Country's educational system

WHAT IS THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM?

Each country has their own specific rules regarding education and how it is organized. The educational system regulates the path and requirements of each stage of education. It is commonly divided formally into such stages as preschool or kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and then college, university, etc.

In the majority of cases, schools and universities follow the local country's educational system. Then the rules of that country abide. However, some schools and universities, eg. the international ones, realise a different method of education, following the foreign educational system. Common examples are British schools that have the British Curriculum.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Short version - you will be asked to get formalities, eg. the legalization or apostille, from the country's authorities in which educational system your school operates.

Depending on the educational system your school or university follows, appropriate country's rules apply. This usually refers to the formalities you should prepare eg. legalization or apostille. If your school or university follows the local system, it usually does not make a big difference for you as all the stamps and attestations can be obtained from local authorities. However, if you live in country X, and you study in an international school that follows the educational system of the Y country, then the legalization or apostille will have to be obtained from country Y, not X.

EXAMPLES:

1. In a school that follows the local Guatemalan educational system, you are a student in Guatemala, and then all the formalities eg. legalization, will be issued by local authorities.
2. You are a student of a British high school located in Guatemala, which follows the British curriculum. Since documents issued by UK authorities require an apostille, you will have to send your documents to the appropriate authority in the UK.
3. You study in New York (USA), in a school that follows the Indian educational system. Since India signed the Hague Convention Foreign Public Documents, you will have to get an apostille from India.