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Education in Slovakia consists of a free education system based on 10 years of compulsory school attendance. Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million

Contents

General characteristics

Most schools, especially universities, are owned by the state, though since the 1990s there are also church-owned and private schools (see Statistics section). The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999

Slovakia has 10 years of compulsory education. Compulsory education is Education which children are required by law to receive and governments to provide

Students go to school five days a week, from Monday until Friday. Saturdays as school days were canceled before the 1980s. Summer break is from the 1st of July until the end of August (at universities also in June), a week around Christmas and Easter, and on official holidays. Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year.

A school year consists of two semesters. The first one ends at the end of January in all schools, the second one before the beginning of the summer holidays (see above). Primary and secondary school students usually have around 6 classes a day (less at the beginning of the education, more later). Classes last for 45 minutes, and there are breaks between them (several short ones and one longer one – the so-called "big break"). The state financed education and all textbooks and instructional material below the university level are free (returned at the end of the semester) – in most cases at least.

Students at standard schools receive marks in almost all subjects. The marks go from 1 (best) to 5 (worst), and may include unofficial intermediary marks such as 2- (i. e. between 2 and 3, sometimes used to assess a single project, test, etc. but never on student's final reports). Compared to western European countries, there is an intrinsic "tradition" of teachers granting students rather more marks at the "good" end of the scale, i. e. more 1s, 2s and 3s than they would receive in western Europe, for example. Students below the university level receive school reports (lists of final marks) at the end of each semester.

All state-run educational institutions have suffered from a lack of funding since the fall of communism, i. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based e. from the early 1990s onward. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 School fees for university-level schools have been prepared for years, but the parliament has been unable to pass legislation requiring them due to strong citizen opposition. Many state-financed schools of higher education finance themselves by means of various semi-legal "extraordinary" and "auxiliary" fees, etc. Corruption is a widespread problem, possibly becoming endemic in academic circles (i. e. paying for term exams, entrance tests, etc. ).

Despite the current lack of money, primary and secondary education is at a quite high level compared to many countries of the world. A major deficiency is insufficient promotion of independent thinking and student initiative, a complete absence of creative learning, unreformed and outdated teaching material, methods and syllabi inherited from the former communist educational system, and relatively low remuneration of teachers, leading to a decrease of the number of qualified (and of well qualified) teachers especially below the university level (see the statistics section for some pay figures). University-level schools, unable to provide sufficient pay to get real experts and motivated teachers, are rather mediocre compared to other countries, usually promote pure swotting and use outdated texts and other material. Some reforms of all educational levels, including the introduction of school fees for universities, are said to be in preparation and could be carried out after the next paliamentary elections (to be held 2005). Nonetheless, Slovakia has thus far managed to avoid the excessive brain-drain that has plagued most post-Soviet states. A brain drain or human capital flight is a large emigration of individuals with technical skills or knowledge, normally due to conflict, lack of opportunity The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991

History

See: Education in Czechoslovakia and List of colleges and universities in Slovakia

System

Primary education

School in Dolny Kubin
School in Dolny Kubin

Primary schools are usually preceded by kindergartens where children can spend up to 4 years, which in turn can be preceded by day nurseries. This article is part of the main article Czechoslovakia History Before the Communist Era Czechoslovakia (and its succession states had a tradition This is a list of all schools of higher education (ie colleges and universities in Slovakia as of June 30 2005 Dolný Kubín ( Unterkubin Alsókubin is a town in northern Slovakia in the Žilina Region. ( German, literally means "children's garden" is a form of education for young children which serves as a transition from home to the commencement of more formal schooling A nursery school is a school for children between the ages of three and five staffed by qualified teachers and other professionals who encourage and supervise educational play rather than

As a rule, children start the primary school in the year in which they have their 6th birthday. Standard primary schools last 9 years (8 years before approx. the mid-1990s), but since the early 1990s there are also 4-year primary schools, after which students visit so called "8-year gymnasia" (i. e. high school lasting 8 years and "extended" by the last grades of primary schools), which have the advantage of shortening the total studies by 1 year as compared to the combination "standard primary school (9 years) + standard secondary school (4 years)".

The primary education system is formally divided in two "stages". The second stage is characterized by many changes in the subjects treated as compared to the first stage:

Many primary schools have been closed down since about 2000 due to an unfavourable demographic development.

Subjects at the second primary education stage (many of them are taught even earlier however) include:

There also many facultative "primary art schools"- afternoon schools for particular music instruments, theatre, painting etc. These have had a long tradition in Slovakia and are attended by a large majority of pupils.

Secondary education

Before entering any school of secondary education (including 8-year gymnasia) for which there are more applicants than places offered, the applicants have to pass entrance examinations.

As a rule, secondary schools last for 4 years (from the age of 16 to the age of 19). A "gymnasium" can also last for 8 years (up to the age of 18) depending on how many years did the student spend in the primary school (see primary education).

There are four types of secondary schools:

The gymnasia (high schools) are usually considered "prestigious" schools, because they explicitly prepare for higher education and because they are often highly selective - only the brightest students from elementary schools advance to them. In fact, most students who attend them later continue their education at a school of higher education in Slovakia or abroad. The high schools that are the most competitive ones are usually located either in Bratislava (Gymnázium Alexandra Markuša Červenej armády (GAMČA), Gymnázium Metodova, Gymnázium Jura Hronca (GJH), etc. ARTICLE TEXT BEGINS AFTER THESE COMMENTS - PLEASE READ 1 Please do not edit the lead without reading ), in Košice (Gymnázium Poštová etc. Košice (; Hungarian: Kassa; (also known by other alternative names) is a city in eastern Slovakia. ) or in other main cities. These schools annually accept only a very low percentage of applicants. Despite providing general education, many gymnasia have specialized classes . Some of them specialize in languages or are even "bilingual" Slovak-German/English/French etc. (e. g. Gymnázium Metodova, Gymnázium Bilíkova), others are specialized in mathematics or programming, for example Gamča and GJH. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and Gamča is notable for being founded in 1628. [1]

After finishing secondary school students usually take a school-leaving exam (matura in German, "maturita" in Slovak), which is a basic prerequisite for visiting a school of higher education (college), especially a university. Matura (Matur Maturita Maturità Maturität матура is the word commonly used in Austria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria Before 1990 this included obligatory exams in mathematics (written nationwide standardized + oral), Slovak incl. literature (written nationwide standardized + oral) and Russian and in one subject of the students's choice. After 1990, the system was changed, so that every school prepared its own tests and questions – at gymnasia in the subjects: Slovak incl. Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) literature (written and oral), a foreign language (written and oral), two subjects of the student's choice (oral). The obvious problem of this system was low or missing comparability of the results. The maturita system was modified in 2005 again. The new system is supposed to replace the current entrance examinations to schools of higher education (colleges) in the future. The main changes are: one additional exam subject (for gymnasia), nationwide unified written tests for languages and mathematics (other subjects are supposed to follow in the future), a high degree of standardization of other exams, as well as the possibility for the student to choose whether they want to pass an A-level exam (the most complicated one), a B-level exam or a C-level exam (the simplest one, only for languages). At gymnasia, the exam subjects include: Slovak incl. literature (written and oral), a foreign language (written and oral), a natural science subject, and two other subjects of the student's choice [Details in Slovak: [1] ]

Higher education

See also: List of colleges and universities in Slovakia

The Slovak term "vysoká škola" ("school of higher education", literally "high school", compare the German name Hochschule), which for lack of other expressions is also translated into English as "college", can refer to all schools of higher (i. This is a list of all schools of higher education (ie colleges and universities in Slovakia as of June 30 2005 Hochschule (plural Hochschulen) is a German term referring to all instituations in the post-secondary Higher education system which grant academic degrees e tertiary) education, or in a narrower sense only to those schools of higher education that are not universities.

The fist university on the territory of Slovakia was the Universitas Istropolitana (=Academia Istropolitana) founded in 1465. The Universitas Histropolensis (since the 16th century frequently - but incorrectly - referred to as Academia Istropolitana) in Pressburg (today's Bratislava The Universitas Histropolensis (since the 16th century frequently - but incorrectly - referred to as Academia Istropolitana) in Pressburg (today's Bratislava The main and largest current university in Slovakia is the Comenius University. Comenius University in Bratislava (Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave is the largest University in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava For other current universities and colleges see List of colleges and universities in Slovakia. This is a list of all schools of higher education (ie colleges and universities in Slovakia as of June 30 2005

The 2002 Act on Schools of Higher Education dinstinguishes public, state, and private schools of higher education (colleges):

Studies at the state and public universities is available free of charge for residents of Slovakia (?)and of the EU. School fees are being planned, however. Other students have to pay from USD 2,500 to USD 6,500 for one academic year.

Before entering any school of higher education for which there are more applicants than places offered, the applicants have to pass entrance examinations. These examinations take very different forms at particular schools. The "maturita" results of the applicant are usually also taken into account when evaluating whether he can become student of the school. Since the number of branches of study and of schools of higher education increased considerably in the course of the late 1990s (although at the cost of quality of the studies), the general percentage of those not being accepted to these schools decreased considerably over the same time period. Also, an increasing number of Slovaks studies abroad, especially in the Czech Republic due to a low language barrier, a slightly better economic situation (and job perspectives) in that country, as well as similarities of the two educational systems. The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, As a result, the percentage of Slovaks with higher education has increased considerably over the last decade.

The studies are organized within the following study programmes and "stages" (also translated as levels). Each school must provide at least Stage 1:

The Act on Schools of Higher Education 2002 dinstinguishes:

The academic year begins on 1st September of the current year and ends on 31st August of the next year (in reality, however it ends in May/June). The studies in one academic year may be divided into two semesters or rarely in three trimesters. The teaching process includes various forms of instruction such as lectures, seminars, exercises, laboratory work, projects, practical training, consultations, etc. . The credit system following the rules of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) has been introduced in 1998 for the organisation of all levels and forms of higher education study. European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System ( ECTS) is a standard for comparing the study attainment and performance of students of Higher education across the The student's standard load is expressed by the number of sixty credits per academic year and thirty credits per semester. The school of higher education determines the total number of credits required for due completion of the study in its respective stagess.

Financing problems of schools of higher education are described in the introduction.

Statistics

Schools and students (school year 2004/2005)

Unless stated otherwise, the numbers give daily studies (i. e. non-external studies). The first number gives the number of schools, the number in brackets the number of students.

A) Kindergartens and primary education (excl. special schools)

Kindergartens (materské školy) : 3000 (147317) state, 16 (598) private, 30 (1317) church
Primary schools (základné školy): 2217 (530 770) state, 16 (1159) private, 109 (25392) church
Primary art schools (základné umelecké školy): 180 (92146), 34 (7934) private, 7 (2239) church

B) Secondary education (excl. special schools)

Note: Strictly speaking, this section also includes professional schools and vocational schools that are post-secondary education. "

Gymnasia/grammar schools/high schools (gymnáziá): 161 (84984) state, 22 (3362) private, 51 (14392) church, - (1634) external st. at these schools; out of which:
Secondary professional schools + professional schools (stredné odborné školy + odborné školy):
"Grouped" secondary schools (združené stredné školy): 105 (62772) state, 3 (1310) private, 1 (656) church, - (1248) external st. at these schools; comprise:
Secondary vocational schools + vocational schools (stredné odborné učilištia + učilištia):202 (63886), 26 (8433), 5 (1206), - (3848) external st. at these schools; comprise:

C) Special schools (špeciálne školy)

D) Schools of higher/tertiary education (vysoké školy)

Other statistics

Graduates (tertiary education: calendar year 2004, otherwise: school year 2003/2004):

Teachers 2004/2005:

Average monthly teachers' pay in 2004:

Number of schools:

Number of graduates from tertiary schools (including postgradual "doctor" degree):

Language of all schools as of 2004 (incl. kindergartens):

References

  1. ^ Gamča official site
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