Education system of Bangladesh has few distinct stages. The first stage is the pre-primary stage which comprises the two years of nursery school education. The second step, which is the first official step in the country, is the primary level that comprises classes I to 5 and now ends with Primary Education Completion (PEC) Examination. The next step is the Junior School level which comprises three years of education from Class 6 to class 8 and ends with Junior School Certificate (JSC) Examination. The fourth step, officially third step according to the new Education Policy 2010, is secondary education that includes two years from class IX to class X and ends with Secondary School Certificate (S.S.C) .The fifth step is the Higher Secondary level education for two years and includes classes XI and XII and ends with Higher Secondary Certificate (H.S.C) Examination. The next step is Higher education that comprises 4 years of Bachelor's (Honours) degree and one year Master's degree, or 3 years of Bachelor's (pass) degree followed by two years' Master's degree. After these levels, there are also research programs for M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees. These are the different steps of the education system in Bangladesh.