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The lack of places in Prague education has been talked about for several years, at first it was primarily about kindergartens, later the problem spread to elementary and secondary education as well. Within a few years the situation could become more than critical . This trend is also confirmed by the demographic forecasts, which were prepared by the city districts. The situation was also complicated by Russian aggression in Ukraine, due to which hundreds of thousands of refugees came to the Czech Republic, mostly women and children, who stayed in the capital.
Negotiation team
In order for the mayors to be able to better coordinate the joint process, a negotiating team was formed, consisting of the mayor of Prague 9, Tomáš Portlík (ODS), the mayor of Sliven, Jana Plamínková (STAN), councilor for education hl. m. of Prague Antonín Klecanda (STAN) and an expert on education in Prague 6 Mariana Čapková (Prague Sobě).
"The negotiation team was created so that we could better assert our interests by communicating with individual ministries. According to a demographic study, there is a risk that thousands of places in kindergartens and elementary schools will be missing in the capital within 8 years, and tens of thousands in 2050, if school facilities are not started to be built. No financial support has gone to Prague from the state for education, and it is not expected to receive it in the future, even though it serves part of the Central Bohemian region, and the majority of foreigners from EU countries and refugees go there. The insufficient capacity of school buildings must be a priority for the city and the state," explains Tomáš Portlík.
The state must help
The problem is that Prague is considered a rich region, and therefore not as much money flows here from European subsidies as to other regions. "If Prague does not get European money, a subsidy program from the state should be created," Portlík thinks. "We agreed that a national subsidy program should be created for city districts and the capital. city of Prague, as was announced for the rest of the territory of the Czech Republic . The funds would be used for the reconstruction, extension, rebuilding and modernization of school facilities," he added
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education told ČTK that the office has long been aware of the problem with the capacities of schools in Prague and the Central Bohemian Region and is ready to discuss their demands with representatives of Prague . She added that the responsibility for the capacities of the schools rests with their founders.
"Representatives of Prague have already been informed by the Ministry of Education and Culture in the past that any consideration of new subsidy programs from the state budget for the construction or expansion of the capacities of Prague schools must be supported by detailed analyzes from which it follows that the capital city of Prague is objectively unable to fulfill its legal obligations own resources, i.e. mainly within the income from the budgetary determination of taxes," she said.
Currently, Prague would need about 20 new schools, but according to the councilor for education Antonín Klecanda, only 10 new schools are being prepared. In addition, the preparation of projects is often lengthy and places are needed as soon as possible and, last but not least, it is about finances.
"The cost of building one elementary school is about 1.3 billion , in the case of a kindergarten it is 100 to 200 million crowns, no city district, not even the richest ones, has such financial resources," says the mayor of Prague 13, David Vodrážka (ODS). Currently, Prague would need ten billion kroner to build new schools and another several billion to expand or repair them.
The mayors therefore agreed to start negotiations with the Ministry of Finance on the purchase, long-term lease or exchange of buildings owned by the state, which could serve as school facilities in the long term. They want to send invitations to individual ministries immediately. In June, the negotiating team will present the progress to the other mayors at the next assembly.