The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is responsible to a large extent for the financing of the education system, defines the general education policy and specifies theadmission requirements, structure and objectives of the education system on general lines. In addition, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are involved in the content of higher education. At all levels (primary, secondary and higher education), there is a general trend towards fewer rules and regulations, so that institutions can take responsibility themselves for the implementation of government policy. The Dutch education system consists of 8 years of primary education, 4, 5 or 6 years of secondary education (depending on the type of school) and 2 to 6 years of higher education (depending on the type of education and the specialisation). Both public and private institutions exist at all levels of the education system; the private institutions are in most cases based on religious or ideological principles.