Education is provided in schools that are listed in the network of schools and school facilities of the Slovak Republic. The network is a register of schools and school facilities that are 'accredited' to provide individual levels of education according to ISCED (2011).

All schools and school facilities, regardless of the type, size, and founder, are managed by school heads, i.e. management pedagogical employees or management professional employees. In addition to the school head, management pedagogical employees include the school head deputies, head of vocational training, and head childcare educational employee. Management professional employees also include the school head deputy and the head of the professional department.

The position of school head can be taken only by a person who has worked as an independent pedagogical employee or an independent professional employee before applying for the post.

For more information see Chapter Administration and Governance at Local and/or Institutional Level.

Requirements for appointment

According to Act 138/2009 Coll. on pedagogical employees and professional employees (Zákon 138/2009 o pedagogických zamestnancoch a odborných zamestnancoch), the activity of a management pedagogical employee or management professional employee – i.e. school head’s activity, can be performed only by a person who:

• meets qualification requirements for performing work activity in the respective pedagogical employee category or subcategory,
• is assignment to the career level of an independent pedagogical employee or independent professional employee (this requirement must be met at the time of submitting the application for the selection procedure).
• acquired professional competencies required for performing the work of a management pedagogical employee or management professional employee, which is the completion of the basic module of functional education before starting work as a school head. (in practice, a transitional provision of the act postpones the requirement of completing functional education until  31 August 2026)  

School heads must meet the abovementioned requirements and have at least 5 years of pedagogical experience or professional experience on the date of the selection procedure.

Based on the successful selection procedure, the school head is appointed by the founder. At the time of the appointment, employment conditions for the school head’s term of office will be agreed on in an employment agreement, and the remuneration determined according to a special provision.

The term of office of all school heads is 5 years. The school head is both appointed and removed by the founder of the school.
 

Conditions of service

When fulfilling their tasks, school heads follow the appropriate legal regulations and guidelines.

The school head is responsible for: 

• following the state educational programmes designed for the school he/she manages,
• creating and following the school educational programme and educational programme,
• creating and following the yearly plan for further education of pedagogical employees. The school head issues a plan of professional development for at least one school year or five years at most,
• compliance with the generally binding legal regulations related to the objectives of the school or school facility,
• annual evaluation of pedagogical and professional employees,
• the level of educational work of the school or school facility,
• budget, funding, and efficient use of funds allocated for the activities of the school or school facility,
• orderly management of the assets under the management or ownership of the school or school facility. 

Other duties of the school head are set by the work regulations for pedagogical and other employees of schools and school facilities (Pracovný poriadok pre pedagogických zamestnancov a ostatných zamestnancov škôl a školských zariadení), which is created by the employer.

Kindergarten heads and heads of kindergartens for children with special educational needs make decisions on:

• admission of children to kindergarten,
• admission of children to adaptation or diagnostic stay in kindergarten,
• transfer admission of children,
• interruption of kindergarten attendance, except for compulsory pre-primary education,
• exemption of the child from the obligation to attend school due to health reasons, if it concerns compulsory pre-primary education,
• permission of individual education of children, if it concerns compulsory pre-primary education,
• continuing compulsory pre-primary education attendance,
• early termination of pre-primary education, except for compulsory pre-primary education,
• contribution of the children’s parents for partial coverage of costs of a kindergarten whose founder is a regional office, except for compulsory pre-primary education.

Primary school heads perform state administration at the first level. They decide on:  

• admission of pupils to the school,
• transfer admission of pupils,  
• exemption of pupils from the obligation to attend school, 
• exemption of pupils from education in individual subjects or their parts,
• permission to complete school attendance outside the territory of the Slovak Republic,
• imposition of educational measures,
• permission to take the commission examination,
• permission to take examinations in individual subjects also by an applicant who is not a pupil of the school,
• contribution of pupils’ parents for partial coverage of costs for care provided to pupils in the school and school facility (§ 35),
• individual education of pupils,
• education of pupils in schools founded by another State in the territory of the Slovak Republic with the consent of the Embassy of the other State.
• individual education of pupils abroad,
• enabling an individual study of pupils according to individual study plans,

Secondary school heads perform state administration at the first level. They decide on: 

• admission of pupils to study in secondary school,
• exemption of pupils from the duty to attend the school,
• exemption of pupils from the study of individual subjects or their parts,
• enabling pupils to study according to an individual educational plan,
• permission to complete a period of one’s studies at a school of similar type abroad,
• interruption of studies,
• permission to change the field of study,
• transfer of pupils to primary school during their compulsory school attendance,
• permission to repeat the grade,
• imposition of educational measures,
• permission to take a commission examination,
• approval of a scholarship,
• contribution of pupils’ parents to partial coverage of costs for care provided in the school or school facilities,
• individual education of pupils,
• education of pupils in schools founded by another State in the territory of the Slovak Republic with the consent of the Embassy of the other State.

School heads of all types of schools must submit the following to the founder and the school board for opinion every year:

• proposals of the number of children and pupils to be admitted and proposals of the number of classes – submitted by school heads of all types of schools,
• proposal for the introduction of study fields and their focus – submitted only by secondary school heads, particularly secondary vocational school heads,
• proposal for a school educational programme– submitted by school heads of all types of schools; and proposal for the educational programme – submitted by school heads of those types of schools which include some of the school education facilities according to article 113 of the Education Act,
• budget proposal – submitted by school heads of all types of schools, particularly those that are separate legal entities,
• proposal for performing business activities by the school or school facility – submitted by school heads of all types of schools that are separate legal entities,
• report on the school’s educational activity, its outcomes, and conditions in compliance with Article 14 Section 5(d) – submitted by school heads of all types of schools,
• report on the results of school or school facility management – submitted by school heads of all types of schools that are separate legal entities,
• the conceptual intention of the development of the school or school facility for at least two years and its annual evaluation – submitted by school heads of all types of schools,
• information on the pedagogical and organisational as well as material provision of the educational process – submitted by school heads of all types of schools.

The Education Act (školský zákon) defines further obligations for school heads of individual types of schools regarding the following in particular:

• creation of school educational programmes,
• creation of educational programmes, if the school includes an educational facility,
• maintaining pedagogical and other documentation,
• admission of children and pupils, completion of education, and obtaining a level of education, 
• marking and evaluation (except for kindergarten heads) and 
• national and international measurements (except for kindergarten heads).

Many obligations of heads of all types of schools, regardless of the founder, are defined by act on pedagogical employees and professional employees (zákon o pedagogických zamestnancoch a odborných zamestnancoch), concerning the following in particular:

• rights and obligations of pedagogical and professional employees,
• education in professional development (particularly in relation to adaptation and actualisation education),
• pedagogical and professional employee evaluation and 
• care for pedagogical and professional employees.

In addition to fulfilling obligations connected with the work of a school head, school heads of all types of schools also perform a direct educational activity. Its extent is defined by a decree of the Slovak government (Nariadenie vlády č. 201/2019 o priamej výchovno-vzdelávacej činnosti) depending on the number of pupils at a particular school.  The minimum teaching activity of school heads of individual types of schools ranges from one to eight hours a week. The number of direct educational activity hours is highest with kindergarten heads and lowest with secondary school heads. Primary and secondary school heads are exempted from performing direct educational activity in cases defined by the government decree.

Headteachers are awarded a special bonus for their work. – a bonus for management, the amount of which is also graded with the defined lowest and highest possible percentage from the figure set in the specific regulation. The bonus for management is determined by the employer within the range of one percent of the salary tariff from the highest salary level of the salary class to which the school head is assigned.

Remuneration in church and private schools is defined according to the collective agreement or an internal regulation in compliance with the valid Labour Code (Zákonníka práce).  

All school heads of all types of schools must complete functional education, which aims at obtaining professional competencies for the work of management pedagogical employees, which also includes the position of school heads of all types of schools. Conditions for the completion of functional education are defined by the act on pedagogical and professional employees. 

School heads and management pedagogical employees with at least a bachelor’s degree in a study programme focusing on school management are not required to complete functional education. 

In addition to the appointment to the position of school head, the 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) also defines the termination of the position of school head.

The position of school head terminates in case of the following:

• end of the term of office, 
• resignation, 
• removal, 
• final court ruling on the restricted legal capacity, 
• on the day set in the final decision of the ministry on the deletion of the school or school facility from the network or
• death or declaration of death. 

School heads can resign voluntarily due to reasons they subjectively deem as serious. School heads can resign by written notice to the founder. The position of school head will terminate on the day of delivery of the written notice to the founder, provided the notice does not specify a later date of resignation. Resignation cannot be withdrawn, it is irreversible. If a school head resigns, due to objective or subjective reasons, they can apply for the selection procedure for the position of school head of the same or a different school again in the future.