Vladimír Baláš appointed education minister

President Miloš Zeman appointed Vladimir Baláš to the post of education minister on Wednesday. Mr. Baláš, who has experience in education and research, is replacing Petr Gazdik, who resigned from office over his close links to lobbyist Michal Rédl, the man at the centre of a corruption scandal at Prague City Transport.

Baláš said that as education minister he planned to continue with the reforms outlined by his predecessors. He said the way forward was to move from simple memorization to a skills-oriented education.