Midgard has no form op compulsory education and no form of compensation to poor children. However basic schooling is not necessarily needed in Midgard to get around. Specialized schooling usually is.
Basic schooling
Basic schooling teaches children about the fundamentals of the world. The children can learn how to read and write, do simple math, perform simple household chores, sing, dance, speech, debate, ride, fence and sport. Apart from these skills they can receive knowledge about economics, history, animals, politics, alchemy and magic.
Usually the parent chooses which skills and knowledge should be thought to the kid and pays accordingly, but in some families the child is allowed to choose himself. Some families let the child choose after reaching a certain age.
Although classes are divided according to age (usually ranging from 1-3 years, 4-6 years, 7-12 years, 12-17 years and 17+ although allot of variations exist in Midgard) no restrictions of age exist in most schools. Adults are almost always accepted as students as long as they can pay.
Since all schools in Midgard are private schools the classes they give, the price they cost and the quality they serve is highly variant, but all schools are expensive and most children never see the inside of one. Most parents don't see the need for basic schooling their children anyway and private education is therefore something reserved for the upper class of Midgard.
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a effective way of specialized education. Children that want to become apprentices line up every day in the various market squares of Midgard's cities and villages, effectively showing of. They show their raw untrained talents, their wit, their intelligence, their social mastery and their physical prowess. Masters that are in need of apprentices judge the children and take them in their home. Sometimes the child stays living with his family (common with poorer masters) but this is rarely the case. The apprentice becomes an effective willing slave to the Master and the two will usually agree to the highly various rules of the relationship. Usually the apprentice performs simple labor in exchange for food and education about the craft of the Master. Usually the Master and the apprentice become close friends and eventually colleges as the training is completed.
It is not rare that a master picks his own sons or daughters as apprentices, although this is more rare than one would expect. Apprenticeship is not hard to come by (almost free labor is good for business) and children might not be genetically gifted with the right talent for the job, so if the son or daughter is better in something else the parent is usually happy to support the child in the search for a suitable master.
Some Masters search for apprentices that have followed certain classes of Basic schooling. This results in the fact that upper class children certainly have an edge if they wish to find a Master.
Guild apprenticeship
Guild apprenticeship is little different from normal apprenticeship apart from the fact that instead of one master, you have an entire guild of masters, and instead of one apprentice, the child usually shares sleeping quarters with several apprentices of various ages. Military and guard training also falls under Guild apprenticeship. The monastery of Truth is one of the largest guilds in Midgard and frequently scouts for new promising lorekeepers. Guild scouts walk the markets just like the individual Masters do.
Guild apprenticeship has a higher chance of a basic schooling requirement and might ask payment for the training.
No schooling
Children without schooling usually work simple and dangerous jobs like mining, woodcutting, running messages, begging or stealing.