March 28 marks the anniversary of the birth of the noted philosopher and scholar John Amos Comenius (1592- 1670), in Slovakia and the Czech Republic observed as Teachers' Day. On Thursday, teachers from more than 1,100 schools across Slovakia came to school in black, planning to observe a minute's silence for "the sad truth about Slovak education".
"We want to express our discontent with the state in which our education finds itself; a lack of systematic changes that we've been waiting for in vain, insufficient funding and salary terms at the tail end of Europe, but also the theft of EU funds which should go on our children, the deliberate elimination of Slovak science and a law on teachers that doesn't reflect the needs of Slovak education," says the teacher Maria Rotheinstein from the Slovak Teachers Initiative. The protesting teachers do not identify themselves with decisions via which the Government and Education Minister Martina Lubyová (SNS nominee) are attempting to create an impression of positive change.
In reaction to the teachers' protest, Education Minister Martina Lubyová says that she wants to improve the atmosphere and situation in the education sector. In a statement released by the Education Ministry, they claim they have been developing steps to improve conditions and remuneration for teachers for a long time, such as the general increase in teachers' salaries, the preservation of bonuses in the future education system and an increase in new teachers' salaries. On the other hand, Martina Lubyová is aware that everything is not only about money, but also about the environment in which the teachers are working.
The Education Ministry also stated that a law on teachers and pedagogical experts has been in preparation since 2017. "Since then it's undergone extensive discussions within working groups, due legislative procedure and an extended deadline for inter-departmental review that school trade unions and other partner professional associations have asked us for," stated the ministry, adding that all relevant entities, including the Slovak Chamber of Teachers, were engaged in the discussion.
On the occasion of Teachers Day, the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport also rewarded 62 teachers and other education staff with medals of St. Gorazd. These medals are considered the highest award in the education resort and have been handed out since 1999. They are awarded to teachers, school staff and personalities from other walks of life for their merit for schools and pupils.
