Government considering cuts to private-school subsidies

The government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) is considering cuts to state subsidies for private and church schools as a way of saving billions of crowns in the Education Ministry’s budget.

Babiš has questioned why the state should subsidise schools that also charge parents high tuition fees. Finance Minister Alena Schillerová said current annual spending is around 21 billion crowns and acknowledged that it could be reduced.

Private and church schools are legally entitled to state funding. Their basic subsidy is 60 percent of the amount received by public schools, but in practice it can reach 100 percent for primary schools and 90 percent for secondary schools.

The Czech Republic has 354 private and 49 church primary schools, and 325 private and 46 church secondary schools. Many provide capacity in fields not sufficiently covered by public schools.