Czech Constitutional Court scraps separate school enrolments for Ukrainian children
The Constitutional Court has struck down legislation that allowed for a separate enrolment of children from Ukraine into Czech primary schools. In its ruling, the court criticised the discrimination of a particularly vulnerable group—namely refugee children—warning that the legal framework could complicate their access to education.
The disputed amendment to the law was introduced in 2022 in response to the wave of Ukrainian schoolchildren that needed to be integrated into the Czech school system. Some schools, especially in Prague, where the concentration of refugees was highest, suddenly found themselves struggling to meet the needs of an unusually high number of non-native children in classes that required special attention. They argued the need to spread out Ukrainian children more evenly since the presence of a large number of children with comprehension problems in one class slowed down the learning process and presented complications for teachers.
The resulting amendment to the law was meant to address these concerns, promising a more even distribution of Ukrainian pupils among schools and improved integration. Some schools took advantage of the possibility and Ukrainian children were given a separate enrolment date, several weeks later than Czech children and those of other nationalities, which meant they had a lower chance of getting into a school in their neighbourhood. Ukrainian parents protested and the legislation came under fire from a group of Czech senators who raised objections not only on the grounds of discrimination, but also to the way the amendment was adopted, without sufficient expert debate.
The Constitutional Court recognized their arguments and struck down the amendment arguing the need to prevent direct discrimination and to ensure that Ukrainian children are provided with the same benefits as all others.
Petra Mazancová head of the Teachers Platform has welcomed the decision saying the education system needs to meet the challenges differently.
“Today we know that many of those Ukrainian children will stay here, and it is in the interest of our entire society to ensure they receive the best possible education. And if you, as a Ukrainian parent, have to decide whether your child will continue studying online in Ukraine, or attend a school that requires commuting, you may well opt for online schooling because it represents a smaller logistical burden for you. This law did not benefit Ukrainian children, it did not support their integration. And schools have advanced in responding to the situation. Even those who in the past struggled to accommodate large numbers of Ukrainian children seem to have learned how to work with the situation. And that is why I feel strongly that in the current situation this law is outdated and unnecessary.”
The Ministry of Education also opposed the use of special enrolments, arguing that they disadvantaged children with temporary protection compared to other foreign children, who enrol alongside Czech pupils. The ministry further warned that the measure prolonged uncertainty over the number of future first-graders, as the relevant administrative proceedings conclude at a later date. Schools that educate larger numbers of refugee children from Ukraine now get additional financial support for special assistants and other needs.
Petra Mazancová says that paradoxically, the wave of Ukrainian refugees, has helped the Czech education system, which had little experience in meeting the needs of non-native speakers in the past.
“Czech schools were not used to working with children with a different mother tongue. Due to this situation we have moved forward and are now able to work with these children—and I don’t mean only Ukrainian children, but all children whose mother tongue is not Czech—much better. Many teachers have learned to teach Czech as a foreign language, because that is a completely different approach from teaching Czech as a mother tongue. So I see this as a huge opportunity that many teachers have benefitted from. I have a colleague who decided to specialize in this field. She has developed an entire concept of how we will work with children with a different mother tongue at our school. And I think that before the war in Ukraine this would actually have been unimaginable.”
In the coming year enrolments will take place for all schoolchildren at the same time between 15 January and 15 February.
