Education policy and targets
The programme aim of the National Programme for the Development of Education and Training (SK) for years 2018-2027 is to provide a long-term concept of education and training content covering long-term intentions and goals in education and training in the Slovak Republic in the scope of 10 years.
National Programme for the Development of Education and Training focuses on achieving the following strategic goals:
- Increase in education and training quality
- Increase in accessibility of quality education and training
- Modernisation of education and training
The strategic goal for regional education (providing pre-primary, primary, lower secondary, upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education):
Sufficiently funded and efficiently working education system assuring quality education and training, reacting to the current and expected practice needs, accessible for all social classes, providing children and pupils with healthy life-style basis and teachers with position and remuneration adequate to the extraordinary importance of their work.
General characteristics of the education system: As far as types of schools are concerned, the Slovak system represents a single-structure model with an atypical outflow of pupils in the course of lower secondary education (that is the second level of primary school - ISCED 2) to different types of schools; however, the vast majority of pupils complete primary education (ISCED 1) and lower secondary education (ISCED 2) at primary schools.
These are the atypical transitions (all within ISCED 2 level):
- Transition to 8-year gymnasiums after the 5th grade of the primary school;
- Transition to bilingual gymnasiums after the 8th grade of the primary school;
- Transition to dance conservatories after the 5th grade of the primary school.
The Slovak Republic has 10- year compulsory school attendance, with 9 years of the compulsory school attendance provided by the primary school. The last year of compulsory school attendance is completed in the first grade of the secondary school or by reaching the age of 16.
Upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education is provided by secondary schools.
Secondary schools according to the Education Act (SK):
Gymnasium
A gymnasium is a general, internally differentiated secondary school which educates pupils in 4-year, 5-year or 8-year educational programmes and provides upper secondary general education ISCED 344. Educational programmes of gymnasiums focus particularly on preparation for study at higher education institutions; they may also prepare for the pursuit of some activities in public administration and culture.
Gymnasiums in the Slovak Republic are founded by the state- 61.7%, private entities - 16.6%, the church - 21.7%.
Secondary vocational school
A secondary vocational school is an internally differentiated secondary school which provides pupils with vocational education and training in the educational programme of a respective study field focusing mostly on the pursuit of professions, groups of professions and professional activities;
It provides pupils with vocational education and training which is divided into theoretical lessons and practical lessons; practical lessons at secondary vocational schools are governed by special regulations.
Upon successful completion of a respective study programme of a study field, secondary vocational school pupils can achieve the following levels of education: ISCED 252, 253, 352, 353,354.
Founders of secondary vocational schools are the state 77.83%, private entities 18.24%, the church 3.93%.
In addition to the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic, secondary vocational schools can be founded by the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic and the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic (SK).
Secondary sport school A secondary sports school is an internally differentiated secondary school which educates and trains pupils with sports talent in the educational programme of a respective field of study.
Secondary sports school educational programmes focus on preparation of pupils with sports talent for study at higher education institutions and for the pursuit of professions and professional activities in sport.
Sports training organised according to the sports fields is an inseparable part of education and training at secondary sports schools. Secondary sports schools provide sports training in at least five sports fields, at least one of which is a collective sport.
Secondary sports schools provide education at the following levels ISCED 353,354,344.
Statistical data on secondary sports schools according to the amendment of the Education Act (SK) effective as of 1st January 2019 will be available after the start of school year 2019/2020.
Currently, the 12 existing sports gymnasiums (4 of which were founded by a private entity) will be converted into secondary sports schools on 1st September 2019. Sports gymnasiums are funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the SR; in the current state the funding amounted to 5 million € annually. The planned changes have the ambition to increase and make the training and funding of sports talents in the Slovak Republic more efficient.
Conservatory Conservatories provide complex artistic and artistic-pedagogical education. They prepare pupils for the pursuit of artistic professions and for teaching artistic and vocational subjects in the arts educational programmes.
There are three types of the conservatory: music, drama and dance conservatory;
Education and training at conservatories take place individually, in groups or collectively.
Pupils can borrow musical instruments, scores, audiovisual recordings of works of art, recording technology and other equipment and the necessary learning material free of charge.
Education and training at conservatories take place according to a 6-year or 8-year educational programme, in which pupils take the school-leaving examination upon completion of the fourth grade of the 6-year study and the graduation examination upon completion of the sixth grade, or the school-leaving examination and graduation examination in the last grade of the 8-year study (dance field of study);
Conservatories provide education at the following levels: 244, 353,354, and 554.
Founders of conservatories in the Slovak Republic are the state - 35.29%, private entities - 58.83%, the church - 5.88%.
Secondary schools provide post-secondary non-tertiary education: extension courses, innovation, qualification and improvement study (ISCED 454).
The data of the Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information shows that 206 195 pupils studied at secondary schools in Slovakia in school year 2018/2019 : 35.33% at gymnasiums, 1.47% at conservatories, 60.66% at secondary vocational schools and 2.54% at different types of schools with programmes for pupils with special educational needs. Since secondary sports schools were defined by the Education Act effective as of 1.1.2019, they are not separately listed in this statistical overview. Sports gymnasium pupils are included in the number of gymnasium pupils and the pupils from sports classes at secondary vocational schools are included in the total number of secondary vocational school pupils.
The current data on the unemployment rate of secondary school graduates shows the lowest unemployment rate among gymnasium graduates ISCED 344 level – 3.1%; ISCED 252 and 253 graduates - 11% on average; ISCED 353 - 10.2% on average, ISCED 354 – 12.27% on average; and ISCED 454 -5.9% on average.
The chapter further deals in detail with the developed secondary school educational programmes, teaching methods, organisation of the study and evaluation, completion of the study and certification.