8.3 – Education in the Czech Republic

[Information adapted from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_Czech_Republic]

Education in the Czech Republic is free and compulsory from ages 6 to 15. The state also pays health insurance for students up to 26 years of age.  Preschools are paid by parents, except for the year directly before entering elementary school.  While the public school system is free and does not create significant financial barriers for children to attend, the private schools, particularly in Prague, are largely financially inaccessible for the majority of local population and thus also represent an element of exclusion, educating children separately from the rest of their peers. Many ethnic Roma children do not have the same access to quality education as their white Czech counterparts.

The Czech school system has four degrees:

• Preschools – mateřská škola – (from 2 to 5 years old)
• Primary (elementary) – základní škola – (from 6 to 15 years old, mandatory)
• Professional secondary (high) schools – střední školy, grammar schools (gymnázium), vocational schools and courses
• Universities – vysoká škola or Higher Professional Schools – vyšší odborná škola

The different educational paths available to students in the Czech Republic is quite different than the system in the United States. The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Dublin offers a particularly helpful breakdown of the choices available for secondary education in the CZ.