Education Ministry pledges CZK 1.8 billion to help 400 disadvantaged schools

Education Minister Petr Gazdík announced on Thursday that his ministry will launch a project in September that will support 400 disadvantaged schools in the Czech Republic with CZK 1.8 billion. He announced it after a visit to the Za Chlumem primary school in Bílina in the Ústí nad Labem Region, which made headlines this month for getting a security agency to guard the school due to “problem children”.

The Bílina primary school has struggled in recent years with truancy, damage of school property, verbal attacks on classmates and teachers, and pupils smoking in the toilets. Money from the new project could be used by schools such as Za Chlumem to pay for social and special educators, school supplies, or meals for pupils.