Education in Elothnin

Elothninian schoolboys grudgingly broadening their horizons

The educational system of Elothnin is unique in many respects. It is characterized simultaneously by its egalitarian and stratified implementation: primary education is mandatory and available to all Elothninian children, but access to higher education and the quality and focus of education in general seems to vary greatly along class lines.

Primary Education
One of the major gains of Assiold II's reign was the establishment of public schools which were free and accessible to the entire population of Elothnin. This especially impacted the rural areas in the Fethil and Perejin, which had historically had little to no interaction with the education system.

The public system, in its current incarnation, mandates that all children between the ages of 8 and 15 must attend school 3 days a week and that children should be literate, have a working knowledge of mathematics, and be familiar with the history and culture of their homeland by the time they reach the age of majority. The actual implementation of this system, however, differs widely between wealthy and poor children. Less well off students generally attend rustic schoolhouses (see left) for half the day, and then go to work on farms or in factories, depending on their location. Schooling in their case is considered a nicety at best and a nuisance which interferes with their economic obligations at worst.

Children from a more privileged background, however, often receive a more thorough and longer education. Most have tutors prior to age 8, who help the children develop their academic skills early on. The parents of these children often request a waiver from attending public school, and educate their children with tutors through all of their primary education. Therefore, they are exposed to a broader range of topics in more detail. Additionally, the children of particularly prestigious families (specifically royals or vassals bound for a life at court) usually spend the last half of their education away from home. They are generally sent to either Opleneer or Neerhemhind where they receive training in etiquette, art, dancing, grooming, and sometimes dueling in addition to the more mundane and pragmatic subjects.

Higher Learning
In addition to publicly executed primary education, Elothninians have the opportunity to attend various universities, which specialize in the academic pursuit of many esoteric topics. The two primary universities of note are Opleneer University, which is committed to the arts and humanities, and Gimmelthorpe University (see right) in Neerhemhind, whose great strength is in the hard and social sciences. There are a number of other smaller colleges strewn about the empire, but those in the know generally consider believe that they produce hack academics obsessed with trivial and vain research exploits.

Though the universities do not require a tuition to be paid per se, and are thus technically available to the economically disadvantaged, it is customary to donate a large sum of money upon enrollment. In practice, the attendees of these institutions are overwhelmingly the youngsters sent here for preparatory training plus a few exceptional bright commoners (Phinneas Flumpert is one such case). The result is that those getting the free ride often emerge as the most driven and successful academics, while the rest squander the opportunity only to fall into the hedonistic revelries of the court.