Czech Education Ministry to receive 292 billion crowns in 2027, not the promised 300 billion

The Czech Ministry of Education will receive 292 billion crowns in 2027 — less than the 300 billion previously promised. Education Minister Marian Plaga explained the discrepancy in an interview, saying the final figure includes European funds, which will shrink by 8 billion crowns compared to last year.

According to the minister, his ministry's current shortfall stands at 50 billion crowns, and ideally the system needs an additional 40-50 billion. However, Plaga said he never expected to receive everything at once and is working according to the government's policy statement, which envisions eliminating the deficit entirely by the end of the cabinet's term.

A concession in exchange for a promise

The minister admitted he was disappointed with the final figure, but reached an agreement with Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO) to fulfil the government's policy statement by 2029. "I backed off from a one-time increase for 2027 in exchange for funding growing in the following years," Plaga explained.

Teacher salaries and plans through 2029

Under current law, teachers' salaries must equal 130% of the national average wage. Under Petr Fiala's government, this figure was calculated using data from two years prior, without accounting for rising salaries of non-teaching school staff — meaning school principals often had to cover these costs out of the teacher salary fund.

Now, according to Plaga, spending on support staff positions and indexation (additional funding for specific schools based on factors such as the share of socially disadvantaged pupils) will be covered separately, while teacher salaries will continue to be calculated based on data from two years earlier. Starting in 2028, the baseline will be 2027 figures, and from 2029, an estimate for the current year will be used. The goal is to raise the average teacher's salary to 75,000 crowns, and starting salaries to 50,000 crowns.

Currently, the ratio to the national average wage stands at around 108% — a figure that fell under Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura and Education Minister Mikuláš Bek. According to Plaga's forecast, the figure will reach 111-112% this year, 113-115% in 2027, and rise to 125-130% of the corresponding year's average wage by the end of the government's term.

Dispute over ninth grade

The minister also commented on a recent proposal by Chamber of Deputies Speaker Tomio Okamura (SPD party) to abolish the ninth — final — grade of compulsory basic education, which was claimed to save the state 50 billion crowns a year. The idea was originally put forward by Deputy Finance Minister Petr Mach (SPD) and later picked up by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who then had to acknowledge that the claimed savings were unrealistic.

Plaga called the standalone abolition of ninth grade "nonsense" that would produce no savings whatsoever and is based on flawed calculations. He said this assessment is shared by both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance, which criticized the figures. The minister expressed regret that the proposal was made public without prior consultation with his ministry.

Source: novinky.cz