The new coronavirus pandemic has not significantly advanced online adult education in Slovakia. According to data from the European Statistical Office Eurostat, only five percent of Slovaks gained knowledge in this way, mostly in the field of IT. The main reason is that Slovaks are reluctant to pay for it. Only two percent of people said they had ever paid for an IT course out of their own pocket, according to economic analyst from FinGO.sk Lenka Buchláková.
Currently, online education is mostly used by the 16-24 age group, with an average of 13 percent of young people in the EU taking an online course in the last three months. This is followed by the age category of 25 to 54 years, where nine percent of people used this option. Only one percent of people over the age of 65 have been educated online.
"In Slovakia, about eight percent of employers pay for online courses for their employees. In the Scandinavian countries, more than 18 percent of employers do so. It is in these countries that almost every household has an internet connection," Buchláková added. In Slovakia, the number of Internet users rose by six percent year on year to more than 90 percent. Back in 2007, only 53 percent of Slovaks used the Internet, mainly to send e-mails.
Because of the anti-pandemic measures, mainly including social isolation, which have been in force in most EU Member States since March 2020, telephone or video calls over the Internet have been one way to stay in touch. Lenka Buchláková added, adding that in Slovakia it was at the level of 63 percent.
