On 19 October 2026, the Government of the Czech Republic again had on its agenda an amendment from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports that is to change the funding and professionalise the work of teaching assistants at primary schools. Coalition experts agreed on a compromise wording in the preceding week, which was meant to incorporate comments from Motoristé sobě. The text still had to be confirmed by the coalition's top representatives, who met before the government session.
According to Minister of Education Robert Plaga (ANO), the amendment should lead to higher quality of support activities and stability for all pupils, not just those with special educational needs. Assistants could be funded from the state budget according to the number of pupils in classes and children's needs, rather than according to a recommendation for a specific pupil as is currently the case. The new system is also meant to cap the number of assistants.
Motoristé sobě MP Miroslav Krejčí said that coalition representatives had agreed that if parents fail to comply with a request to bring their child to a counselling centre, the matter will be referred to the social and legal protection of children authority. According to Plaga, the proposal on catchment areas for counselling centres is to have its effect postponed. The requirement that a school principal be allowed, under certain circumstances, to refuse a child with a fourth- or fifth-degree support measure was shelved, and according to the minister it cannot be approved without further negotiation.
At the same session, the government was also due to discuss the merger of six state testing institutes administered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the establishment of a state Venture fund with capital of one billion koruna, and a regulation on up to 2,500 applications per year for special work visas for foreigners from selected countries in agriculture, the food industry and forestry. The cabinet was likely to take a negative stance on a proposal by the opposition Mayors and Independents to lower the voting age in municipal elections from 18 to 16.
Related entries: Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Robert Plaga, Government of the Czech Republic
Speculation about personnel changes in the government
According to the Czech News Agency and Novinky.cz, the meeting of coalition leaders and experts was preceded by speculation about the departure of Education Minister Robert Plaga, which was published by Deník N in the week before 14 October 2026. According to Novinky.cz, the government reshuffle was also to include a swap of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of the Environment, led by Igor Červený (Motoristé sobě), with the latter to be taken over by ANO. On 14 October, before departing for a European Council meeting, Andrej Babiš said he was not planning any personnel changes, that Plaga had his trust and that he was satisfied with Červený; according to him, the coalition had been formed on the basis that Motoristé sobě wanted the Ministry of the Environment.[3][5]
Asked about his future, Plaga said that under his leadership the ministry had prepared changes to inclusive education and a draft bill on higher education institutions, and that he therefore saw no reason to take reports of his precarious position seriously. Boris Šťastný (Motoristé sobě) said he had not heard of any negotiations about changes in the cabinet and pointed out that changes, including the swapping of portfolios between coalition parties, fall within the authority of the prime minister and the coalition council.[3][4]
According to the Czech News Agency, after the meeting the proposal was, according to participants including representatives of the SPD, ready to be sent by the government to the Chamber of Deputies. Plaga welcomed the fact that the coalition had agreed not to block the law, which he said changes the system for the better, adding that further points could still be negotiated. According to iDNES.cz, Šťastný said the amendment could go to the government once the coalition council approved the experts' conclusions.[3][4]
Coalition talks ahead of government discussion
The coalition discussed the amendment on funding and professionalising teaching assistants even before it was put before the government; a week earlier the government had interrupted discussion of the proposal. Under the proposal, teaching assistants would be funded from the state budget according to the number of pupils in classes and children's needs, rather than according to a recommendation for a specific pupil, and the new system is meant to cap the number of assistants. At a meeting of coalition leaders on 12 October 2026, the parties failed to reach agreement, according to Education Minister Robert Plaga (for ANO); Motoristé sobě MP Miroslav Krejčí said the cabinet could decide on the amendment after a further meeting of experts on Monday, 19 October 2026. Plaga said that if the coalition failed to reach agreement, the SPD and Motoristé sobě would bear responsibility for the continuation of the current system. He said that in such a case, assistants would, under the law currently in force, be paid out of teachers' bonuses; he also pointed out that there was a lack of capacity in special schools and classes, meaning children would remain in their current schools and teachers would be left to cope on their own. According to iDNES.cz, Prime Minister Babiš said the previous week that Motoristé sobě were criticising the proposal as preserving the current form of inclusive education. SPD chairman Tomio Okamura described the debate as satisfactory, saying that the current form of inclusive education would be abolished and would undergo a fundamental revision; he wants to cap the number of teaching assistants and sees the re-establishment of special schools as a further step. He was not certain whether everything would be finished by the following Monday.[6][7]
According to Krejčí, Motoristé sobě want a more ambitious law and have cited the establishment of special classes as a possible solution. He said there was agreement on expanding the capacity of special education.[6][7]
Coalition leaders and experts met again on 14 October 2026 at the Chamber of Deputies and agreed on the final form of the amendment. Prime Minister Babiš told journalists that he had been informed about the meeting but had not had time to find out the details, and that if the agreement was confirmed, the government could discuss the amendment on Monday; Plaga said he would welcome that and that Motoristé sobě had pushed through several changes that he considered beneficial. According to participants, including representatives of the SPD, the proposal was ready to be sent by the government to the Chamber of Deputies. Krejčí said Motoristé sobě had, for instance, pushed through catchment areas for counselling centres with a postponed effective date. Parents who fail to comply with a principal's request to visit a counselling centre with their child are to be dealt with through the social and legal protection of children authority, which will ensure an examination without further investigation. Motoristé sobě's demand that a principal be allowed to refuse a child with a fourth- or fifth-degree support measure was postponed; Plaga said it could not be approved without further negotiation, and said the parties had agreed not to block the law. Krejčí added that the original purpose would be achieved by another route, and Motoristé sobě parliamentary group chairman Boris Šťastný described the dispute over inclusive education as a normal discussion over party programmes.[3][4][5]
On 14 October 2026, before departing for a European Council meeting, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said that Plaga had his trust and that he was not planning any personnel changes in the government. Speculation about a swap of the education and environment ministers between the coalition parties was published by Deník N; Motoristé sobě parliamentary group chairman Boris Šťastný ruled out any negotiations on the matter and said that changes in the cabinet fall within the competence of the prime minister and the coalition council, while Plaga said he saw no reason for changes in the government. Babiš added that he had nothing against Environment Minister Igor Červený (Motoristé sobě).[3][4][5]
Chronology
- — The government had on its agenda an amendment from the Ministry of Education that is meant to change the funding of teaching assistants in primary schools. ČTK / České noviny iDNES.cz
- — Coalition leaders and experts agreed at a meeting in the Chamber of Deputies on the shape of the education amendment on teaching assistants, which according to participants the government may take up on Monday 19 October 2026. ČTK / České noviny Novinky.cz
- — At its meeting on 12 October 2026 the governing coalition again failed to agree on the amendment on funding teaching assistants; the education minister Robert Plaga said that no agreement exists yet. ČTK / České noviny iDNES.cz
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 19 October 2026
- iDNES.cz — 19 October 2026
- ČTK / České noviny — 14 October 2026
- iDNES.cz — 14 October 2026
- Novinky.cz — 14 October 2026
- ČTK / České noviny — 12 October 2026
- iDNES.cz — 12 October 2026