Providers of pre-primary and basic education
The network of comprehensive schools (3,579 in 2005) covers the entire country. The majority of pu¬pils attend medium-sized schools with 300–499 pu¬pils. The smallest schools have fewer than ten pupils and the largest over 900 pupils.
Local authorities provide education for children of pre-primary and compulsory school age living in their areas, and the central government shares the costs by granting statutory government transfers to education providers. The calculation of the statutory government transfer is based on a unit cost (€/pupil) determined annually by the Ministry of Education. In 2005, the government paid 57% and municipal authorities 43% of the cost of basic education.