Prague, Aug 16 (CTK) – Czech higher learning institutions will get an additional one billion crowns for teachers in 2017, Education Minister Katerina Valachova (Social Democrats, CSSD) told public Czech Radio after her talks with Finance Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) yesterday.
Recently, Valachova negotiated an additional 350 million crowns for raising the capacity of schools in the surroundings of Prague where people, mainly young families, are moving from the city.
Valachova said the additional money for higher learning institutions will be included in the 2017 budget.
She said she does not plan any more negotiations with Babis.
Valachova said, however, she still wants to negotiate with university rectors about investments in the years to come. She did not elaborate.
According to the negotiations held as yet, the Education Ministry is to get some 148 billion crowns from the state budget in 2017, compared with more than 142 billion crowns this year.
Babis also had talks yesterday with Industry and Trade Minister Jan Mladek (CSSD), who told journalists that his ministry will get an additional one billion crowns more next year and will have a total of 30.72 billion crowns at its disposal.
Mladek said his ministry’s priorities are subsidies to renewable power sources, for which 25.13 billion crowns have been earmarked, the reconstruction of brownfields and the Czech Retail Inspection (COI).
The Transport Ministry will get an additional two billion crowns next year and three billion this year, Babis said after his negotiations with minister Dan Tok (ANO) yesterday.
Babis said the money will mainly go to ten priority construction projects which can go ahead despite old EIA studies and that Tok’s all requirements were met.
He said the Transport Ministry is ready to start building 141 kilometres of motorways.
The three billion crowns it will get in excess of its budget this year will be provided thanks to savings in the state budget service.
In the afternoon, Deputy Labour Minister Robert Baxa negotiated about the 2017 budget at the Finance Ministry.
Baxa told journalists that the ministry would get up to 400 million crowns more for its running and investment costs.
Before the negotiations, Baxa said the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry would like to get an extra 6.5 billion crowns, especially for pro-employment policy.
Baxa said an agreement on subsidies for social services has not been reached yet.
According to the state budget draft, the ministry’s expenditures will be 554.1 billion crowns in 2017, or 10 billion more than this year.
($1=24.162 crowns)
