Local-level administration and management

At the local level, the state administration in education is performed by municipalities. Competences of municipalities in the performace of state administration in education are defined by Act no.596/2003 Coll. on state administration in education and school self-government (Zákon č. 596/2003 Z. z. o štátnej správe v školstve a školskej samospráve).

Municipality in transferred performance of state administration founds and dismisses primary schools according to the network.

Municipality in performance of self-government, according to the network, founds and dismisses 

• primary schools,
• kindergartens,
• school children clubs, which are not part of the primary school,
• leisure-time centres,
• school canteens for primary school pupils and children in kindergartens,
• language schools at primary schools,
• centres of school’s services,
• school dormitories.

Municipalities create conditions for

• education of children and pupils mainly by founding schools and school facilities,
• compulsory pre-primary education attendance and admission of children who are entitled to pre-primary education in kindergartens that it founded,
• compulsory school attendance in primary schools that it founded,
• provision of education to children with disabilities in school and school facilities that it founded,
• provision of education to gifted children and pupils in schools and school facilities that it founded.

In the area of education, the municipality mainly

• checks the compliance with generally binding legal regulations in education,
• checks the quality of meals served in school canteens,
• issues organisational instructions for heads,
• provides professional and counselling services to schools and school facilities,
• provides legal counselling to heads,
• submits the following to the municipality school board for an opinion
  - information on pedagogical-organisational and material provision of educational process in schools and school facilities,
  - draft breakdown of funding allocated to schools and school facilities by the regional office,
  - report on the management of schools and school facilities,
  - report on educational activity, its results, and the conditions of schools and school facilities that it founded,
  - the concept of investment development of schools and school facilities,
  - proposals for founding or dismissing schools and school facilities or limiting their activity.
   

Municipalities create an investment plan and the breakdown of funding provided by the ministry through regional offices for schools and school facilities that the municipality founded.

Institutional-level administration and management

Schools and school facilities

Primary and secondary schools are legal subjects, which means that they are employers of teachers and other school employees. When employing teachers, they must comply with provisions of legal regulations that define qualification requirements for the teacher’s profession. They are responsible for adequately allocating funds from the state budget. Each primary and secondary school provides education according to their school educational programme. The school head is responsible for creating and publishing the school educational programme. All school educational programmes must be structured as defined by the Education Act.

School and school facility heads manage the activity of schools or school facilities. School heads appoint class teachers, school support teams and heads of methodological bodies or subject commissions. They establish advisory bodies, which include the pedagogical board, advisory forum, methodological bodies, and subject commissions. In schools of applied arts, secondary schools of arts, conservatories and dance conservatories, the heads create the artistic board. The secondary school head allows a board of pupils to be established.

For more information on the responsibility and competencies of school heads see Chapter 10.1 Management staff for early childhood and school education.

The pedagogical board is an advisory body to the school head in pedagogical-organisational matters. All teachers are members of the pedagogical board.

Self-government bodies of schools and school facilities

School self-government is performed by

• school board or school facility board,
• municipality school board,
• territorial school boards,
• school parliament.

The school board, municipality school board, and territorial school board are initiative and advisory bodies, which express and promote public interest and the interests of pupils, parents, pedagogical employees, and other employees in education. They serve as public inspection, assess and give opinions on activities of schools, school facilities, local state administration bodies, municipality bodies, and self-government region bodies regarding education issues. 

School board

• carries out the selection procedure for the position of school head,
• based on the selection procedure, proposes a candidate to be appointed the school head,
• submits a proposal to dismiss the head or gives an opinion on a proposal for dismission of a head; the proposal for dismission is always submitted with justification,
• gives an opinion on conceptual intentions of the development of a school or school facility and on the proposal for dismissing a school or a school facility.

School or school facility board members usually include elected representatives of pedagogical employees, an elected representative of other employees, elected representatives of parents who are not school or school facility employees, and delegated representatives of the founder. For secondary schools, the board also includes an elected representative of students and a representative of employers.

Municipality school board gives opinion on

• the education-related activity of founders of primary schools, basic arts schools, and school facilities founded on the territory of the municipality,
• the concept of the development of schools and school facilities founded on the territory of the municipality,
• the breakdown of funds from the state budget provided to schools and school facilities founded on the territory of the municipality and the material and technological conditions for the activity of schools and school facilities founded by the municipality,
• personnel, material, and social conditions of employees in schools and school facilities founded on the territory of the municipality,
• municipality’s demands for improving the quality of care and education services provided in schools and school facilities and the manner of paying for the increased cost incurred thereby,
• the report on educational results in schools and school facilities founded on the territory of the municipality.

Municipality school board members include elected representatives of school heads, elected representatives of parents, elected representatives of the school or school facility board chairmen from all schools and school facilities founded on the territory of the municipality, and two delegated representatives of the municipality.

Territorial school board gives opinions on

• the activity of the respective regional office,
• the activity of the respective self-government region’s education bodies,
• the concept of the development of schools and school facilities in the territorial competence of the self-government,
• the breakdown of funds provided to schools and school facilities founded on the territory of the self-government region from the state budget and the material conditions for the activity of schools and school facilities founded by the self-government region or regional office,
• the personnel and social conditions of school and school facility employees,
• self-governing region’s demands for improving the quality of care and education services provided in schools and school facilities and the manner of paying for the increased cost incurred thereby,
• proposal for the introduction of study fields and focuses,
• the report on the results of the education process in schools and school facilities.

Territorial school board members include elected representatives of heads, elected representatives of parents, and elected representatives of school and school facility board chairmen from schools and school facilities founded by the regional office or self-government region. The territorial school board members also include a delegated representative of the self-government region and a delegated representative of the regional office.

School Parliament

The school parliament represents primary or secondary school pupils and their interests in relation to the school head, managing pedagogical employees, or managing professional employees, as well as externally.

School Parliament

• comments on important school issues, proposals, and measures in education,
• participates in the creation of the school’s code and ensuring that it is followed,
• represents pupils in relation to the school head and the school management and submits its opinions and proposals,
• in secondary schools, elects a representative of pupils in the school board,
• cooperates with the municipality youth parliament and the seniors board, if these bodies are  established in the municipality,
• recommends its members to the municipality youth parliament, who can represent the school in the municipality youth parliament, if there is one in the municipality,
• cooperates with other school parliaments through the municipality youth parliament,
• supports the development of pupils by participating in the preparation of informal activities and events.

Higher education institutions

Higher education institutions are legal persons. All higher education institutions are self-governing, autonomous institutions, which determine their organisation and activity within the limits set by Act no.131/2002 Coll. on Higher Education (Zákon č. 131/2002 Z.z. o vysokých školách).

Self-government powers of public higher education institutions include 

• Internal organisation,
• Determining the number of candidates to be admitted to higher education study, determining conditions for admission to study, and decision-making in the admission procedure,
• creation and implementation of study programmes,
• organisation of the study,
• deciding on matters concerning the academic rights and obligations of students,
• determining the focus and organisation of research, development, or artistic and other creative activity,
• entering, changing, and terminating employment contracts and determining the number and structure of work positions at higher education institutions,
• awarding scientific-pedagogical titles or artistic-pedagogical titles of ‘docent’ and ‘professor’,
• cooperation with other higher education institutions, other legal persons, and natural persons from home and abroad,
• electing the members of public higher education institution’s academic self-government bodies,
• management of higher education institutions and handling their assets in compliance with the Act on Higher Education,
• determining the sum of the fee paid by students for partial coverage of study costs and the study-related fees if the law does not stipulate otherwise.

The academic self-government of a public higher education institution is based on the institution’s academics, who elect and remove the public higher education institution’s academic senate members.

Details of higher education institutions’ organisation and activity, as well as the status of the members of the academia, are governed by internal regulations.

If a higher education institution is structured into faculties, the faculties perform the self-governing competencies of the public higher education institution to the extent defined by the public higher education institution’s statute.

Academic self-government bodies of a higher education institution include:

• academic senate of the higher education institution,
• rector,
• scientific board, artistic board, or scientific and artistic board, and
• the higher education institution’s disciplinary commission for students.

Other public higher education institution bodies include a bursary and the management board of the higher education institution.

The statutory body of a higher education institution is the ‘rector’. He/she manages the higher education institution, acts on its behalf, and represents it externally. The rector is accountable for his/her activities to the Academic Senate of a public higher education institution and to the minister for matters defined by law. The dean is a representative of the faculty. He/she manages the faculty and acts in faculty matters. The dean is accountable for his/her activities to the academic senate of the respective faculty and the rector for some defined activities.
For more information see Chapter 10.5 Management staff for higher education.