Methodology - Early childhood, primary, and secondary education
Most of the data on education were obtained from sources of a workplace of the State Statistical Service at the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports, international comparisons were taken over from the Eurostat database. Data for early childhood education, basic schools and secondary schools are reported with the status as at 30 September.
Nursery schools together with preparatory classes of basic schools and preparatory stage of special basic schools fall into early childhood education.
Basic schools´ task is mainly to provide compulsory school education. Pursuant to the law, children aged six years (or eight years as a maximum in cases of children with postponed compulsory school education) start the compulsory school education. Compulsory school education lasts for nine years: five years at the first stage and four years at the second stage of basic schools. Primary education for pupils with special education needs who study in classes or schools with a modified education programme, or in special schools, can last ten grades. Pupils can leave the basic school earlier (i.e. after completing the 5th or 7th grade) and complete their compulsory school education in lower grades of multi-year grammar schools and in an eight-year specialism of dance in conservatoires.
Secondary education consists of several different types of education offered by secondary schools. There are three basic types of secondary education in the Czech Republic: general secondary education with an A-level examination (grammar school), vocational secondary education with an A-level examination and vocational secondary education with an apprenticeship certificate.
In addition to secondary schools, secondary education with an A-level examination can also be obtained in conservatories, which further lead to higher professional education.
Further methodological information and statistical data relating to regional education can be found in CZSO publications (Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic, Schools and School Facilities), in the Public Database or the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports' database. For the inclusion of educational programs in the international ISCED classification, see information on ISCED 2011 (levels of education). Fields of education at secondary schools are classified according to the national Classification of Main Fields of Education, which is administered by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.