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Aug 29, 2023

Czech Republic Education is already missing billions, while more cuts are on the way

The budget of the Ministry of Education should be increased by at least nine billion kroner compared to this year, so that the government will comply with the new legal rules for teacher salary increases. However, the Ministry of Finance is proposing cuts of 29 billion for education.

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Aug 1, 2023

Growing interest in general education and secondary schools produce specific professions in CZ

Secondary schools are not prepared in terms of capacity for the strong year of the so-called Husák's grandchildren, who are heading for the entrance exams this year. Councilor of the Central Bohemian Region Milan Vácha (STAN) and EDUin director Miroslav Hřebecký agree in the Pro and Against program that radical systemic changes in education policy are needed, and blame the state and school founders for the situation.

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Apr 19, 2023

Prague education is in danger of collapse, thousands of places are missing

The mayors of all Prague city districts agreed on a joint procedure for solving the crisis in education at Monday's assembly. According to the mayors, both kindergarten, primary and secondary education in the capital is underfunded, so they are asking the Ministry of Regional Development to create a national subsidy program for Prague schools that works for the rest of the country.

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Apr 10, 2023

Czech Republic Ministry of Education and Culture is preparing to enable the electronicization of applications to secondary schools

The Ministry of Education (MŠMT) wants to create a register of pupils, which is intended, among other things, to facilitate enrollment in kindergartens and primary schools and to enable electronic registration for secondary schools. The department is working on the creation of an information system to simplify school administration. The register, which will be part of the new education information system called eEdu, should be available in 2025 at the earliest.

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Apr 4, 2023

About 114,000 Czech Republic students want to take the matriculation course

Approximately 114,000 applicants submitted applications for the uniform entrance exams for matriculation studies at secondary schools and multi-year gymnasiums. Last year, 103,000 children signed up for the exams organized by Cermat.

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Oct 10, 2022

In Czech Republic, multi-year high schools managed the school leaving exams best

This year, as in previous years, high school students performed best in the school-leaving exams, especially from multi-year high schools. 0.9 percent failed the eight-year exam and 1.3 percent failed the six-year exam, while 2.4 percent failed the four-year exam. On the contrary, 30.1 percent of pupils failed in non-technical fields of study.

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Oct 4, 2022

New apprentices among those admitted to secondary schools was the lowest so far in Czech Republic

In the past school year, the smallest share of pupils in the modern history of the Czech Republic, i.e. since 1993, entered fields with a teaching certificate. The share of new apprentices was 27.2 percent of all those admitted to secondary schools. In previous years, their number was around 30 percent.

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Aug 16, 2022

In Czech Republic, the number of schools with matriculation courses is decreasing

In the Czech Republic, there are now fewer schools with matriculation courses than there were when the state matriculation was introduced in 2011. The decrease is probably also related to demographic development and the decrease in the number of secondary school students due to lower birth rates.

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Aug 15, 2022

Ukrainian students also apply for a four-year graduation course in Czech Republic

According to information from the company Cermat, which organizes uniform entrance exams, 1,281 refugees from Ukraine applied for high school graduation courses throughout the Czech Republic. The vast majority of them want to get into four-year courses, only 33 applications were submitted to multi-year grammar schools.

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Aug 4, 2022

Interest in the high school diploma in mathematics has declined again in Czech Republic

The popularity of mathematics among high school graduates continues to decline. This year, 17 percent of students applied for the state didactic test, ie about two percentage points less than last year. Others preferred a foreign language, most students traditionally chose English. The share of those registered for it increased compared to last year from 78 percent to 80.3 percent.

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Jul 21, 2022

Czech Republic Matura and Graduation is approaching

Students in Czech Republic are preparing to take their Matura exams and proceed with graduation for four-year graduation courses.

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Jun 15, 2022

14 percent of Czech Republic students did not manage the written graduation

Graduates received the results of their written tests. Compared to last year, the number of failed Czech exams has doubled, and every tenth has not passed the course. Optional mathematics was a little better, which every tenth high school student did not master, but last year it was every seventh.

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May 25, 2022

Czech Republic graduation adjustments should focus on ensuring the quality of examinations

According to the Association of Czech Publicists, the discussion on the arrangement of school-leaving examinations should focus mainly on how to ensure quality and functionality control of the school parts of the examination. According to the association, one of the problems of Czech education is that some pupils obtain a high school diploma without a suitable education.

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May 17, 2022

Czech Republic Graduation at a glance: What will the tests look like and how do you succeed according to Cermat?

The common part of the Matura exam in the form of didactic tests is approaching, This is a brief overview of when the test takes place, how much time you have for it or when you will find out the results.

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Mar 29, 2022

Many European Universities Are Helping Ukrainian Students – Here’s How

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused about 780 fatalities for less than 30 days, about 3.1 million people were forced to flee their home country, leave their loved ones and give up jobs and studies to seek international protection in European countries.

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Aug 25, 2021

CR's modified version of graduation is final, the official version is not on the table

The official graduation, which was pushed by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES), would require a change in the law and is not yet on the table, the minister told deputies today during a debate on the form of graduations and the possibilities of resuming full-time teaching in schools.

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Aug 20, 2021

Oral high school diplomas in Czech and a foreign language will be optional, exam dates delayed

This year's graduates will not have to pass oral graduation exams in Czech and a foreign language. Graduates who work due to the covid-19 epidemic in hospitals or nursing homes will not even have to take state didactic tests. They will be able to choose them voluntarily. Due to the covid-19 epidemic, the uniform entrance exams for graduation courses will be postponed again this year.

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Aug 10, 2021

Graduation didactic tests are waived for some students of distance, combined or evening study

Prime Minister Babiš announced graduation didactic tests will not have to be taken by those students of health and social sciences who have distance, evening or combined study. Other students in these fields have received relief before because they work in hospitals or nursing homes due to the Covid-19 epidemic. At the same time, the Prime Minister asked all graduates for patience.

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Jul 23, 2021

CZ House will probably not demand the enactment of the possibility of official school-leaving examinations

The Chamber of Deputies will probably not ask the government to enact the possibility of official school-leaving examinations for this year. Ex-minister of education Kateřina Valachová (ČSSD) rejected a proposal to deal with graduation examinations again. Valachová justified this by the fact that the Minister of Education Robert Plaga refused to comply with the wishes of the lower house to allow official school-leaving examinations by ministerial decree.

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Jul 19, 2021

Czech Republic graduates will get the option of one extra repair

In addition, unsuccessful graduates will be given the opportunity to correct their didactic tests in July and correct their practical exam by the end of the summer. The ministry will increase the number of corrective attempts from the usual two to three. If the graduates do not take the tests for the first time at the end of May, they will be able to repair them by July 7-9.

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Czech Republic

Overview

The Czech Republic, a small country in Central Europe, was the western part of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic. The Czech Republic is historically divided into three regions—Bohemia, Moravia and a part of Silesia. Prague is the capital. United into a common state after World War I, the Czechs, Moravians and Slovaks remained together for almost 75 years. On January 1, 1993, the two republics split to form two separate states.

Education

Prior to the separation, each country passed the same higher education reform in 1991. The new laws disbanded central authority of the existing ministries and brought autonomy back to the institutional level. This power included the ability to establish curricula, regulate enrollment and establish new faculties.

The academic year lasts from September to August with a long vacation from June 15 to September 1. The language of instruction is Czech, English and German. Currently, Czech Republic's education system is overseen by the Ministerstvo školství, mládeže a tělovýchovy.

Primary and Secondary Education

Education in the Czech Republic is compulsory from ages 6 through 15. Students enter the primary/basic school where there are two stages of learning—first to fifth year and then sixth to ninth year. Secondary education is offered at 3 types of schools—secondary general schools (gymnasium), secondary technical schools and secondary vocational schools.

Gymnasiums prepare students for study at higher education institutions and or professions. The secondary technical schools and four year or three year follow-up courses at vocational schools prepare students for a wide range of professions, as well as for studies at higher education institutions.

Post-Secondary Education

As an outgrowth of the reform, Bachelor degrees were established and an independent accreditation system was created. Progress over the next seven years resulted in significantly higher enrollments, the creation of a non-university higher education sector, which previously did not exist, the establishment of private institutions and a system that now included both bachelors and masters degrees.

Under the 1998 Higher Education Act, post secondary vocational educational institutions were able to apply for accreditation to award degrees at the bachelor level (or higher) either under the institutional name or under the auspices of a university.

Higher Education is offered at university and non-university type institutions. University level higher education programs offer Bachelor, Master and Doctoral study programs. Tertiary professional schools, even though they are not part of higher education belong to tertiary education and offer professional education leading to a diploma, mostly in economics and health care. Higher education institutions can be of university and non-university type.

The non-university higher education institutions usually offer Bachelor studies and, if accredited, master studies. They are not allowed to provide doctoral study programs. University-type higher education institutions offer Bachelor, Master and in most cases also Doctoral study programs. Higher education institutions offer courses in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Engineering, Medicine and Pharmacy, and Theology, as well as in Economics, Veterinary Medicine, and Agriculture, Teacher Training and Arts. They are public, state or private institutions.

Teacher Training

Basic school teachers are trained at Faculties of Education. Teachers of the first stage of primary school follow a four-year course, those for the second stage follow a five-year course combining two subjects. Those specialized in Music Education are usually graduates of four-year or six-year conservatories. Secondary general school and secondary technical school teachers are trained in Faculties of Education, Arts, Philosophy, Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Physics, Physical Education and Sports, as well as in Technical, Economic and Agricultural Faculties. They obtain their qualifications through Master's degree courses.


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