The funding of the pre-school and school education system is regulated by the Pre-School and School Education Act. The Decree on the Financing of Institutions in the Preschool and School Education System sets the state educational standard for the funding of these institutions. 

The institutions in the system are: 

• State-owned, which are financed from the state budget through the budget of the Ministry of Education and Science or other ministries or authorities.
• Municipal, which are financed through the budget of municipalities.
• Private, which are financed under the terms and procedure of the law under which they are established.
• Theological schools are financed under the terms and rules of the Religions Act.

According to the Register of Institutions in the Pre-school and School Education System of the Ministry of Education and Science, the total number of schools is 2,485, of which 287 are state schools, 2,059 are municipal schools, 134 are private schools and 5 are theological schools. There are 66 individual development support centres and 10 specialised service units.

Activities in the pre-school and school education system are funded by the state budget, municipal budgets, European funds and programmes and the institutions' own revenues.  

State budget funds are budgeted annually in an amount and as a percentage of gross domestic product not less than the amount provided for in the previous year's State budget. They finance, fully or partially, the specific activities that are subject to State policy. 'Activities subject to State policy' are those activities carried out by institutions in the pre-school and school education system to which children and pupils have equal access and which are directly related to their upbringing, education and training, the acquisition of primary and secondary education and/or vocational qualifications or the support of their personal development. These activities are not of an economic nature, are determined by the State educational standard for the financing of institutions and are financed fully or partially from the State budget in accordance with the Pre-school and School Education Act and under the terms, procedures and in the amounts determined by the Council of Ministers. The first-level budget authorities allocate funds to schools and kindergartens on the basis of formulas for each activity. The formulas include a basic and additional component.

These funds are allocated to fund state and municipal schools and kindergartens based on the following standards:

1. the number of children and pupils;
2. the number of groups and classes;
3. the type and number of educational institutions;
4. the standard per child and pupil;
5. group and class standard;
6. standard per educational institution.

The funds for a specific activity are multiplied by a regional coefficient, which is determined according to the population of the municipal centre and its distance from a regional city and from a locality with more than 100 000 inhabitants.

The state budget fully finances the following activities:

• the compulsory pre-school education of children, carried out in groups in the kindergartens or schools
• education according to the curriculum from 1st to 12th grade in accordance with the state educational standard for the curriculum.

The funds from the state budget are allocated for:

• maintenance of the activities related to education and training of children and pupils;
• support for equal access and support for individual development;
• development of kindergartens, schools and support centres for individual development;
• implementation of national programmes for the development of education.
  
   

The standard amounts depend on:

1. the content of the educational activities of children and pupils;
2. the type and specificity of the school or kindergarten;
3. the form of education;
4. the vocational field of study;
5. the geographical and demographic characteristics of the locality, municipality and region in which the educational institution is located, leading to differences in the costs necessary to ensure equal access to education;
6. the need pedagogical staff to perform teaching and learning activities for children and pupils.

State and municipal kindergartens and schools receive additional funding for:

• work with children and pupils from vulnerable groups;
• the maintenance of classes for the acquisition of qualifications in protected occupational specialties and occupational specialties for which there is an expected shortage of specialists on the labour market;
• maintenance of protected kindergartens and schools.

The funds provided to support equal access and to support individual development include:

1. student scholarships;
2. transport of children and pupils;
3. purchase of educational books, textbooks and teaching kits for free use and for the school library;
4. all-day organization of the school day and meals;
5. activities related to general support for individual development;
6. activities related to additional support for individual development;
7. activities related to pupils' leisure and sport;
8. implementation of school drop-out prevention and early school leaving programmes;
9. support for pupils with outstanding gifts;
10. compensation for the costs of raising and educating children who are not enrolled due to lack of places for pre-school education in state and municipal kindergartens and schools;
11. other activities helping to increase the coverage and equal access to education.

The State budget provides funds to children of compulsory pre-school age and for pupils in localities where there is no kindergarten or school, for transport to the nearest kindergarten or school that provide education in the concerned group or grade. State budget funds transport also for pupils who travel daily to a school in another locality in the same or in an neighbouring administrative-territorial area in which they are studying for a qualification in a profession, if such training is not available in the locality in which the pupil lives, or if the pupil is studying in a protected specialty of a profession for which there is an expected shortage of specialists on the labour market, and there is no available vocational education in the same or in another protected specialty in the locality in which the pupil lives.

The funds for the provision of resource support activities for children and pupils with special educational needs are provided to the kindergartens and schools where they are enrolled.

The terms and procedures for the provision and allocation of funds from the State budget for ensuring equal access and support for individual development are set by the Council of Ministers, and when they are provided by a European fund or programme they are set also and/or in accordance with their funding rules.

The State provides funds to parents of children from the age of three until their entry into the first grade to compensate the costs directly related to their upbringing and education when:

1. the child is not enrolled for the relevant school year due to lack of available places for full-day or half-day pre-school education in a state or municipal kindergarten or school for which he/she has applied, and
2. the municipality where the child resides has not offered the child another equivalent place in a municipal kindergarten or school.

Funds for the development of kindergartens, schools and centres for personal support include:

1. expenditure for the improvement of facilities;
2. funds for improving the quality of education and educational outcomes;
3. funds for the development and support of pedagogical specialists;
4. library and information provision;
5. other expenditure aimed at improving the physical environment and the educational process.

The funds for enhancing the quality of education and educational outcomes are provided to kindergartens and schools that have high, low or increasing educational outcomes and are used as follows:

1. by kindergartens and schools with high as well as improving educational results - at their discretion for additional financing of their activities and/or for rewarding pedagogical specialists;
2. by kindergartens and schools with low educational performance - earmarked for the implementation of programmes or individual measures to raise educational performance.

The funds allocated to kindergartens and schools with low educational results should be spent after a pre-approved allocation by the primary authority and may not be used to increase the salaries of teaching staff.

The specialised service units are funded from the State budget through the budget of the Ministry of Education and Science.

Control over the educational process, spending and results is exercised by the relevant institutions in the education system at central and local level. The Minister of Education and Science supervises the activities of all institutions in the pre-school and school education system, as well as the compliance of the activities of the religious schools with the requirements of the Pre-School and School Education Act.

The Regional Directorates of Education under the Minister are the territorial administrations for the management and control of the pre-school and school education system. 

The local authorities ensure and control the funding of activities delegated by the State and of local education activities, as well as the conditions and organisation of pre-school education activities in municipal kindergartens, the scope of children and pupils subject to compulsory pre-school and school education, etc.

The municipality and the Regional Directorate of Education exercise control over the spending by private kindergartens and schools of funds received from the state budget. 

State and municipal schools implement a delegated budget system that entitles the head of the school to be a secondary authority with a budget, to make compensated changes to the plan of income and expenditure, including between activities, to dispose of the school's funds, to determine the number of staff, individual remuneration, teaching workload and the number of groups and classes, as well as the number of pupils in them, in accordance with the approved budget of the school and the norms laid down in the by-laws, ensuring the implementation of the curriculum. This grants financial autonomy to schools, giving them more operational powers in terms of budgeting and spending and thus allowing them to pursue an autonomous policy.

Institutions in the pre-school and school education system can receive additional funding under national education development programmes. The funds are planned in the budget of the Ministry of Education and Science and are spent in accordance with the terms and procedures laid down in the respective national programme. For 2022, the approved national programmes are:

• NP "National Standardized External Assessment System"
• NP "Student Olympiads and Competitions"
• NP "Providing a modern, safe and accessible educational environment"
• NP "It's good at kindergarten"
• NP "Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Pre-school and School Education"
• NP "Motivated teachers and qualifications"
• NP "Together for Every Child"
• NP "Optimising the internal staff structure"
• NP "Innovation in Action"
• NP "Business teaches"
• NP Textbooks, teaching kits and teaching aids
• NP " Support to municipalities for educational desegregation"
• NP "No cancelled Lesson"
• NP "Mother tongue and culture abroad"
• NP “Vocational Education and Training”
• NP "Support for the Individual Development of Children and Pupils"
• NP "Training for IT skills and careers"
• NP "Together again"
• NP "Prevention and rehabilitation of pedagogical professionals"
• NP "Support for educational mediators and social workers"
• NP "Together in Arts and Sport"

Children and pupils in the pre-school and school education system are provided with general and additional support for individual development, which ensures an appropriate physical, psychological and social environment for the development of their abilities and skills. The terms and conditions for the provision of general and additional support are established by the Regulation on Inclusive Education and the State Education Standard. Fees may be charged for general support provided by a centre for support for individual development, which is not funded by the State budget, under the terms and in accordance with the procedure set out in the Local Taxes and Fees Act. Where activities are financed by national and international programmes and projects, no fees shall be charged.

Private kindergartens and schools

Private kindergartens and private schools can join the system of state funding, and this is upon their application, made in accordance with the procedure established by the state educational standard for the funding of institutions. Funds from the State budget for the maintenance of the education and training activities of children and pupils in private kindergartens and schools are determined in accordance with the budgets of the municipalities in whose territory they are located. Those which are included in the system of State financing provide the opportunity for 20 per cent of the children and pupils admitted to them, including children and pupils with outstanding gifts and/or special educational needs, to be educated without payment for the activities financed by the State. They may carry out activities for a fee only outside those for which they receive a State subsidy.

The funds received by the municipality under the standards are distributed to private schools and kindergartens included in the state funding system based on the following indicators:

1. the number of children and pupils;
2. the number of groups and classes;
3. the type and number of educational institutions;
4. standard per child and pupil;
5. group and class standard;
6. standard per educational institution. 

Private kindergartens and private schools may not finance the costs of activities funded by the State budget using the income from paid-for activities or income generated on other grounds. The activities outside those financed by the State and carried out for a charge by private kindergartens or schools are determined by their respective internal regulations. 

The terms and conditions for payment of activities and the amount of the fee are set out in a contract between the private kindergarten or private school and the parent of the child or pupil.

Private kindergartens and schools included in the system of State financing may collect funds from parents to compensate them for the costs incurred by them for the provision and maintenance of the material and technical facilities in which the activities of compulsory pre-school and school education of children and pupils are carried out, as the maximum amount per child or pupil is determined in accordance with the methodology approved by the State educational standard for the financing of institutions.

The municipality and the Regional Department of Education exercise control over the spending by private kindergartens and schools of funds received from the State budget.