Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Hlas-SD) on Tuesday announced a plan to optimise the secondary school network.
Smaller schools could band together to form larger units that would have common managements, be able to share education plans, have common professional staff and establish partnerships with employers.
The minister stressed that no schools would be shut down. Those responsible for schools would have until March 2025 to send specific requests for network changes. Schools could operate in the new set-up as of September 2025.
The idea of banding together secondary schools into larger units is welcome, but the Education Ministry hasn't presented any new solutions, MP and former education minister for the opposition SaS party Branislav Groehling said on Tuesday, adding that the ministry has only named a system that has existed for years, TASR learnt from party's spokesman Ondrej Sprlak.
According to the ex-minister, inspiration should be drawn from practice, where the banding of secondary schools together has already been implemented.
"Banding of schools together is often politically unpopular and is shunned by the towns or regions. It is therefore positive if the minister says he supports the clusters. However, [Education] Minister [Tomas] Drucker Hlas-SD] hasn't presented any new solutions," stated Groehling.
(TASR)
