On 19 October 2026, the government again had on its agenda an education ministry amendment that is to change the funding of teaching assistants in primary schools and make their work more professional. Coalition experts agreed on a compromise wording in the previous week, and comments from Motoristé sobě were to be reflected in it. The text still had to be confirmed by the coalition leaders, who were meeting before the government session.
According to education minister Robert Plaga (ANO), the amendment is meant to lead to higher-quality support work and stability for all pupils, not only those with special educational needs. Assistants could be funded from the state budget according to the number of pupils in classes and the needs of children, rather than, as now, according to a recommendation for a specific pupil. The new system is also to cap the number of assistants.
The Motoristé MP Miroslav Krejčí said coalition representatives agreed that if parents do not comply with a summons to appear at a counselling centre with their child, the matter will be passed to the child welfare authority. The proposal on catchment areas for counselling centres is, according to Plaga, to get a deferred effect. The requirement that a head teacher be able, under certain circumstances, to refuse a child with a support measure of the fourth or fifth degree was postponed and, according to the minister, cannot be approved without further talks.
At the same session, the government was also to discuss the merger of six state testing institutes administered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the creation of a state Venture fund with capital of one billion korunas, and a regulation on up to 2,500 applications a year for extraordinary work visas for foreigners from selected countries in agriculture, food processing and forestry. The cabinet was likely to take a negative stance on the proposal of the opposition Mayors and Independents to lower the voting age in municipal elections from 18 to 16.
Related articles: Government of the Czech Republic, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Robert Plaga
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