2025

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.

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

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.

2023

Amendment to the Act on Education Staff 

Amendment to Act No.563/2004 Coll., on education staff and on amendments to certain acts, and Act No.561/2004 Coll., on pre-primary, basic, secondary, tertiary professional and other education (the Education Act), brings a number of significant changes to the Czech education system. These changes affect pre-primary, primary, secondary, and tertiary professional levels. They range from adjusting the qualification requirements for teaching staff to enshrining the induction period for new teachers, as well as the positions of mentoring teacher and supervising teacher in legislation, to a new legal framework for the size of the education budget for teachers' salaries. Behind the changes is the government's effort to increase the attractiveness of the teaching profession and to bring new staff into education, especially in view of the problem of teacher shortages, which has become more acute in recent years. Strengthening the financial remuneration of teachers, specifically the inclusion of a requirement for a teacher's salary of at least 130 % of the average wage in the national economy, is another form of support for the teaching profession. Most of the amendments are effective from 1 September 2023, some from 1 January 2024. Below we provide an overview of some main changes.

Changes to the qualification requirements for the employment of teachers, e.g.:

• Possibility of employing a person without a pedagogical qualification at lower and upper secondary level for up to 3 years.
• Extension of qualification pathways for some teaching positions such as primary teachers, SEN teachers, teachers of vocational practice, trainers, etc.
• Change of qualification requirements for teaching assistants - the number of hours of compulsory training has been increased and mandatory practice in schools has been introduced.
• Introduction of the school speech therapist as a separate category of education staff.

Other changes:

• New legal framework for the size of the education budget for teachers' salaries - the total amount of funds allocated for teachers' salaries will now correspond (on a monthly average per 1 full-time teacher) to at least 130 % of the average gross monthly salary for the converted number of employees in the national economy.
• Legally enshrining the two-year induction period for beginning teachers and introducing the position of a mentoring teacher.
• Establishment of a supervising teacher to guide student practice in schools. 

More information on the amendment is available on the edu.cz website (in Czech).

Upper secondary schools: Czech language teaching of pupils-foreigners in language groups 2023

As in 2022, the amendment to the Decree on Secondary Education and Education in Conservatoires extended free Czech language tuition within the framework of language training groups for pupils-foreigners; the measure is currently valid only for the 2023/24 school year. To qualify for free language training, the pupil must have attended school for a maximum of 24 months.

Identification of socially disadvantaged pupils in basic school

Until now, pupils with social disadvantages have not often received any special support in Czechia - among other reasons, because neither schools nor pedagogical and psychological counselling centres had any tool to identify a pupil's social disadvantage. The newly published methodology "Identification of socially disadvantaged pupils in basic school" created by the National Pedagogical Institute of the Czech Republic should help solve this situation.
The material follows up one of the main themes set by the Strategy for Education Policy of the Czech Republic until 2030+, i.e. solving inequalities in education, and is primarily intended for employees of basic schools and other interested parties from the wider educational public. The aim is to provide schools with a simple and functional tool for identifying pupils with social disadvantages so that it is clear which pupils need to be provided with increased support in education.
The methodology contains both a description of the tool itself for identifying students with social disadvantages, as well as the results of a pilot verification in forty basic schools.
More information and the entire methodological material are available on the edu.cz website (In Czech).

Education of the Ukrainian pupils – news from January 2023

With the new year 2023, the condition for the education and support of the pupils with temporary protection coming from Ukraine were prolonged and partially changed.

The amendment to the Act No. 67/2022 on the measures in education of January 2023 prolonged its validity until August 2024. At the same time, it enables the nursery and basic schools to set up a special term (between 1 June and 15 July 2023) for the registration of the children with temporary protection for the 2023/24 school year. For this purpose, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports prepared the methodology for the schools.

Within the competence entrusted by the previous amendment, the Ministry issued three binding general measures, which adjusted the conditions for the pupils with temporary protection for:

• the admission procedure for education in upper secondary schools (střední školy) and tertiary professional schools (vyšší odborné školy) for the 2023/24 school year (Measure of October 2022): Pupils are exempted from the entrance examination from the Czech language if it is a part of the examination (the necessary knowledge is examined by interview). The pupils are entitled to take the written test within the standardised examination from the Mathematics and its Applications in Ukrainian. School can assign the written test within the school examination in Ukrainian, otherwise the time limit is increased by 25 % and the translation dictionary can be used;
• the Maturita examination in 2023 (Measure of November 2022): The time for the preparation for the oral examination except for the foreign language is prolonged to 30 minutes and the time for all written and practical examinations by 25 %. For the Czech Language and Literature, the minimum length of the essay was decreased to 200 words, and the length of the pupil’s list for the oral examination was shortened to 15 literary works. In most examinations, the translation dictionary or the Czech Spelling Rules can be used;
• VET final examinations in 2023 (Measure of January 2023): In the study field with the VET certificate, the time for the oral examination is prolonged by 10 minutes and for the preparation for it by 15 minutes upon a request. In the fields without the VET certificate the time for the practical examination is prolonged by 60 minutes, for the theoretical examination (or its parts) by 10 minutes and for the preparation for it by 15 minutes upon the request. The translation dictionary can be used during the examinations.

In 2023, the financial support of the Ministry continues, like in 2022. For the funding of the Ukrainian teacher's assistants in the nursery schools (mateřské školy), basic school (základní školy) and upper secondary schools, and conservatoires (konzervatoře), the conditions for the period from January to August 2023 were set; the funds are allocated based on the number of pupils with temporary protection in the school. Subsequently, the support was extended from September to the end of the year (the allocation from September to the end of the calendar year is CZK 116 million / EUR 4.74 M, 8 September 24.47). For the adaptation groups for children with temporary protection from 3 to 18 years of age, a new call for the period from January to June 2023 was announced; total allocation is CZK 100 million / EUR 4.23 M (CZK/EUR = 23.66, 23 March 2023).

Summer language courses for children of foreigners migrating from Ukraine 2023

The purpose of the grant is to: 

• increase language skills in the Czech language,
• eliminate early departures from education due to lack of knowledge of the Czech language.

The total allocation of the call is CZK 10 million / EUR 0.41 M (CZK/EUR 24.68, 22 May 2024). The activity is intended for a foreign child from 14 to 18 years of age, for language courses held in the period from 31 July 2023 to 1 September 2023.

Support for schools with socially disadvantaged pupils

As part of the National Recovery Plan, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports announced two calls for the implementation of the "Reforms 3.2.2 School Support" in 2022. They focus on basic schools (základní školy) with a higher proportion of socially disadvantaged pupils. Based on the first call, the National Pedagogical Institute carries out the “Support for equal opportunities” project. The second call is addressed directly to schools.

Approximately 400 concrete schools throughout Czechia are supported, which were selected based on the ministry's composite index. The criteria include the number of Roma pupils, pupils with selected foreign citizenship, socially disadvantaged pupils, pupils from a different cultural environment or with other living conditions, the rate of early school leaving, the number of grade repetitions and the Social Exclusion Index of the municipality (according to the Agency for Social Inclusion).

Support for equal opportunities

The Support for equal opportunities project (Podpora rovných příležitostí) is aimed at supporting schools with a higher proportion of socially disadvantaged pupils and solving inequalities in education. It is based on the objectives of the Education Policy Strategy 2030+. As part of the project, above-mentioned schools will be methodically supported in the long term. The project is implemented by the National Pedagogical Institute. The total allocation is CZK 200 million / EUR 8.5 M (CZK/EUR = 23.66, 23 March 2023).

The main goal of the project planned for the years 2022–2026 is to prepare and implement solutions leading to the reduction of growing inequalities in education. Schools in more demanding conditions will be provided with multi-layered support aimed, among other things, at strengthening the competences of teaching staff for working with heterogeneous groups of pupils, especially pupils with social disadvantages. A partial goal of the project is to design and verify the future school financing system according to the index of socio-economic disadvantage of pupils determined by a combination of several indicators.

Call to support schools with an above-average representation of socially disadvantaged pupils

The Call to support schools with an above-average representation of socially disadvantaged pupils (Výzva na podporu škol s nadpůrměrným zastoupením sociálně znevýhodněných žáků) is aimed at increasing the school success of these pupils, their motivation to learn and overall well-being. Selected schools can apply (only some schools in the first round, a second round will follow). The call is announced for the period 2022–2025. The total amount allocated is CZK 2 billion / EU 85 M (in the first round, CZK 1.3 B / EUR 55 M). The schools receive CZK 2 000 to 16 000 (EUR 85 to 676) per pupil per year.

Supported activities can be divided into three areas. The first of them is the provision of support staff for schools, when schools can apply apart from teacher’s assistants also for other support staff such as school psychologists, special pedagogues, and social pedagogues, career advisor, inclusion coordinators, adaptation coordinator, tandem teachers, etc. The second area is the direct support of pupils, such as pedagogical intervention (tutoring), psychosocial intervention (preventive programmes), strengthening cooperation with the parents of socially disadvantaged pupils, experiential educational programmes for pupils, educational events with a focus on increasing pupils' study motivation, adaptation, socialisation activities, etc. The third area is the provision of support for further education and the development of the competences of teaching staff, which includes, in addition to specially focused CPD programmes, also supervision, internships, mentoring, coaching or mediation aimed, for example, at solving conflict situations. 

2023 Update of the National Recovery Plan

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the European Commission has decided to launch the National Recovery Plan (also known as the Recovery and Resilience Facility) as part of the EU's Next Generation Recovery Plan and to provide direct financial support to Member States for pre-approved reforms and investments. The National Recovery Plan for the Czech Republic was approved by the European Commission in 2021. However, the pandemic was followed by an energy crisis in the aftermath of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Thus, in 2023, the government and the European Commission approved an updated National Recovery Plan to help with the overall energy transformation in particular (a new seventh pillar REPowerEU was introduced), but in addition, it also includes priorities of the current government, such as addressing housing affordability or digitalisation of the public administration. Compared to the original NRP with an allocation of CZK 179 billion / EUR 7.03 billion, the budget has thus increased by another CZK 50 billion / EUR 1.96 billion (CZK/EUR = 25.45, 31 July 2024). The funds for the implementation of the NRP will be provided to the Czech Republic over the period 2021-2026.

The NRP consists of seven pillars: 1. Digital transformation (CZK 37.8 billion / EUR 1.49 billion), 2. Physical infrastructure and green transition (CZK 95 billion / EUR 3.73 billion), 3. Education and labour market (CZK 45.2 billion / EUR 1.78 billion), 4. Institutions and regulation and business support in response to COVID-19 (CZK 10.4 billion / EUR 0.41 billion), 5. Research, development, and innovation (CZK 10.1 billion / EUR 0.4 billion), 6. Health and resilience (CZK 12.4 billion / EUR 0.49 billion) and 7. REPowerEU (CZK 17.5 billion / EUR 0.69 billion) (CZK/EUR = 25.45, 31 July 2024). These 7 pillars comprise a total of 37 components managed by individual ministries. In total, the plan contains 58 reforms and 105 investments. 

The Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports is the guarantor of three components in the NRP for a total of CZK 23 billion / EUR 0.9 billion (CZK/EUR = 25.45, 31 July 2024):
•    Innovations in Education in the Context of Digitalization (revision of curricula, promotion of IT education and meaningful integration of digital technologies into teaching, prevention of the digital divide, and raising the level of digitalization of schools);
•    Adapting the capacity and focus of school programmes (transforming universities, investing in the development of selected key academic departments, supporting schools with an over-representation of pupils from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, tutoring pupils);
•    Programme to support excellent research in priority areas of public interest in health - EXCELES 
 

Long-term Plan for Education and the Development of the Education System of the Czech Republic 2023-2027

In line with the Education Act (section 9, paragraph 1), the Long-term Plan for Education and the Development of the Education System of the Czech Republic (2023-2027) was created and approved in December 2023. It follows from the Long-term Plan for Education and Development of the Education System of the Czech Republic (2019-2023), which was taken into account during the preparation of the Strategy 2030+. It covers the whole educational area except for higher education. Regional long-terms plans are then prepared in accordance with it.

It contains three key strategic goals of the Ministry, which work to fulfil the goals of the Strategy 2030+ and Government's Programme Statement:

• Children and Youth: Personal development and motivation for lifelong learning
• Schools and Teachers: Modern education and prepared teachers
• Effective School System: Sustainable and effective system based on responsibility for education outcomes

For more information see 2.1 Current strategies in the area of education.