When Ben Henderson came to the Czech Republic 9 years ago, there wasn’t nearly the wealth of cultural resources available for Americans, especially the youngest nationals, that one can find now. Though opportunities to join in Yank-style fun gradually grew, there continued to be a lack of awareness within the English speaking community that those [...]
After a generation of dismissing vocational training and pushing toward knowledge-based economies of university graduates, education policy makers in Europe and the United states are starting to lament the lost era of master and apprentice. Over-crowded universities and a lack of skilled craftsmen in the the Czech Republic prompted Education Minister Josef Dobeš to call [...]
The darkest parts of Czech history can be more didactic, according to Jaroslav Pinkas of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů). At a seminar on the crimes of Bolshevism organized by the Committe on Security of the Czech Senate held April 14, Pinkas told the crowd that the [...]
The cost of education in the Czech Republic has more than doubled since 2000, according to figures from the Czech Statistical Office (ČSU). Czech families spent more than 6 billion Kč on education ten years ago, and today that number is closer to 14 billion Kč. Though not the single most exacting period on parents’ [...]
Czech Universities are by no means in want of fresh blood, as the international student population has grown by four times in the last ten years to nearly 38,000, according to the Institute for Information in Education. As the Czech News Agency reported April 1, the institute found that of those foreign students, about one-third [...]
New IQ tests with pictures, which were developed to be culturally unbiased, will still result in Roma children being unfairly placed in special schools for children with light mental disabilities, according to a study by the NGO People in Need. The tests are administered to children to determine if their intellectual ability is sufficient to [...]
The National Economic Council (NERV) has recommended some educational reforms this month that the government advisory body says will strengthen the Czech economy. One of the more controversial suggestions has to do with educational requirements for teachers themselves. As deník.cz reported earlier this week, NERV says masters degrees in education are not necessary for all [...]
In the latest twist to an already twisted drama playing out at the Education Ministry, Czech language media is now reporting the anticipated appointment of controversial figure Ladislav Bátora has now been downgraded from Deputy Minister to Economic Advisor. Many have misgivings about Bátora’s appointment to an influential Ministry post because of his past involvement [...]
While here in the capital education functionaries are fighting over integration policy and nationalist aid appointments, there have been a few refreshing pieces of education news to come out of the second city lately. The number of students from socially excluded communities in Brno (mostly Roma) applying to high schools and apprenticeship programs is on [...]
Students at the University of Glasgow are up in arms over a proposal to cut six or seven of the university’s nine language programs, including a rare and rarefied Czech studies program. In an open letter to the local Herald Scotland the students derided the proposal as a “Threat to Modern Languages” at the university [...]