Slovakia has a free education system based on 10 years of compulsory school attendance.

School system is divided into:

• first grade of primary school- age 6 to 10, works as platform for next studies
• second grade of primary school- age 10 to 15, after first grade students can apply on 8 years long high school, or continue in additional 5 years long second grade of primary school.
• 8-years long high school studies- age 10 to 18, if student successfully manage to get to this programme, he can get higher level of education, finishing in graduation
• 4-years long high school studies- age 15 to 19, students that successfully finished theirs second grade of primary school can apply for 4 years long high school studies. This is also higher and more general curicullum.
• middle technical, industry or art school- age 15 to 19, not so skillful students from second grade of primary school often go to middle schools. This schools don't have to offer high school diploma.

Since around 1990, Slovakia has had some serious problems with financing education in general. Lack of money causes that teachers are often not very professional, since they have really low salaries compared to some other professions, but also in absolute figures (average monthly salary is something about 14 000 SKK, i.e. app. €350).

See also: Comenius University

Besides that Slovakia has a very high level of educated individuals. Some high schools are specialized in math or programming, for example Gamca or GJH.

In Slovakia, the brightest students from elementary schools are advancing to highly-selective high schools called Gymnazium. These high schools are known for their rigorous academic programs; the students that attend them later continue their education at the university level. (What the students learn there is similar to American preparatory schools.)

The high schools that are the most competitive are usually located either in Bratislava or other main cities. The most prestigious high schools are Gymnázium Vazovova, Gymnázium Metodova, and Gymnázium Tomášikova in Bratislava and Gymnazium Šrobárova in Košice. These three schools annually accept less than 12% of the applicants. The top graduates of these schools continue their education at the law school, the school of medicine and the school of economics; a few of them have been accepted to the some of the best undergraduate institutions in the world, including Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.