Slovakia introduces new kindergarten attendance rules for September

The Slovak Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth (MŠVVaM) is implementing new rules for kindergarten attendance starting this September. These regulations apply to children for whom pre-primary education is mandatory. The system introduces two modes of excuse: a stricter regime and a more lenient one.

In the stricter regime, parents can excuse a child for a maximum of seven consecutive school days and a total of 21 days per school semester. In the more lenient regime, which school directors can implement if their institution stays below a specific reference value for absences, medical certificates are not required for absences up to seven consecutive days, provided they do not exceed 14 days in a single month or 21 days over two consecutive months.

In the Czech Republic, Education Minister Robert Plaga is seeking to utilize upcoming population waves to strengthen essential professions. He aims to increase funding for higher education to support fields such as medicine, psychology, special pedagogy, and technical sciences, as well as addressing shortages in mathematics and physics teaching certifications.