<P> The Ministry issues the National Curriculum Guidelines . The National Centre for Educational Materials publishes educational materials for education institutions, and issues them free of charge . The Educational Testing Institute is the country's sole examination board; responsible for issuing and grading national assessments . </P> <P> There are 192 institutions catering for compulsory education, 42 schools for upper secondary education and 9 higher education institutions . </P> <P> The oldest gymnasiums in the country are Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík and Menntaskólinn á Akureyri . Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík traces its origin to 1056, when a school was established in Skálholt . The school was moved to Reykjavík in 1786, but poor housing conditions forced it to move again in 1805 to Bessastaðir near Reykjavík . In 1846 the school was moved to its current location, and a new building was erected for it in Reykjavík . </P> <P> The University of Iceland was the first higher education institution in the country, and was established on 17 June 1911, uniting three former Icelandic schools: Prestaskólinn, Læknaskólinn and Lagaskólinn, which taught theology, medicine and law, respectively . The university originally had only faculties for these three fields, in addition to a faculty of humanities . The first rector of the university was Björn M. Ólsen, a professor in the faculty of humanities . </P>

What is the education system like in iceland