Primary and secondary schools reopened on Monday after a two-month summer break. The 2025/2026 school year starts with more than 530,000 primary school pupils and over 220,000 secondary school students. Around 62,400 first-graders took their seats for the first time.
About half of the primary schools will adopt a new educational program as part of ongoing curriculum reform. The ban on mobile phones for younger pupils remains in effect. New changes include the return of half-yearly holidays and updates to the system for excusing missed lessons.
Education Minister Tomas Drucker said the reforms aim to equip children with more life skills rather than rote memorization. “They will work on practical tasks, learn cooperation, and develop critical thinking to succeed not just in exams but in life,” Drucker explained. He also assured that parents will have greater insight into what their children are learning and why.
The reform also affects teachers, promising less bureaucracy and more time for teaching. Additionally, all school staff will receive pay raises effective September 1 and January 1.
Drucker highlighted education’s importance by stating, “The most powerful weapon of our nation is not the army, but education.” To that end, schools are undergoing modernization, including the largest digitalization effort ever launched.
Source: TASR
