Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic

The school system in the Czech Republic

      The educational system of the Czech Republic includes pre-school and school establishments, basic schools, basic art schools, training and vocational schools, secondary schools, special schools, higher professional schools, and universities, provided they are incorporated into the network of schools and pre-school and school establishments.

      Pre-school establishments: establishments include nursery schools and special nursery schools. They provide pre-school education, usually to children aged 3 to 5 (but also to younger or older children depending on local conditions).

      Basic schools: compulsory education for all capable children usually starts at the age of 6 and takes nine years. The first stage of basic school takes five years as amended by the School Act of 1995. The second stage takes four years. The last four or two years of compulsory nine-year school attendance can be finished at an eight-year or six-year grammar school or a dancing conservatoire.

      Secondary schools: provide learners with knowledge and skills needed for occupations or further study. After the introduction of the compulsory ninth grade, secondary education starts at the age of 15 and takes one to four years, depending on the type and subject of study. The exception includes multiple-year grammar schools and school of dancing. These schools include the following:

• grammar schools: : provide full secondary education during four, six or eight years of study. The education is focussed on the preparation of its pupils for university studies in particular and completed by the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE).
• secondary technical schools: take usually four years and prepare their pupils for technical and other specialized practical activities, as well as for the study at universities. The four year study is completed by the GCSE. The schools can also offer study in shorter subjects, but these are not completed by the GCSE. A specific type of the secondary technical school is performing arts schools, where singing, music, dancing and drama are studied. They usually have 6 to 8 grades, are completed by a final examination and provide higher professional education.
• secondary vocational schools: : prepare their pupils for manual occupations and professional activities corresponding to respective two- or three-year vocational training subjects. The study is completed by final examinations. The schools where the learners study for 4 years provide full secondary technical education and are completed by the GCSE.
• vocational schools: prepare their pupils for manual occupations in two-year vocational training subjects of secondary vocational schools, whose demanding syllabuses were adjusted by reduction of theory. The graduates receive certificate of apprenticeship.

      Special schools and establishments: designed for children and pupils aged 3-19 who are mentally and/or physically handicapped, with impaired hearing, vision and/or speech, with development disorders and/or, as the case might be, placed in schools established in hospitals, sanatoria and therapeutical establishments as well as in reform schools and correctional facilities. Special pre-school establishments include special nursery schools. Special educational establishments include educational institutions for children, educational institutions for young people, educational institutions for children and young people, educational institutions for juvenile mothers, institutions with educational and therapeutical system, and departments with educational and therapeutical system. Special schools include special basic schools, special secondary schools (grammar schools, secondary technical schools and secondary vocational schools), special education schools, vocational schools, home economics schools, and schools for mentally handicapped children.

      Universities: citizens who have completed their full secondary general education or full secondary technical education and have proven necessary qualifications to study further can enrol in a university (except for arts where this requirement need not be met if the applicant is exceptionally talented) for bachelors and masters studies. The study is completed by the state examination whose part in some branches of study can also be the writing and defending of a dissertation (thesis). The doctoral study includes scientific preparation terminated by the title of PhD or ScD.

Breakdown by form of study

      Secondary education: breaks down into initial study and other forms of study (distance, evening, external and combined).

      Grammar schools: other forms of study includes external study, distance study and evening study.

      Secondary technical schools and secondary vocational schools: other forms of study includes external study, evening study and combined study.

      Higher professional schools: provide initial study and distance study only.

      Universities: provide full-time study, distance study, combined study and doctoral study. Other forms of study include distance study and combined study.

Notes on tables

Tables 21-1. Nursery schools

      Beginning from the school year 1997/98, only nursery schools are included, while these figures also included the number of creche/nursery school combinations in preceding years.

      The data on nursery schools with all-day operation exclude nursery schools with half-day operation and residential nursery schools.

Table 21-10. Pupils at four-year grammar schools: initial study

       Beginning the school year 1990/91, the numbers of all pupils in initial study broken down by sex and grade refer to 4-year initial study only, so that they can be compared with the numbers of all pupils (broken down by sex) in initial study at secondary technical schools or secondary vocational schools.

Table 21-18. Children and pupils at special schools

       Figures in this table are broken down by handicap/disability (see Decree No. 127/97 Coll., on Special Schools, of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic).

Table 21-33. Students at and graduates from private universities: school year 2002/2003

       Act No. 111/98 Coll., (on institutions of higher education) effective as from 1 January 1999 made it possible to establish private universities, which provide bachelor's study courses fully paid by students.

Tables 21-33 and 21-34. State/local budget expenditure on education: 2002

       Figures on expenditures of state budget and local budgets (budgets of districts and municipalities) on education come from financial statements on incomes and expenditures of budgetary organizations, obtained by the CZSO from the Ministry of Finance of the CR. They respect the functional breakdown of expenditures and cover the expenditures included in divisions 31 and 32 (Education) of the budget classification in force, detailed as shown in the legend of the tables.

      The headings of the tables correspond to the type breakdown of the budget classification in force.

      The data listed in the tables are fully comparable with the data published in the statistical yearbook of previous years.

      More detailed information on education is available in:

a) specialized publications brought out by the Institute for Information on Education, such as “Statistická ročenka školství, 2002/2003"; and
b) the following CZSO publication brought out according to the CZSO Catalogue of Publications 2003 (group 3 - LABOUR, SOCIAL STATISTICS, subgroup 33 - Education, Culture, Public health):

• “Školy a školská zařízení za školní rok 2002/2003", June 2002. The publication draws on data provided by the Institute for Information on Education.