OECD: Czech expenditure on education below EU average

Prague, Sept 11 (CTK) - The Czech Republic is one of seven countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that spend less than 5 percent of GDP on education, while the OECD average is 6.2 percent, the Czech Education Ministry said Tuesday, referring to an OECD report.

According to the report, the Czech Republic spends 4.8 percent of GDP on education.

The report surveys the attitude of the OECD 34 member states (21 of which are EU members) to education.

Michaela Klenhova, from the ministry, said the Czech Republic is, however, one of six countries with the highest increase in spending per pupil in 2000-09, according to the report.

The Czech Republic is one of the nine OECD countries in which more than 40 percent of teachers are older than 50 years. The figure for the country is 45 percent, the fifth highest number of all countries surveyed.

"This may be due to that retirement age is being raised, the number of children is decreasing and we do not admit new teachers, and that not all graduates from pedagogic faculties go teaching after graduation," Klenhova said.

She said the ministry wants to introduce a career order for teachers by 2014. Young people should be attracted to school by remuneration depending on education attained.

Now, however, Czech teachers' salaries are lower than those of a majority of their foreign colleagues when translated into the parity of the purchasing power.

The data come from 2010, that is before teachers' salaries were raised.

On the other hand, Czech teachers in the first five years of elementary schools and at secondary schools spend less time at work. A Czech secondary school teacher works about 617 hours a year, compared with 658 hours in other OECD countries.

However, the work time of teachers in the Czech 1st to 5th years of the elementary school is above-average, according to the report.

The Education Ministry said at the press conference Tuesday the Czech Republic is among the countries with the highest share of secondary-educated people (75 percent) and the lowest share of those with only elementary education (8 percent).

In terms of university education, the Czech Republic is with 17 percent markedly below the OECD average, but the number of young Czechs with a university title is quickly increasing.

Czech university-educated people have a 82 percent higher pay than secondary-educated people. The difference in advanced countries is 55 percent.