Czech Update

German fighting losing battle in Czech schools

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 08:43:59 +0100

German is no longer the first or even second foreign language of choice for Czech students. It is surprising that even Spanish and Russian seem to be more popular. In a short hundred years since almost all Czechs spoke German (some better than Czech) to where very few do. It would be interesting to see what consequence it will have for Czech-German relations. Probably, it won't be all that bad. read more »

How have Czech values changed?

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 21:55:17 +0100

If you're wondering about what Czech views on this or that are, you could do worse than going to the excellent World Values Survey and use their read more »

Czech university students use sex as a source of income

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 11:16:56 +0000

Sex jako výnosnější brigáda - www.lidovky.cz PRAHA 17. února 2007 | 10:59 Až čtvrtina studentek vysokých škol si podle odhadů minimálně jednou během studia vydělá komerčním sexem a točením či focením porna.

Unfortunate end to recruitment of the Roma to Czech police force

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 10:10:26 +0000

Romano Vodi - Romany applicants fail to meet Czech police criteria-press - News None of 7 Romanies who applied for jobs in the municipal police of the town of Most has met the required criteria and the police will therefore not have any Romanies in its ranks, the daily Mlada fronta Dnes writes in its north Bohemian edition today. The Romany candidates who would have been sent for a six-month re-qualification course funded from European Union funds if admitted, did not even pass through the initial introductory interview, the paper says. read more »

Czech children not poor, but have emotional problems - UNICEF

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 09:45:00 +0000

Czech children not poor, but have emotional problems - UNICEF Czech children do not suffer from poverty and they have good health care and education as compared to children from some two tens of developed countries, but they have more problems in relations with parents and peers, according to a study that UNICEF released today.

Czech Republic came 11th in the overall score beating USA, France and UK (all three often featured as role models in socio-economic areas). Czechs were 11th, 10th and 9th in financial position, health and education respectively and it's infant mortality rates are one of the lowest but their overall ranking was brought down by "assessment of relations between children and their peers, and children and their parents." where CR scored 19th (ahead only of UK and US). Here are some other quotes from the article about the report. read more »

Czechs practice unsafe sex

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 00:31:40 +0000

Czechs practice unsafe sex - Prague Daily Monitor Young Czechs practice unsafe sex, according to a Mladá fronta Dnes survey. Out of 139 young people questioned, 60 percent indicated that they don't use condoms. Most of them indicated that they are not afraid of contracting HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. There are currently 920 registered HIV cases in the country, but medical experts say that number could be five times higher. They say HIV cases continue to rise each year. There were 93 new cases last year.

Changes and challenges in Czech education

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 10:20:45 +0000

Changes and challenges in Czech education The Education Act passed in 2004 calls for the standardization of the matriculation examination (ME). After finishing compulsory education, Czech students choose one track from either academic (gymnasia), secondary technical or vocational. Students from academic and secondary technical tracks finish their studies with a ME that allows them to apply to universities. Traditionally, the ME has consisted of a written and oral examination on Czech and one foreign language, and an oral examination on two eligible subjects. In accordance with the act, beginning in the 2007 academic year, all students must sit for a standardized test in Czech and foreign languages, and a third subject chosen from science, information technology, mathematics or civics.

Vysvědčení dnes - School reports today

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 10:24:29 +0000

MF DNES Praha - Téměř osmdesát tisíc dětí ze základních škol a více než sedmdesát tisíc středoškoláků si dnes odnese domů pololetní vysvědčení. „V letošním školním roce máme v Praze evidováno 75 566 žáků základních škol, 4047 žáků speciálních tříd a 70 440 studentů středních škol,“ vypočítává vedoucí oddělení školského rejstříku a výkaznictví pražského magistrátu Karel Krupka.

Today is the day of so called "pololetní vysvědčení" - or the end of term ('pololetí') school report. read more »

Czech ministry of education to sponsor students of Czech

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 10:09:49 +0000

Every year the Czech ministry of education sponsors a certain number of foreigners to study Czech in the Czech Republic for up to a month. See the enclosed document (in Czech) for details on how to apply. Submissions are due by February 18.

Secondary school entrance exams to be abolished

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 09:49:21 +0000

Czech Education Minister wants to abolish entrance exams-press Prague- New Czech Education Minister Dana Kuchtova from the minor government Green Party intends to abolish high school entrance exams, she told the daily Pravo today. According to the daily Hospodarske noviny, more than half a million students study at high schools in the Czech Republic at present. Of them, 145,000 students study at grammar schools, 211,000 at vocational secondary schools and 164,000 students study at apprentice schools, Hospodarske noviny says.

With the right motivation Czech is a piece of koláč

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 10:11:18 +0000

Czech isn’t as impossible to learn as it seems It’s true that Czech isn’t the easiest language, but it isn’t as difficult or as complicated as most people think. Moreover, if you can manage even a little Czech, it can help you in work, social situations or simply going through the daily routine of shopping. ... It’s not only asylum seekers who are interested in studying Czech, there are students from all social levels. It isn’t possible to generalize about the age of students, because there is a very wide range. The reasons for learning Czech are varied, the most common are: work reasons, as employer or employee; preparation for study at Czech colleges or universities; and family reasons such as returning children of Czech emigrants or a Czech partner.

First Czech University to open campuses abroad

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 21:36:22 +0000

Liberec Tech. becomes first Czech University to open campuses abroad - 13-12-2006 - Radio Prague The Technical University of Liberec has announced it is opening two branches in Vietnam. It's thought to be the very first time a Czech University has set up campuses abroad. Petr Louda, dean of the Mechanical Faculty, explained how the plans came about.

Don't really know what to say about it. It is another example of how being in the EU can be an advantage. Liberec is my hometown but I never thought of the university as particularly important, although it is pretty good in its fields - engineering and textile engineering. read more »