2026

Postponement of the implementation of revised Framework Education Programmes

The Minister of Education, Youth and Sports decided to postpone the date from which nursery schools (ISCED 0) and basic schools (ISCED 1, 2) should start teaching according to the revised Framework Education Programmes (FEPs). The timetable for implementing the new FEPs has been postponed by one year. The postponement is to be used to supplement the curriculum and support its effective implementation and use in schools.

For more information on the FEPs‘ revisions, see below.

2025

Major Amendment to the Education Act

At the end of May 2025 an extensive amendment to the Education Act was passed by the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament. In August the amendment* was published in the legal code. The legislative changes will come into force gradually starting in September 2025.

The amendment aims to improve the quality and accessibility of education, decrease inequality in education, adjust the financing of schools and school facilities and strengthen the connections between education and the labour market. The essential changes include:

In financing:

• Basic schools (základní škola) with at least 180 pupils will newly have to employ staff in special educational needs specialist and/or school psychologist positions and the financing for these positions will be guaranteed.
• The complexity of provided education will be considered in school financing through the so-called indexation of schools, which will allow for the allocation of financial resources from the state budget to individual schools depending on their circumstances and specific needs of their pupils.
• Changes will be made to financing of non-teaching staff – salaries of teaching staff will continue to be paid from the state budget, but responsibility for salaries of non-teaching staff, operating costs of schools and other non-investment expenses will now fall to municipalities and regions – this step will strengthen the autonomy of education providers, who will be more flexible in budgeting and resource allocation.

In governance:

• Schools (nursery, basic and upper secondary) with fewer pupils than the set limit will be merged.

 In school and school facility administration:

• The amendment revokes the mandatory conversion of verbal evaluations into marks (or vice versa) when pupils transfer schools – the mandate stays only for the purposes of entrance examinations but only upon request from the pupil’s legal representative.

In upper secondary education, education in conservatoires and tertiary professional education:

• The amendment introduces the option of completing the profile part of the Maturita Examination (maturitní zkouška) in the form of a complex profile project and the option to substitute an internationally recognised certificate for the Maturita Examination or its part – not only in the case of language knowledge, but also for other areas such as ICT skills.
• Secondary VET schools (střední odborné školy) and tertiary professional schools (vyšší odborné školy) can now provide education in a combined form – for more information see chapter 13.3.
• The introduction of the so-called dual practical education model will advance professional education – for more information see chapter 13.3.
• The introduction of the so-called short programmes in tertiary professional schools (vyšší odborné školy) will enable a faster transition to the labour market – for more information see chapter 13.4.

In education of children whose first language is different to the language of schooling:

• Entitlement to language preparation will be expanded to include citizens of Czechia who do not have adequate language proficiency – this measure is aimed primarily at children of families with history of migration or at children from families where one parent is a foreign national – the change reflects the integration needs of such children.
• A new definition of a group of applicants entitled to exemption from the Czech language entrance examination and its replacement with an oral examination will come into effect, as will a new definition of the group of pupils entitled to adjustments to the conditions of the Maturita examination (maturitní zkouška) – both pertains to pupils who are (or have been) studying abroad.

In pedagogical work:

• Thanks to the new legislative anchoring of the social pedagogue role as pedagogical staff it will now be possible to systematically finance this position and thus support schools working with children at risk of educational underachievement.
• The amendment lowers the minimum level of proficiency in the Czech language required for teachers at the lower secondary level and teachers of general education subjects at the upper secondary level who achieved their professional qualification in a language of instruction other than Czech – newly the knowledge at level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages will be required. 

* Act no. 267/2025 Coll.

Source:

Soubor pedagogicko-organizačních informací MŠMT na školní rok 2025/2026 (Collection of pedagogical and organisational information of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for the 2025/2026 school year)
Průvodce novelou školského zákona 2025 (Guide to the Education Act amendment 2025)
edu.cz: Velká novela v kostce (edu.cz: Major amendment at a glance)

Amendment to the Education Act: Postponement Amendment

In addition to the “major amendment to the Education Act”*, the so-called “Postponement amendment to the Education Act”** was also approved. It fundamentally changes the rules in the area of:

• enrolment in nursery and basic school (changes in enrolment dates);

• postponements of compulsory school attendance (gradually for enrolments held in 2026, 2027 and 2028);

• transition between nursery and basic school (e.g. transfer of pedagogical diagnostic results between schools);

• provision of support measures (individual educational plan).

A time schedule from 2025 to 2029 has been designed for the implementation of the planned changes.

From 1 September 2025, for example, the so-called “additional postponements” (i.e. the possibility of deciding on postponement during the 1st term of the 1st year) and the obligation of schools to inform parents about the possibility of postponement upon enrolment, are abolished. The request for a postponement must be duly substantiated (with a recommendation from a pedagogical counselling facility and an assessment from a medical doctor or clinical psychologist).

In the following years, further changes will be gradually introduced. The changes regard the teaching assistant in the 1st years of basic school (2026), the restriction of the possibility of repeating the 1st year (2026), the introduction of verbal assessment in the 1st and 2nd years (2027, 2028) and the abolition of preparatory classes (2029).

* Act No. 267/2025 Coll.

** Act No. 239/2025 Coll.

New definition of digital wellbeing

A group of experts led by the National Pedagogical Institute of the Czech Republic, in collaboration with other institutions, has created an expert definition of the term "digital wellbeing." This is in response to the growing need for mental health support in the digital age, especially among children and young people—many recent studies point to a link between excessive screen time and mental health issues in children and young people, such as increased anxiety, depression, and self-harm.  The new definition will help schools set up specific support for the healthy use of modern digital technologies.

The definition of digital wellbeing reflects five key areas: physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual.

The full text of the new definition of digital wellbeing: "Digital wellbeing is a state in which we recognize the benefits and risks of our own use of digital technologies in the current conditions. Based on this, we incorporate digital technologies into our lives in a way that supports our overall health, personal development, and responsibility towards ourselves, our surroundings, and the world."     

The introduction of digital wellbeing into schools is also supported by the revised Framework Educational Program for Basic Education, which includes a number of expected learning outcomes focused on safe navigation in the digital world, with an emphasis on the healthy use of digital technologies.

Digital wellbeing is one of the topics of a project implemented by the National Pedagogical Institute CR for the period 2024-26 NPO 3.1 – AIDIG, which focuses on the development of teachers' digital competences according to the European DigCompEdu framework. However, digital wellbeing is also addressed at the European level, within the TechWell: Digital Wellness n School project.

More information is available at: 

www.wellbeingveskole.cz a https://digitalizace.rvp.cz/napric-predmety/digitalni-wellbeing 

AI curriculum for basic and upper secondary schools

Experts from the non-governmental organization AI dětem (AI for Children), in cooperation with the National Pedagogical Institute have created an artificial intelligence curriculum for basic and upper secondary schools. It is an educational concept for computer science and the development of digital competence in the field of artificial intelligence at basic and upper secondary schools (ISCED 1-3).

The main objectives of the AI curriculum are to provide clear guidance on how to teach AI and how to link this subject to the existing national curriculum from the 3rd up to 13th grade. The curriculum provides comprehensive educational content and methodological materials in the form of lessons, differentiated by grade, including worksheets and final reflections. It also offers training for teachers in the field of AI in the form of comprehensive courses.   

The curriculum contains a total of 47 methodological materials for teachers, specifically:

• 9 lessons for computer science at ISCED level 1
  • 9 lessons for computer science at ISCED level 2-3
  • 6 lessons on media education
  • 3 lessons on wellbeing
  • 4 project methodologies
  • 9 lessons for humanities subjects
  • 5 lessons for science subjects and mathematics
  • 2 cards for developing digital competence

The educational content is aligned with the expected outcomes of the current Framework Educational Programmes.

The curriculum was developed under the leadership of the non-governmental organization AI dětem (AI for Children) in cooperation with the National Pedagogical Institute, with the participation of many experts, educators, school leaders, and organizations; it also included piloting at more than 50 schools.

Revision of the Framework Education Programmes for Pre-primary and Basic Education

At the beginning of 2025, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, together with the National Pedagogical Institute (NPI ČR), introduced revised framework education programmes for pre-primary and basic education. The is the biggest change in school education in the last 20 years.

The aim of the revision is to ensure that education from nursery schools (ISCED 0) to upper secondary schools (ISCED 3) forms a logical whole, i.e. to define clear outcomes for each stage and create conditions for the smooth development of every pupil.

The Framework Education Programme for Basic Education (FEP BE) is a key document that defines the structure, content and objectives of education at the first stage (grades 1-5) and second stage (grades 6-9) of basic schools and the corresponding grades of multi-year general secondary schools. It is binding for all basic schools and also plays an important role in the individual education of pupils.

In accordance with the Strategy for Education Policy of the Czech Republic until 2030+, the revised FEP BE links the acquisition of knowledge with the development of practical skills. The aim is for pupils to learn to think critically, communicate effectively and solve problems - competences that they will use in their further studies and life.

Thanks to the revised FEP, schools have more freedom to adapt their school education programme to their own conditions and the specific needs of their pupils. The document aims to simplify documentation and reduce the administrative burden on schools. The changes also aim to transform the climate in schools and make education more focused on the needs and development of each pupil.

The FEP BE defines the values and objectives of education, the educational content, the framework curriculum and the rules for assessing pupils.

The educational content consists of a compulsory foundation focusing on key competences, cross-cutting themes, learning areas and subjects, and now also explicitly sets out basic literacy skills. While the new FEP BE continues to work with binding expected learning outcomes, they have been significantly simplified and clarified for easier orientation across the whole FEP. The binding expected learning outcomes for individual learning areas and subjects are complemented by non-binding methodological support that elaborates on the topics in a concrete way.

Follow-up methodological support

Follow-up methodological support is provided by the so-called model school education programmes (mSEP), which were created by the National Pedagogical Institute (NPI ČR) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. The mSEP will serve as inspiration and guidance for schools to develop their own SEP according to their needs, but they are not binding in themselves.

NPI ČR will provide schools with additional methodological support in the form of workshops, training, examples of good practice, digital materials and consultations. Methodological cabinets are in place in each region, providing a space for sharing experiences, professional growth and supporting innovation. Currently, more than 800 teachers work in them.

From September 2025, there will be a voluntary implementation of the revised FEP BE in grades 1 and 6. During the follow-up period, feedback from the pilot schools will be gathered so that the FEP and the model SEP can be further adapted if necessary.

Compulsory teaching according to the revised FEP BE in grades 1 and 6 will start in the school year 2027/28. It will then be compulsory for all grades from the school year 2031/32.

A separate website, revize.rvp.cz, administered by the National Pedagogical Institute, is dedicated to the revision of framework educational programmes.

Framework Education Programme for Special Basic School (FEP SBS)

In the context of the ongoing revisions of the Framework Education Programme for Basic Education, work has begun on updating the Framework Educational Programme for Special Basic School (FEP SBS). The National Pedagogical Institute (NPI) has completed a draft revision of the FEP SBS and submitted this draft to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) for further consideration. The next step is to launch a public consultation to allow the experts and wider public to comment on the proposed changes.

 

For more information on the revision of the Framework Education Programme for Pre-primary Education, see Revision of the Framework Education Programmes for Pre-primary and Primary Education in Chapter 14.1.

Trial verification of the new Lyceum field

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports has announced a trial verification of education according to the Framework Education Programme Lyceum. The new field introduces a more flexible version of general upper secondary education. It gives upper secondary school pupils the opportunity to decide on their future orientation later in their studies.

The aim of introducing the new field is to offer future upper secondary school pupils a general vocational field of study that will prepare them for a broader vocational orientation as well as for higher education.

The possibility of deciding on their future orientation later in their studies is a difference to upper secondary general schools (gymnázium), which focus purely on academic education with a broad range of disciplines, and to existing lycées, where pupils have to choose a specialisation at the beginning of their studies. Up to 40% of the disposable teaching time will be reserved for optional subject orientation. At the same time, the new field of study will significantly support pupils' preparation for tertiary education, both at higher education institutions and at tertiary professional schools. With a wider range of knowledge and skills, pupils will be prepared to make competent decisions about their future careers. 

As of 4 February 2025, 30 schools have been involved in the trial verification.

2024

Moving and Healthy Youth – Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports project for 2024–2028

In March 2024, the government approved the "Plan to Support Physical Activity Among Children, Pupils, and Students in Schools and School Facilities and State Policy on School and Higher Education Sports for the Period 2024–2028" (abbreviated as "Moving and Healthy Youth"), which the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports prepared.
The common denominator of the Plan financed from the J. A. Comenius Operational Programme is the support of projects aimed at developing physical activities of children and pupils in nursery schools, basic schools, and after-school clubs. The first part of the project is dedicated to supporting physical activities for pupils in schools and school facilities and is based on several fundamental pillars:

• Support for active physical activity among pupils throughout the day (active transport to/from school, active breaks, exercise breaks, open playgrounds, campaign to promote physical activity)
• Physical education teaching – curriculum adjustments, including the introduction of new terms such as physical literacy, applied physical education, etc., greater use of available hours for physical education, innovation in initial education and training for physical education teachers, CPD for teaching staff, methodological activities, and a methodological and educational portal
• Physical and sports activities in extracurricular and leisure-time activities
• Development of sports infrastructure
• Monitoring of support for physical activities
   

The second part of the document then explicitly addresses the areas of school sports competitions and university sports.
 In line with the concept of "Moving and Healthy Youth", the Czech School Inspectorate has prepared strategic methodological recommendations "Active School", intending to support and activate schools in promoting physical activity among pupils throughout the school year. An important part of this document is inspiration, including examples of good practice focused on the development and promotion of physical activity in schools.  
 

Change of the rules for determining fees in after-school centres and school clubs

On the basis of the amendment to the Education Act (§ 123) and subsequent amendments to Decree No. 74/2005 on Special Interest Education, the rules for determining fees in after-school centres (školní družina)  and school clubs (školní klub)  established by the state, region, municipality or union of municipalities have been changed.

Instead of the head of the school/school facility, the monthly fee is now set by the organising body. The amount of the payment is newly linked to the amount of the monthly minimum wage - it may not exceed 4% of the basic rate of the minimum wage per month. The amount is set by the organising body for a period of one school year, starting with the 2024/25 school year. At the same time, the range of persons who are entitled to a fee reductio or an exemption from payment is expanding. It now applies also to those who receive child allowance.
 

New sanitary decree for schools

The new Sanitary Decree No.160/2024 Coll., on sanitary standards for premises and facilities for the education and training of children and youth and children's groups, replaces Decree No.410/2005 Coll., on sanitary standards for premises and facilities for the education and training of children and youth. It focuses on aspects related to the protection of public health:

• lighting of living areas,
• microclimatic indicators of the environment,
• temperature of the accommodation room,
• ergonomics of school furniture.

Instead of a minimum area per child/student, it establishes the air cubic capacity and clear height for the accommodation rooms. It does not regulate the division of sanitary facilities by gender and the number of fittings (toilet bowls, washbasins) per sanitary facility. This passes to Decree No.146/2024 Coll., on construction requirements, see below, with the specific solution left to the discretion of the organising body. It does not require own outdoor space for children in nursery schools and children’s groups. For further arrangements see the sanitary decree itself.

The building technical requirements are newly addressed in 2 related decrees:

Decree No. 146/2024 Coll., on construction requirements, which provides, among other things:

• fencing of the property,
• the installation height of the toilets, including their layout,
• the construction layout of the premises.

Decree No. 6/2003 Coll., as amended, setting sanitary limits for chemical, physical and biological indicators for the indoor environment of the accommodation rooms of certain buildings, which includes, for example the limit for carbon dioxide for accommodation rooms.

Decrees on sanitary requirements and construction requirements came into force on 1 July 2024.
 

New Framework Requirements for Study Programmes to Obtain Professional Qualification to Practice Regulated Profession of Education Staff

At the beginning of April 2024, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports approved new rules for higher education study programmes leading to the qualification of teaching staff - Framework Requirements for Study Programmes to Obtain Professional Qualification to Practice Regulated Profession of Education Staff. These rules regulate the form of education of teachers and other pedagogical staff at all faculties preparing teachers (pedagogical, science, philosophy, physical education and others) and are part of the ongoing Reform of Teacher Training. The Ministry of Education has agreed on the changes with representatives of higher education institutions.

Compared to the previous version from 2017, the new regulation introduces more practice into the course of teacher education: teacher education students will now spend a minimum of 240 teaching hours during the entire course of their studies on practical teaching of pupils, of which at least 80 hours will be devoted to independent or tandem learning (the remaining hours can be spent in the role of teaching assistant or observing teaching). This practice will be guided and reflected on, together with the supervising teacher. The document also introduces a 'clinical year', during which students will attend two to four days a week at a particular school throughout the school year, in addition to university classes, to observe teaching, to assist teachers, to teach students in pairs and independently, and to reflect on and link the experience gained with the knowledge acquired on campus. Faculty can also implement the clinical year thanks to the new option to accredit initial teacher education programmes as concurrent five-year master's programmes.

In this context, the Competence Framework for Teacher Graduates, which was presented by the Ministry in October 2023 in cooperation with faculties and practitioners, is now binding for study programmes preparing future teachers. The Competence Framework contains national standards describing the qualities and competencies of graduates in the field of education.   

Digitalisation of upper secondary school admission procedure

As of 1 January 2024, an amendment to the Education Act is in force, which regulates the digitalisation of the secondary school admission procedure. In practice, this means an increase in the number of schools on the application form, easier access to information on the results of the admission procedure and, newly, the prioritisation of selected schools.

The digitalisation of the secondary school admissions process has brought the following main changes:

• Recording of all applications, both for study fields with Maturita examination and those with a VET certificate in a single information system.
• An applicant may submit up to 3 applications for secondary education study fields and up to 2 additional applications for education with an aptitude test or conservatoire.
• The possibility of 2 attempts to take the Standardised Admission Examination (SAE) is maintained, but now this option also applies to applicants who apply for only one study field with Maturita examination.
• Secondary schools are not legally obliged to take into account the results of previous basic school education as one of the admission criteria, but they have the possibility to use this criterion (however, the second term school report for the 2019/2020 school year may not be part of the admission criteria - these reports were issued under special rules caused by the covid-19 pandemic and are not comparable).
• The school part of the admission examination is taken over an extended period, including before the SAE.

 

In the first phase of digitisation in the school year 2023/24, applicants had the option to apply in three ways - electronically, on a printed form from the online system (called a statement) or by submitting a completed form.

Each applicant indicates in his/her application the order of priority of the secondary education fields and secondary schools. The field of education with the highest priority is listed first. Applicants will be admitted to the highest priority field of education (highest ranked) on their application form and for which the results of the admissions procedure entitle them to admission. Applicants may be admitted to only one field of study in the first and second rounds. If the applicant does not wish to enter the designated school, he/she will have to give up his/her 'place' at that school (formally, this is a withdrawal of the application). 

There will be no change to the application process for the aptitude test or the aptitude test in the 2023/24 school year. In November 2023, applicants still had to submit their applications for the aptitude test only in paper form under the legislation in force at that time. However, these applications for education with a aptitude test were now also added to the application form submitted on 20 February 2024 in order to "enter" the information system. Admission to the fields of studies with a aptitude test will thus be decided at the same time as for the other study fields.

The digitisation of the application process is ensured by the DIPSY information system, which was launched by the Centre for Evaluation of Educational Achievements (Cermat) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in January 2024 in accordance with the amendment to the Education Act.

The results of the admission procedure will be published by the school head on 15 May 2024 in the form of a list in a publicly accessible place in the school and in a manner allowing remote access in the admission procedure information system.

For more information, see Admission requirements and choice of school in Chapter 6.

Education of Ukrainian pupils

Since 2 January 2024, it is no longer possible to announce separate enrolments into 1^st grades for Ukrainian children.

Re-registration of persons with temporary protection will take place (until the end of March 2024) in order to extend temporary protection until March 2025.

Changes from the school year 2024/2025

Enrolment to nursery schools for the 2024/2025 school year will be conducted for all children on the standard dates and in the standard manner; there will no longer be separate enrolment for children with temporary protection.

For the school year 2024/2025, the content of education must already be in accordance with the school education programme or accredited education programme also for children and pupils with temporary protection. The exception applies only to those who have enjoyed temporary protection for less than 12 months.

It will no longer be possible to create segregated classes and groups only for Ukrainian children.

The possibility of an exemption from the requirement of knowledge of the Czech language for teachers will be abolished.

For pupils of secondary schools, conservatoires and tertiary professional schools, the possibility to enrol pupils in the current 1^st year only applies to those with temporary protection for less than 12 months.

For details on the education of children, pupils and students from Ukraine with temporary protection, see Specific support for children, pupils and students in the context of the armed conflict in Ukraine.

Financing

Funding the position of Ukrainian teaching assistant in schools for the period January-August 2024: The funding is intended for legal entities operating a nursery and a basic school (including a special basic school) or secondary school or conservatoire. From September 2024, there will be no longer be financial support for Ukrainian teaching assistant.