The average of students' grades from the last two academic years at elementary school won't be a criterion for being accepted to high schools, TASR learnt on Tuesday. In the current academic year, the admission procedure is to be the same as has been up till now. A change should be introduced as of the next academic year - the admission should be realised via a nationwide exam based on the ninth grade "monitor". The students will write tests prepared by the National Institute for Certified Measurements in Education (NUCEM), at a high school they're applying to. From this measure the Education, Science, Research and Sport Ministry expects an increase in objectivity in the selection of students to high schools and in the quality of students studying at grammar schools and professional schools. According to Education Minister Juraj Draxler, the question whether the average of grades and the success at competitions and Olympiads will be taken into consideration during the admission procedure is still to be discussed. In the current academic year, NUCEM is to provide the selected schools with tests of subjects from which the admission exams are taken. For now, schools are preparing the admission tests by themselves. For the recent admission procedure, high schools had to take into consideration grade averages. If students wanted to get accepted to grammar schools and bilingual schools, their average had to be better than 2.0 from compulsory subjects. For professional high schools, the prescribed grades should be better than 2.75. The Constitutional Court has ruled that this is against the Constitution, however, with the education ministry expressing their interest in amending the constitution to eliminate the problem.
