The strongest class in the last fifteen years will start high school in September. However, entrance exams for grammar schools show a great overpressure of children and, above all, different conditions – even though the exams are uniform. While in the Ústí Region a student got into school with 40 points, in Prague, more than 80 was often not enough to be accepted. According to experts, the regional leadership fell asleep and did not estimate the population development.
Pupils who applied to grammar schools this year often experience disappointment. Although they obtained a high number of points in the uniform entrance exams, they did not get into the school. Interest in gymnasiums has been growing for a long time, with approximately 1,600 more people applying for four-year courses this year than last year. Uniform exams are prepared by the state organization Cermat, a maximum of 100 points can be obtained from the tests. The admission threshold is determined by the schools themselves.
At the Grammar School Na Vítezná plani in Prague, 84 points were needed for admission, in Teplice 44 was enough, i.e. roughly half. An applicant who did not make it to the Victory Plain would be among the best accepted in the North Bohemian city. At the Voděradská Grammar School in Prague, 79 points were required for a four-year study. “Just like other gymnasiums in the capital, we have more applicants than capacity,” says director Jitka Fišerová. This year, it accepted a third of applicants.
In addition to Prague, the Central Bohemian region is also dealing with the lack of places. According to Jan Zeman from the educational institution EDUin, roughly 40 percent of pupils from here apply for four-year courses in the capital.
In other regions, the differences are even greater. Gymnasium Dr. A. Hrdličky in Humpolec also accepted an applicant who scored only 22 points. In addition, the different border also manifests itself within the regions, as shown by the results from South Bohemia. While the last accepted received 71 points in Písek, 45 points were enough in Prachatice na Šumava.
Interest in gymnasiums exceeds the number of vacancies for a long time. This year, the overpressure is significant also because the strongest year in the last 15 years is entering secondary schools. Almost 90,000 people applied for four-year gymnasiums, almost nine thousand more than last year.
According to experts, the lower chance of getting into a school in Prague is also due to high competition in the capital and the better economic situation of families. “A larger part of the population year applies for places at grammar schools in Prague, and at the same time, the results of pupils here are better on average,” points out education expert Magdalena Mouralová from the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University.
All schools have the same tests
The unified entrance exam in Czech, literature and mathematics is a mandatory part of the first round of the admission procedure for all high school graduation subjects, with the exception of those with a talent test. The tests are prepared by the organization Cermat, established by the Ministry of Education.
“Prague residents have significantly higher incomes on average, and the city has a significantly higher proportion of university-educated people. More educated parents put more pressure on schools, which is why schools are better in regions with a higher average level of education,” explains the expert. Thanks to better financial opportunities, parents also often attach more importance to preparing their child for entrance exams. It can frustrate children all the more when even very good results in entrance exams are not enough for them.
The solution may be to increase capacities, i.e. to establish new grammar schools. “Compared to developed countries, we have a low share of general secondary education, roughly 30 percent against 50 in OECD countries,” says EDUin program director Miroslav Hřebecký, referring to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which consists of 38 economically developed countries of the world, including the Czech Republic.
Experts see the main responsibility for the regions that are responsible for establishing gymnasiums. However, according to Hřebecký, many fell asleep. “The applicants are fifteen and were not born yesterday. But somewhere, the regions have solved it or at least tried to,” he says. The South Moravian region anticipated a sharp increase in students and plans to open a new gymnasium focused on natural sciences from the next school year. Within four years, it should offer a place for up to 500 pupils.
A quarter more interest
This year, 116,031 children applied for the unified entrance exams for high school matriculation courses, multi-year gymnasiums and extensions, according to the state organization Cermat, which prepares the exams. This is a quarter more than six years ago, when centrally administered exams were held for the first time. Primary school pupils submitted a total of 212,344 applications, i.e. 13 percent more than last year.
According to Zeman from EDUin, the Ministry of Education is also to blame. “It fell asleep with the communication and financial motivation of the regions. The problem is that it takes more than one election term to build a new school. It is therefore a big investment and effort, from which the leadership of the region may not benefit politically, because in the meantime someone else gets to the town hall, ” says the expert.
According to him, it would help to order that general education with a high school diploma should make up a certain proportion of all branches in the region. Regions could request money from the state on its basis. Experts also advise reducing the number of eight-year grammar schools in favor of four-year ones.
The Ministry of Education is willing to respond to regional requests for capacity increases. “In the case of secondary schools, there are enough places on the national average, the regional distribution is problematic, but also the interest of applicants only in certain fields. Again, the regions have the main say here,” wrote the director of the communication department, Lubomíra Černá.
