Education in Lebanon is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE). In Lebanon, the main three languages, English and/or French with Arabic are taught from early years in schools. English or French are the mandatory media of instruction for mathematics and science for all schools. Education is compulsory from age 3 to 14. According to a 2021 World Economic Forum report, Lebanon was ranked 7th in overall quality of education, and 3rd in science and mathematics. survey is carried out as part of the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report. According to Muhammad Faour, a nonresident senior associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, "this assessment is a significant departure from the results of student achievement tests in every international test Lebanon and Qatar have participated. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and compiled from an amalgamation of international assessments, including the OECD's Pisa tests, the TIMSS tests run by US-based academics as well as the TERCE tests in Latin America, Lebanon ranked 13th globally in mathematics and sciences. In the international student achievement tests in math and sciences (TIMSS) in 2007 and 2011 for grade 8, Lebanese students scored well below the international average of 500. In math, Lebanon scored 449 in both 2007 and 2011. Lebanon's adult literacy rate was 97.9% in 2014 according to the UN Human Development Index, ranking it 65th globally. The percentage of the population as a whole with at least some secondary education (aged 25 and above) is 74.2%. For the percentage of the female population with at least some secondary education, the figure drops to 38.8%. Education System The Lebanese educational system consists of 5 cycles, which are divided among 3 main subdivisions: the preschool, basic, and secondary stages. The stage of preschool education (cycle 1) begins at the age of 3 or 4. Basic education, which is considered compulsory, continues from the age of 6 to the age of 14. It includes two levels: the elementary and intermediate level. The elementary phase includes grades 1 to 3 (cycle 2), and grades 4 to 6 (cycle 3). The intermediate level comprises grades 7 to 9 (cycle 4). Finally, the stage of secondary education continues from grades 10 to 12 (cycle 5). It is usually completed at the age of 18, and ends with a Baccalaureat or professional certificate, of which either can give access to tertiary education.