Slovak teachers to strike on Thursday

Thursday, November 19 will see more than 156 schools either closing their doors for the day or working on adjusted scheduling due to teacher strikes. In place of protesting, teachers will use the day to donate blood or go to doctors for check-ups. These interruptions are the latest in a line of actions taken by teachers to bring changes to the education sector, namely an increase in salaries and improvements in the teaching systems in place. At the time of publishing, teachers from more than 156 schools are expected to take part in the strike; however this may increase, with Slovakia having more than 2,000 primary schools. The initiative apologised to parents who will be affected by the strike, but believed they had little choice. "The event aims to highlight the poor health of our education sector and the fact that the government has not paid enough attention to it over the last 25 years", said Vladimír Crmoman from initiative behind the event. In response to tomorrow's strike, Education Minister Juraj Draxler said he agrees that Slovakia's education system needs more funding and stated that this will happen next year after the elections.