standardised examination with the accrediting body, where either a Vaurcaesian Diploma (equivalent to a CVRT-1), Advanced Vaurcaesian Diploma (equivalent to a CVRT-3), or Vaurcaesian Degree (equivalent to a CVRT-3) is awarded. Though issued by an accredited organisation, these certifications are looked upon dubiously and not always taken at face value, as there is little to stop a vaurca from being fed examination answers over the Hivenet.

Vaurca of other Hives must also sit one of these standardised examinations to ensure any VR training received by their Hive is up to standards. This has led to a notable bias towards hiring Zo’ra vaurca, who generally hold the most robust Certificates of VR Training.

Diona and Education

Dionae are able to go either-way when it comes to education, usually depending on their views towards conventional and genetic learning.

For dionae who prefer conventional learning, nymphs can enroll separately or as a gestalt from any age to enter education as any other species would — in the case of the Cetian Model, beginning with primary school while in a nymph stage; further stages as a coeus. Conventional education can also be supplemented by genetic learning. The Eternal Temple also provides its own education to dionae as an alternative to the Cetian Model’s compulsory schooling element, and also offers approved vocational courses and apprenticeships that older dionae can pursue. Conventional education offers all of the same qualifications available to humans.

For dionae who solely utilise genetic learning, genetic material can be sourced from registered organisations or megacorporations. Genetic material (usually blood) is legally harvested and then prescribed a rough classification of the learning worth of the sample depending on the donor’s education. When a dionae believes they have absorbed enough information to qualify for a certification, they are able to sit a standardised test to determine if their new knowledge is up to standards. Depending on the breadth of knowledge, they may get a: Level 1 Certificate of Genetic Assimilation (CGA-1), equivalent to basic, non-academic vocational training; Level 2 Certificate of Genetic Assimilation (CGA-2), equivalent to an Apprentice Degree. Genetic learning is unable to qualify a diona for post-graduate qualifications, and so masters and doctorates are typically pursued conventionally.

As a significant quantity of dionae immigrate to the Republic with no prior, formal education, it is often required they sit an examination to have their breadth of knowledge formalised into an above diona or human certificate.

See Also

• Human Educational Institutions