Overview

In Czechia, upper secondary education is provided by upper secondary schools (střední školy) and by conservatoires (konzervatoře) providing arts education.

Upper secondary schools

Upper secondary schools provide mainly upper secondary education (ISCED 3) which may be general or vocational (with a higher or lower share of general component), while secondary vocational education prevails. This type of education is post-compulsory. It consists of two to four-year programmes, with pupils usually      starting these at the age of 15, i.e. after they have completed compulsory schooling. It offers a wide range of professional fields of study at three levels of education and covers educational needs of the whole 15-18-year-old age group. Some secondary schools (multi-year secondary general schools – víceletá gymnázia) also provide the lower secondary education. Fields of study that only lead to acquiring the level of "secondary education" are intended for pupils with special educational needs (e.g. pupils with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities).

The legal condition for admission to secondary school education (ISCED 3) is completion of compulsory schooling or successful completion of basic education (ISCED 244) and fulfilment of the conditions of the admission procedure set by the school head. The admission procedure for the first year of secondary education courses takes place in individual rounds announced by the school head. The school head announces the admission criteria for each round of the admission process. In the admission procedure for the field of secondary education with Maturita examination, the standardised admission examination is a mandatory part of the first round of the admission procedure. The standardised admission examination is not held in the case of fields of shortened study for obtaining upper secondary education with the Maturita examination and also in the case of fields of upper secondary education with the Maturita examination, where an talent exam is determined as part of the admission procedure by the framework education programme, with the exception of the field Sports training secondary general schools (Gymnázium se sportovní přípravou), in this case the standardised admission examination is held.

Upon successful completion of an educational programme of  upper secondary education, pupils achieve a level of:

• upper secondary education with the Maturita examination (střední vzdělání s maturitní zkouškou) (ISCED 344 or 354, completed with the Maturita examination (maturitní zkouška));
• upper secondary education with a VET certificate (střední vzdělání s výučním listem) (ISCED 353; completed with a VET final examination (závěrečná zkouška));
• (upper) secondary education (střední vzdělání) (ISCED 253 or 353, completed with a VET final examination).

Study applicants who have achieved a level of upper secondary education with a VET certificate and want to obtain an upper secondary education with the Maturita examination can complete:

• follow-up courses (nástavbové studium) (ISCED 354, completed with the Maturita examination);

Study applicants who have achieved a level of upper secondary education with a VET certificate or the Maturita examination and want to study another field of upper secondary education to gain another qualification may take:

• shortened courses (zkrácené studium) aimed at achieving secondary education with the Maturita examination (ISCED 354); these courses are intended only for study applicants who have already obtained an upper secondary education with the Maturita examination;
• shortened courses aimed at achieving secondary education with a VET certificate (ISCED 353, completed with a VET final examination); these courses are intended for applicants who have obtained an upper secondary education with a VET certificate, or with the Maturita examination, or have successfully completed all 4 years of the field of education, through which an upper secondary education with the Maturita examination is obtained.

Only acquiring the level of upper secondary education with the Maturita examination entitles graduates to enter a tertiary level of education.

Upper secondary education takes place in on-site form of study, in the form of evening courses, distance form of study, e-learning or combined form of study. Studying in these forms of study is equivalent:

• on-site form of study – teaching organised regularly every day in a five-day teaching week during the school year;
• evening courses – classes organized regularly several times a week in the range of 10 to 18 hours per week during the school year, usually in the afternoon and evening hours;
• distance form of study – independent study combined with consultations in the range of 200 to 220 consultation hours per school year;
• e-learning – independent study carried out mainly or entirely through information technologies, possibly coupled with individual consultations,
• combined form of study – alternating on-site and some of the other forms of study.

The duration of study in the distance form of study, evening courses, e-learning or combined form of study is at most 1 year longer than the duration of study in the on-site form of study.

A pupil acquires upper secondary education with the Maturita examination by:

• successfully completing a four-year educational programme in case of on-site form of study in general (ISCED 344) or vocational courses (ISCED 354) and passing the Maturita examination;
• completing a six-year or eight-year educational programme in the secondary general schools (gymnázia) (ISCED 244+344) and passing the Maturita examination;
• successfully completing a follow-up study and passing the Maturita examination (ISCED 354) or successfully completion a shortened study with the Maturita examination and passing the Maturita examination (ISCED 354) - the shortened study with the Maturita examination is intended for graduates who have obtained uuper secondary education with the Maturita examination in another field of study and want to extend their qualification.

Education in general fields of study (study programmes in secondary general schools) provides a broad level of knowledge and skills and graduates ussualycontinue their studies at the tertiary level of education. Eight or six-year programmes of secondary general schools (so-called multi-year secondary general schools) provide lower secondary education (ISCED 244, pupils complete their compulsory school attendance there) and upper secondary education (ISCED 344). In the fields of upper secondary vocational education, graduates are also prepared for entering the labour market and are qualified to perform specific professions.

Upper secondary education with a VET certificate (výuční list) can be obtained upon successful completion:

• of a two–year or more often three-year course (ISCED 353) and passing a VET final examination or
• a shortened course with a VET certificate (ISCED 353) and passing a VET final examination.

Subject areas in this type of education are classified as vocational education and are aimed at acquiring the competences for the performance of a specific profession. Graduates are ready to enter the labour market.

(Upper) secondary education can be attained by:

• a successful completion of a one-year or two-year (in an on-site form of education) educational programme.

In comparison with the programmes of upper secondary education completed with VET certificate the education in the two-year programmes is less demanding. School-leavers achieve the ISCED 353 level, but no VET certificate is awarded. One-year and two-year practical schools are designated for pupils with moderate or severe mental disabilities, autism or multiple disabilities, with school-leavers achieving the ISCED 253 level. This type of education is acquired by a very small number of pupils (0.5 %).

In the 2021/22 school year, 31 % of pupils completed their studies in general fields of the secondary education with the Maturita examination (fields of secondary general schools and lyceum fields), 41 % of pupils in the vocational fields of the secondary education with the Maturita examination and 27 % of pupils in the vocational fields with a VET certificate. 1 % of pupils completed their studies in the secondary fields without the Maturita examination / VET certificate. (The data do not include follow-up and shortened study. Source: Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.)

Conservatoires

Secondary education can also be obtained in conservatoires. Conservatoires provide art education:

• in six-year programmes for pupils who have completed compulsory schooling (educational fields Music, Singing, and Music and Drama; upper secondary followed by tertiary level of education, ISCED 354+554) or
• in eight-year programmes for pupils who have completed the 5th year of the basic school (educational field Dance; from lower secondary to tertiary level of education, ISCED 244+354+554).

Only a small number of pupils, admitted on the basis of an talent exam, participate in this type of education. Education in these schools is usually completed with the graduate examination (absolutorium). Graduates achieve the level of tertiary professional education in a conservatoire (vyšší odborné vzdělání v konzervatoři) (ISCED 554) and are awarded a DiS. degree, “diploma specialist” (diplomovaný specialista). Pupils can also take the Maturita examination and thus attain secondary education with the Maturita examination (ISCED 354).

Certification in the field of upper secondary vocational education can also be obtained without prior participation in an education or training programme if the applicant submits a set of certificates on acquisition of professional qualifications that in summary certify the attainment of all professional skills set by the National Qualifications System for entering specific occupation. These certificates enable the holder to take a VET final examination or the Maturita examination without prior participation in initial (school) education. See also Validation of Non-formal and Informal Learning in Chapter 8.

General objectives

Under the Education Act, upper secondary education develops the knowledge, aptitude, skills, attitudes and values pupils have gained in basic education, which are important for their personal development. Upper secondary schools (střední školy) provide pupils with broader general education or vocational training with an element of general education and strengthen their values orientation. Upper secondary education lays the foundation for pupils' future, for a full, active life in both the personal and civic sphere, for readiness to gain information independently and continue in further learning. It prepares them for entering the labour market and motivates them to engage in lifelong learning. Since September 2017, the School Act has laid down the obligation for secondary schools to make an effort to establish cooperation with employers in the region.

General objectives of lower secondary education provided in lower stage of multi-year secondary general schools (gymnázia) correspond to objectives of the basic (single-structure) education.

Under the Education Act, conservatoires (konzervatoře) offer a combination of general and vocational education which builds on the knowledge, aptitude and skills pupils have acquired in the basic education or the basic art education. Courses of Music, Dance, Singing, and Music and Drama prepare pupils for employment in the field of performing arts or for teaching in the area of arts. Education in a conservatoire should provide pupils with a sound basis for a full personal and civic life and should also motivate them to continue their studies at higher education level.

More detailed objectives are set in framework education programmes (FEPs) which are drawn-up by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for individual fields of study. Based on them, schools create school education programmes, where they specify the objectives and are enabled to create professional orientations for the given fields of education in accordance with the needs of labour market in the given region.

Legislative framework

The area of upper secondary education and education in conservatoires (konzervatoře), just as the areas of pre-primary, basic, tertiary professional and other education provided in schools and school facilities, is governed by the Education Act of 2004. Under this act conditions for delivering education and training are stipulated, rights and duties of physical and legal entities involved in education are regulated and the roles of state administration and self-government bodies in education are defined.

Education in upper secondary schools (střední školy) and conservatoires (types of upper secondary schools, organisation of theoretical and practical instruction, rules for pupils' assessment and other conditions regarding education) is further specified in the Decree on Secondary Education and Education in Conservatoires.

The Decree on Admission Procedure to Secondary Education and Education in Conservatoires regulates organisation of admission process to the first and later years of upper secondary schools and conservatoires.

Two decrees regulate the conditions for taking the examinations taken at the end of the education: the Decree on Detailed Conditions on Completing Education by the Maturita Examination in Secondary Schools and the Decree on Completion of Education in Upper Secondary Schools in the Form of a VET Final Examination, and on Completion of Education in Conservatoires in the form of a Graduate Examination.