The government approved the adjustment of the funding of teachers in primary and secondary schools

On Wednesday, the government approved a regulation that, starting in September, reduces the maximum number of teaching hours financed from the state budget for primary and secondary schools by five percent. Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek (STAN) stated this on the X network.

In some schools, the number of full-time teachers paid by the state will be reduced from the beginning of the new school year. According to the Ministry of Education, the reduction of the maximum will affect less than a third of primary schools and about a tenth of secondary schools. The adjustment does not apply to two-class schools.

According to the ministry, a reduction of five percent is average, for elementary schools it is a reduction of zero to eight percent, depending on the type and size of the school. According to the minister, the number of new teaching positions in regional education will continue to grow, the aim of the measure is to slow down the increase. According to him, the new setting completely allows the division of classes or tandem teaching above the level of mandatory division set by the framework education program. According to him, schools have enough space to adapt teaching to the needs of pupils.

According to Bek, the regulation does not cause any cuts and does not lead to immediate savings in the short term. “The adjustment should lead to the rate of growth of new teacher positions in education slowing down and gradually stabilizing at a level that is sustainable in the long term, both financially and in terms of ensuring the quality of teaching,” Bek told journalists after the government meeting.

The adjustment of the financing of teaching positions in regional education was also one of the reasons for the November strike, which, according to the unions, involved almost three quarters of elementary, kindergarten and secondary public schools. Education workers, as well as students, also protested against the reduction in salaries of non-teaching staff. The Ministry of Education subsequently negotiated with actors in education, school associations and trade unions, with whom they agreed to reduce the current maximum by five percent for primary and secondary schools.