Nine-year-olds in Prague cannot get into secondary schools. There are enough places, the councilor claims

This year’s high school admissions are accompanied by chaos and despair. A few weeks after the admission procedure, many students still do not know where they will go and if they will study at all. Due to insufficient capacities, many of them had to give up their dream school and are now waiting for a place to become available. The worst situation is in Prague and the Central Bohemia region.

The problem has been known for years, but no one has done anything about it. Now it is taking away thousands of children who fear for their future. One of them is 15-year-old Markéta, who goes to elementary school in Kralupy nad Vltavou in Central Bohemia.

“I applied to the Kralupy gymnasium and to the business academy in Prague. I didn’t get into either. We try wherever the second rounds are open, but there are few of them. We’re already taking everything. I’m afraid of that,” admitted Markéta.

Prague, where the situation is worst, received criticism from all sides that it should have been better prepared for the influx of high school students. But the municipality does not see a problem in the capacities, which are said to be sufficient. According to him, the obstacle is insufficient digitization. Without it, it is not clear where a child applies, where he was accepted and where he blocks a place unnecessarily. “There are 17,100 places in Prague for 11,500 applicants, which should be enough,” claims Prague councilor Antonín Klecanda (STAN).

“Families of Prague nine-year-olds are under stress, they are calling for help, and the councilor is telling them that there are enough places. The mayor is sticking his head in the sand. This is not the way the representation that wants to solve the problem behaves,” criticized the municipality of Prague 7 Mayor Jan Čižinský (Praha Sobě ).

In addition to digitization, according to Klecanda, it is also necessary to establish a state school infrastructure fund. It could be used to finance some projects that the city is currently paying for. “From the point of view of school readiness, Prague has 14 primary and 3 secondary schools, which, if we have the finances, we can start building within half a year,” reminded Klecanda.

“This is a scandal. I would like to hear how much, where and when it will be built and how much it will cost,” asked representative Milan Urban (SPD).

The Minister of Education also supports the introduction of the state fund. “The creation of a state educational infrastructure fund is one of the priorities of the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports Mikuláš Bek (STAN). The minister wants to establish the fund with the aim of creating systemic state support for the necessary increase in school capacity,” the Ministry of Education said. Minister Bek wants to get the money thanks to a 45 billion loan from the European Union. But everything has to be approved by the European Commission.

The lack of places in schools was also addressed at a higher level on Thursday. In the afternoon, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS), Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek and governors met at the Straka Academy. For less than two hours, they discussed the insufficient capacities of secondary schools. The main points that everyone agreed on is the maximum use of the full capacity of the classrooms. Which means up to 34 pupils and students in classrooms.

jal, TN.cz