Archive: Society | Education Education
Education Ministry to launch nationwide tests for elementary school pupils
The Education Ministry will soon launch nationwide tests it believes will
help improve the plummeting standards of Czech elementary schools. Contrary
to the ministry’s original plan, the tests will not restrict those who do
poorly from pursuing a higher education. Even so critics say the plan is
too vague and some of them have even launched a petition asking parents to
boycott the tests. More
Using classical music to help children out of poverty
In this special programme, David Vaughan looks at a unique project to
encourage children with musical talent who come from some of the poorest
families in the Czech Republic. The project enables primary school children
to learn to play with some of the country’s foremost classical musicians.
Its success is a reminder of the power of music to cross boundaries of
language, class and culture. More
Christopher Harwood – professor of Czech at Columbia University
Christopher Harwood is a lecturer in Czech at Columbia University in New
York. When I met him at his office on Columbia’s Upper West Side campus,
we discussed Czech literature, the difficulties of learning Czech, and how
Professor Harwood himself had become good enough at the language to teach
it at one of the world’s leading universities. More
Jaromíra Kostlánová – still working as a tour guide at the age of 92
Though 92 years of age, Jaromíra Kostlánová is still working as a tour
guide, introducing the sights of Prague to visitors from around the world.
If that were not remarkable enough, the good-humoured nonagenarian is also
one of the oldest students in the Czech Republic. More
Prague grammar schools top national school-leaving exam rankings
The new nationwide school-leaving exams concluded this week at around 1,300
secondary schools around the Czech Republic. According to overall results
issued by the Czech Education Ministry on Thursday, Prague’s private PORG
grammar school came in at the top of the national top ten charts, followed
by other schools in the capital. Nearly 20 percent of students failed the
exams, and will have to retake them in September. More
Think tank recommends English being made sole obligatory foreign language in schools
This week the government’s economic think tank, NERV, issued a report
recommending, among several changes, that English be made the only
obligatory foreign language in Czech schools. The idea is that time
allocated for additional languages could be better spent on areas where
until now many schools have been weak: the teaching of information
technology or economic or financial literacy. A little earlier to I spoke
to Daniel Munich, associate professor at CERGE-EI in Prague and a member of
NERV. More
Czechs have average foreign language skills, above-average need for foreign language
How do Czechs’ foreign language skills compare to those of other European
nations? At first glance, good – squarely within the European average.
But in a small country with an above average need for foreign language
skills, good may not be good enough, and in some cases there are more jobs
than there are linguistically qualified job-seekers to take them. More
Poverty, insecurity and discrimination hindering Roma school kids in the education process
A sociological study, released by Gabal Analysis and Consulting, shows that
a staggering 40 percent of Romany children drop out of elementary school
and never go back, a figure that is eight times higher than the national
average. The study, based on data collected from 14 elementary schools over
the past five years, highlights one of the basic problems underlying an
endless vicious circle of discrimination of the country’s Romany
minority. Kumar Vishwanatan, a community worker who works with the Roma in
one of the country’s poorest districts, says there are many factors
contributing to this trend. More
International survey puts spotlight on plummeting Czech educational standards
Czech education has just been given bad marks in a prestigious
international survey. In fact, the country singles itself out as one where
standards have dropped the most dramatically over the last 10 years. We
look at the results and whether lessons will be learned. More
Czech human rights groups say no action taken to end schools discrimination against Roma three years after landmark ruling
The Czech Republic has been accused by a number of non-governmental human
rights watchdogs and education groups of taking no steps to stop
discrimination against Romany children in schools, in spite of a landmark
European decision that discrimination was built into the country’s
education system. They say promises to take action have gone unfulfilled
and they are now threatening to bring the country to book again. More
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