Brussels, Sept 21 (CTK correspondent) – The Education Ministry plans particular steps to be able to react to a high number of refugees’ children attending Czech schools, Education Minister Katerina Valachova told reporters after a meeting with Czech EU Commissioner Vera Jourova in Brussels Monday.
This would not be a completely new situation since foreigners’ children commonly attend Czech schools. Despite that, the country must prepare for the arrival of children from the countries and cultures to which teachers are not used, Valachova said.
“We are naturally able to react to the children’s needs within the existing education system and existing schools,” Valachova told reporters.
She and Jourova primarily debated the question of the integration of socially disadvantaged children into the school system.
“Joint education applies to all children, no matter what special needs they have – those with a disability, from ethnic minorities, Romanies children and naturally also the children of foreigners,” Valachova said.
An amendment to the school law is to help achieve this as it would secure the funding of assistants to teachers, school psychologists, social workers and special tools, she added.
Valachova also said interpretation services would be needed for the refugees’ children. She added she was in touch with Czech universities that had also offered a coordinated aid to the Interior Ministry.
The Education Ministry has not yet calculated the costs of a possible integration of the refugees’children.
The Czech government prepared reserves to cover a possible impact of the refugee crisis on public budgets, including finances for the Education Ministry, two years ago, Valachova recalled.
At present, 13.2 million crowns are annually earmarked for the education of foreigners, Valachova said.
The Education Ministry will probably propose an increase to some 90 million crowns in the prepared document.
