Education in the Syrian Arab Republic is given the necessary attention and care by the Syrian state, as the Syrian Constitution guarantees the right to education to every citizen, which is compulsory and free at primary level. It is free but not compulsory at the secondary level and higher education is available for a symbolic fee. the primary level includes 2 stages, 1 & 2 which include grades 1 to 6 while the secondary school includes grades 7 to 10 Education is free and compulsory from ages 7 to 15. Arabic is the medium of instruction in the Syrian Arab Republic. English is taught from grade 1, and French or Russian is taught from grade 7 in the basic learning stage as the primary second language. According to the 2007 census, 98 percent of schools in Syria were public (state run), 1.8 percent were private, and 0.2 percent were United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools for children who are refugees. In 2007, there were 8 million students in the education system of Syria (4 million in basic education, 1.4 million in secondary and 2.3 million in tertiary). Given the current growth rate in the school age population, it is projected that by 2015, the education system in Syria will need to cater to an additional 1 million students in basic and secondary education. The school system in Syria is divided into basic and secondary education levels: 1st to 6th grade: Primary Education Level. From 1st to 4th grade, it’s called the First Ring (; halaka oula) while 5th & 6th grade are called Second Ring (; halaka thania) 7th to 9th grade: Pre-Secondary Education Level (; taelim 'edady ) 10th to 12th grade: Upper Secondary Education (; taelim thanawi), which is the equivalent of High School. Higher Education is the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education. Early childhood care and education (ECCE) The Government of Syria is also responsible for providing pre-primary or early childhood education. Up until the early 1990s, ECCE programs were provided by mostly non-governmental institutions, of which few belonged to the government sector, while others were either private or run by the Teacher's Syndicate, General Union of Workers (GUW) or the Women's Federation. In 1990 only 5 percent of the children between the ages of 3 and 5 were enrolled in 793 kindergartens. Ten years later 7.8 percent of that age group was enrolled.