Education

Public schools
They are widely supported by the state. For many graduates, it is mostly a sure bet for their future with nearly no school fee at all. It is guarantee through which you shall acquire the required education. Public schools shall provide you with a deeper language support only in certain fields and programs, while private schools already consider it as a complete matter of course.

Private schools
Private schools represent the contrast to the public-school system. You can expect above-standard approach and individual services for students. The school fee of CZK 10,000 and more is paid per every school year. Above-standard teaching methods which have been approved by the Ministry of Education are used there. The pupils are taught at a more individual level (there are less pupils in each class). Private schools often offer a more update equipment, both in the form of school tools or computer devices and related equipment.

However, it is always a matter to decide for each child individually. It is also important to know that more money for a school does not automatically mean education of higher quality. You shall also choose among the private schools carefully, in order that the education acquired at the private school does not turn out to be worse than at a public school.

 

Pre-school education

Pre-school education is organized for children usually between 3 and 6 years of age. The parents have to apply for the admission to the kindergarten within the application period specified by each kindergarten. You shall thus register your child for the permanent residence at the place of your actual residency. This way, you will ensure that your child well have a priority right to be accepted to a kindergarten located within the given area of his/her actual residency.

Children who reach the age of five years prior to the beginning of a school year (i.e. by 31st August) have to start attending a kindergarten. For these children, the pre-school education is mandatory. This mandatory education is free of charge. The enrolment to kindergartens takes place between 2nd and 16th May. Each kindergarten chooses the specific date by itself. You shall inform yourself in advance about the exact date at the given kindergarten, at the municipal or town office or check the website of the given kindergarten.

If you do not register your child for mandatory pre-school education, you face a penalty in the amount of up to CZK 5,000. Make sure you register your child for mandatory pre-school education as soon as possible.
Another penalty of CZK 5,000 may apply to another situation. You did register your child for pre-school education, but he/she does not attend the kindergarten and you do not excuse the child there in cases when the child does not arrive. If you know that your child cannot come to the kindergarten, notify the kindergarten. The given kindergarten should provide you with information on the attendance of your child to the kindergarten and the excused cases based on your request.

Every child is obliged to undergo specified types of regular vaccination. The children will need to be vaccinated in order to be accepted to kindergarten, except for the case of the mandatory last year of pre-school education. Before leaving Great Britain, you shall ask your paediatrician to provide you with a copy of the medical documentation of your child, or bring a document proving the fact that your child had been vaccinated with you to the Czech Republic.

If your child has problems with the Czech language, inform the kindergarten about this fact (the principal of the given kindergarten). Ask them whether the personnel can provide support and assistance (additional measures) to your child in order that he/she learns the Czech language. Your child is entitled to this free-of-charge provision of the support and assistance from the kindergarten.

Required documents:

• certificate of vaccination
• birth certificate of the child
• application to the kindergarten (which can be downloaded on the website of the given kindergarten)

 

Primary education

The school attendance is mandatory for the period of nine school years, yet at the latest up to the end of a school year during which the pupil reaches the age of seventeen years. The school year always starts in September and ends in June (July and August are summer holiday months).
You shall register your child for permanent residence at the place of his/her actual residency. That way, you will ensure that your child will have a priority right to be admitted to a primary school in whose area you are living. You can also register your child with another school, but you will not have a priority right to be admitted there.

If your child will be transferring from a foreign school, you shall contact a primary school in the Czech Republic as soon as possible, preferably even before moving to the Czech Republic. The enrolment to first study-years of the primary schools take place between 1st and 30th April. Each school chooses its own specific date. You shall inform yourself in advance about the exact date at the given primary school, at the municipal or town office or check the website of the given primary school.

If possible, bring all the school reports or similar documents with you and ask the school abroad for a document which will specify the content and extent of your child’s education acquired there.

If your child has problems with the Czech language, it shall be considered to be a pupil with special educational needs. Such pupils are entitled to free-of-charge provision of supportive measures. Inform the primary school about that (the principal of such school). Ask them whether the teachers could provide your child with support and assistance in order that it learns the Czech language. Some supportive measures may be applied by the school itself, other may need the recommendation of a school advisory institution (a pedagogical-psychological advisory centre or a special pedagogical centre). The school should be able to advise you how you can acquire such recommendation.

 

High-school education

Only an applicant who has successfully completed the obligatory school attendance or successfully completed the primary education prior to completing the obligatory school attendance may be admitted to high-school education. Therefore, you shall accompany the child’s application for high-school education with a document proving one of these conditions.

The completion of the obligatory school attendance shall be established by presenting the last two school reports which prove the attendance to the school for the period of nine years, both in the original and the officially verified translation to the Czech language, unless the school informs you that it does not request such a translation.
The successful completion of the primary education shall be established via a certificate on the recognition of the equality of the foreign school report or the decision on the recognition of the validity of the foreign school report.

Whether you will need the certificate on the recognition of the equality of the foreign school report or the decision on the recognition of the validity of the foreign school report, depends on the fact whether the acquired education may be subsumed under any of the agreements concluded between the Czech Republic and other countries. The certificates and the decisions are issued by regional offices.

You shall accompany the application for the recognition of the equality of the foreign school report with the foreign school report (an original or an officially verified copy) and then also with the framework content of the acquired education of the foreign school report does not clearly specify the content and extent of the taught subjects.

You shall accompany the application for the validity of the foreign school report with (among others) the foreign school report (an original or an officially verified copy) and then also with the framework content of the acquired education and a document proving that the given school had been recognized by the country under which the foreign school report was issued as part of its educational system, unless the foreign school report does not clearly specify so itself. Further, these documents will usually also need to be accompanied by the verification of their authenticity and by their officially verified translations.

The Czech Republic and Great Britain has not yet concluded any agreement under which the Czech Republic would be obliged to recognize a school report acquired in Britain as equal. Therefore, in order to establish the successful completion of the primary education, you will need to apply for the recognition of the validity of the foreign school report.

If your child has any problems with the Czech language, it shall be considered to be a pupil with special educational needs. The principal of the high school to which your child wants to apply may in such a case decide on the modification of condition for organizing a unified exam (such as increasing the time period for the exam). Prior to submitting the application for the high school, you shall pay a visit to some of school advisory institution (a pedagogical-psychological advisory centre or a special pedagogical centre). This institution shall compile an opinion which will then be annexed to the application to the high school. On the basis of this opinion, the principal shall decide regarding the modification of the conditions.

As for the first round of the admission procedure, an applicant may submit up to 2 applications for educational fields without any talent exams and up to 2 applications for educational fields with talent exams.

As for the next rounds of the admission procedure, the number of applications which an applicant may submit is not limited. If the applicant applies for two educational fields at one school, he/she still has to submit two forms of the application.

The deadline for submitting an application for the 1st round of the admission procedure (school year 2019/2020)

• educational fields with a talent exam: by 2nd December 2019
• educational fields without a talent exam: by 2nd March 2020

 

Higher vocational education

The higher vocational education develops and deepens the knowledge and skills of a student which he/she acquired during his/her high-school education, and provides a general and professional education and a practical preparation for the performance of demanding activities. The duration of the higher vocational education in the daily form amounts to 3 years including the professional training. The higher vocational education is completed by an ‘absolutorium’. The proof of acquiring the higher vocational education is a certificate on the absolutorium and the diploma of a graduate of a higher vocational school. The title for the graduate of a higher vocational school which is used after the name is a “certified specialist” (abbreviated as “DiS.”).

The deadline for submitting an application for the 1st round of the admission procedure is usually by the end of May and the admission procedure takes place in June.

Required documents: graduation certificate

 

University education

The university education develops and deepens the knowledge and skills of a student which he/she acquired during his/her high-school education, and provides a general and professional education and a practical preparation for the performance of demanding activities. The duration of the university education in the daily form amounts to 3 years (titled by Bc. which stands for Bachelor), 4-6 years (titled by either Mgr. which stands for Master, or Ing. which stands for Engineer), 6 years (titled by PhDr. or MUDr.). The university education is completed by the final master exam, and by the rigorous exam in the case of the doctoral degree.

The deadline for submitting an application for the 1st round of the admission procedure is usually by the end of February and the admission procedure takes place in June.

Required documents: graduation certificate

List of universities across the entire Czech Republic: https://www.atlasskolstvi.cz/vysoke-skoly

 

Allowance for school supplies

Parents who are in a burdensome financial situation may apply for a one-time allowance within the extraordinary immediate support for the expenses related to the education and with the leisure activities of their children. The allowance may not only used for the purchase of school supplies, but also to pay for a leisure course, ski training or school classes in nature. The one-time allowance from the system of benefits within the assistance in material need is provided to families with a dependant child who are unable to pay for expenses related to education or leisure activities for their children.

The extraordinary immediate support may be applied for by parents of pupils and students of up to 26 years of age. When it comes to university students, they must be studying in the daily form of studies. The extraordinary immediate support is provided to families which are unable to pay for the expenses at all or who would be in material need if they paid for them themselves.

The office assesses whether the expenses are reasonable. This means that all the spent expenses shall contribute to the social inclusion of the child and to the situation that the child acquired the abilities and skills in order to be able to make his/her own living.

You may apply for the allowance for the purposes of purchasing:

• textbooks (unless the school provides their lease or provides them for free),
• school supplies (if the school demands the acquirement of such school supplies and they are necessary for further education. The list of required school supplies is usually issued by the given school itself),
• school bag or briefcase, sportswear and footwear for physical education classes, slippers for school, work clothes and work supplies for apprentices,
• winter ski and summer training courses, school classes in nature,
• commuting to school (unless the school may be easily reached on foot),
• leisure courses and extracurricular activities.

The expenses for tuition fees and accommodation at universities at the location of the university studies cannot be subsumed under this allowance. The Labour Office grants this allowance in the lowest extent possible – the allowance is only provided in the value of the less expensive version of the given item.

One family may be paid up to CZK 38,600 per calendar year.

For the allowance for school supplies, you shall apply at the relevant Labour Office in the place of the permanent residence prior to paying the given expenses. The application is submitted on a predefined form in which the applicant shall specify that he/she applies for the extraordinary immediate support “Necessary or reasonable expenses (education)”. You shall always precisely specify all the expenses for which the allowance will be used. On the basis of the submitted application, the Labour Office shall assess the justification of the specified expenses together with the financial situation of the family. Thereupon, it decides whether the allowance will be provided and in which amount. In its decision on granting the extraordinary immediate support, the Labour Office may specify a deadline by which you shall prove the purchase of the given items. If you fail to fulfil this request, the Labour Office may demand that the allowance is to be returned.

 

Allowance for school lunches – “Lunches to schools”

The project of allowance for school lunches is a subsidy program through which the schools may apply for support of meals for children from the poorest families. The program aims at providing contributions to the poorest children for their meals at school canteens which should help to resolve the problem with a growing number of children who cannot afford to eat lunches at school.

The conditions for the allowance for school lunches:

• the child must be between 3 and 15 years of age,
• the child’s legal representatives are in the condition of material need on a long-term basis (the child must be included as of 31st December 2015 in the circle of collectively assessed people for the subsistence allowance in a continuous period of at least 20 months),
• the school attended by the child must participate in the project.

Verda endowment fund

The activity of the endowment fund is based on the belief that one of the few options of resolving the difficult situation of the Roma minority is the education. Besides other activities, the fund may provide a funding allowance for education.

Provision of the allowance:
Every year, the provision of the allowance is based on a decision of a committee consisting of the members of the fund managing board and the workers of the DROM centre in Brno. The condition is that the applicant has to be of Roma origin (at least one of the parents is Roma), a citizen of the Czech Republic, studying in a daily program and meeting the criteria of the school grade average. Pupils and students with high quality of study results have a priority, both in the matter of being granted the allowance at all and in the matter of its amount. There is no entitlement to which allowance, which means that not all the applicants may be satisfied. The allowance by the endowment fund cannot be provided together with any other financial aid, such as from the Open Society Fund or the Government Council of the Czech Republic for the matter of the Roma community.

Address: DROM, Roma centre, Bratislavská 41, 602 00 Brno
You may acquire further information and application via this internet address: www.verda.me, or directly at the address of the Verda Endowment Fund: Bratislavská 41, 602 00 Brno.