Schools and Universities in the Principality of Darren

The educational system of Darren has been highly influenced by the libertarian bent of the current leader of Darren. Since schools are not given much support by the state, there is a very wide variety of schools available for parents to choose from. These 'schools' range from unschooling ( a method of homeschooling where the children choose their areas of study) to a military academy with a strict regimented style of education. When students are 8, 12, and 15 they are given tests to indicate if they have met minimum standards in a variety of subject areas. Parents of children who do not meet minimum standards and do not have a learning disability, are heavily fined. Children may opt for a standardized multiple choice test, essay test, oral test or combination of these test types,

This variety of schooling tends to produce a wide variety of educational results. The last few generations of Darren students tend to be interested in math and science. This may be due to the drift in genetics favoring Neanderthal and Denisovian genes.

The University of Darren (U of D) is recognized worldwide for its research into the effects of radiation on humans and the environment. This specialty was emphasized after the Alice disaster. Researchers from the school have won 4 Nobel Prizes in various different scientific and medical areas. U of D draws students from throughout the world to it's environmental science, medicine and physics programs. Graduates from this program have formed numerous successful commercial ventures, including development of Amaize.

While most of the Principality of Darren students who are interested in science and medicine go to University in Darren, students interested in humanities and other fields tend to go to colleges outside of Darren. There are corporate sponsors from the various industries in Darren to help defray the costs of going to college outside of Darren. The Principality of Darren has an agreement with Canada which allows Darren students to go to Canadian schools with admissions and costs the same as a Canadian student. It is a one for one reciprocity agreement with U of D accepting a similar number of Canadian students into U of D.