The debate over scrapping the ninth grade is once again raising questions about the real cost of such a change and its potential impact on the Czech education system. According to a Norstat survey conducted for TV Nova, 59% of Czechs oppose the proposal.
Supporters of the change point primarily to potential savings for the state budget. Some political estimates put these at as much as CZK 50 billion a year. Jan Boubín, an economist at NEWTON University, points out that any calculation also needs to factor in the additional costs of students moving into secondary education a year earlier.
“We have to expect a significant increase in the number of students entering the first years of grammar schools,” says Jan Boubín. Based on his calculations, savings from reducing the number of pupils in primary schools would be partly offset by higher costs at secondary schools. The overall annual saving could therefore be around CZK 25 billion.
The economic perspective is only one part of the wider debate. The change would also put additional pressure on secondary school capacity and mean that pupils would move on to the next stage of their education at an earlier age.
