Compulsory education is education which is required by the government, usually at the national level. Many of the world's countries now have compulsory education through at least the primary grades. Compulsory education at the primary level was affirmed as a human right in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, such mandates were unknown in Western modernity before 1819, when mandatory schooling was introduced in Prussia. It gradually spread to other countries in the 19th century, reaching the American state of Massachusetts in 1852, and quickly spreading to other US states thereafter. In Canada, although education is a provincial responsibility, compulsory education is set for ages 6 to 16.

The Aztec are thought to have had the first compulsory educational system. All male children were required to attend school until the age of 16 Mann, Charles C. New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005..

See also

• Homeschooling
• List of education articles by country

Reference