New school year begins

The new school year began on Monday for 1.2 million Czech elementary and secondary school students. More than 104,000 children started school for the first time; 3,500 more than last year. Elementary schools report an increase in the numbers of pupils for the second year in a row; however, the number of secondary school students dropped by around 5 percent. President Václav Klaus welcomed pupils at an elementary school in the Prague district of Vinohrady; he set 9th graders a math problem none of them or their teachers were reportedly able to solve. For his part, Education Minister Petr Fiala visited a school in Strakonice, in southern Bohemia, on Monday.

Author: Jan Richter