Education Minister Mikulas Bek (STAN) plans to submit his ministry’s proposal to merge small schools, as part of an amendment to the education law, by the end of October, he said in a discussion programme on Czech Television yesterday.
The proposal includes a postponement of the effective date by at least three years, Bek said.
According to the proposal, the mergers will apply to kindergartens and primary and secondary schools. They would not apply to schools in municipalities that have only one school or to those that teach in the language of a national minority. The ministry aims to reduce the number of small schools as well as the administrative burden on school principals.
Frantisek Dobsik, chairman of the Trade Union of Education Workers, said school principals mostly disagree with the proposal, and are sceptical that the reforms will reduce the burden of red tape.
The Association of Local Governments and the Association of Towns and Municipalities have also expressed their opposition to the proposal.
This measure will not lead to any significant financial savings, as the primary concern is the management of schools, said Bek. “If we really wanted to achieve big savings, the optimal size of a school is 8,000 children. Some people want that, but it’s not realistic right now,” he added.
The ministry also wants to introduce minimum numbers of pupils in schools. If a municipality establishes two or more schools, each should have had a minimum of 200 pupils at least once in the last three years, according to the proposal.
