Education and Training Monitor 2024

1. Learning for sustainability

The objectives linked to sustainability are broadly embedded in the updated global education strategy 2025-2030, adopted by the Government in September 2024. The Greener Slovakia strategy introduced improvements in environmental education already in 2019. The Slovak environment agency also supports greening education¹and implements an increasing number of projects through its Green educational fund². Sustainability is also reflected in the reformed education curricula in vocational education and training. Furthermore, the currently piloted curriculum in schools (ISCED 1+2) includes responsibility for the sustainability of life on earth. However, in higher education, learning for sustainability does not appear among the priorities in the strategic documents.³ Sustainability is integrated in the learning process in a cross-curricular way in Slovakia. Slovakia is a good example in the gradual integration of the systems thinking competence across all education levels. However, some other sustainability-related competences such as futures literacy and political agency need further strengthening (ISCED 24, 34). Also, the competences linked to valuing sustainability, and individual and collective action are not sufficiently addressed in the top-level curriculum (in particularly in ISCED 1) (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2024).

The 2022 International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) showed a policy implementation gap regarding learning for sustainability. According to the survey, Slovak students’ knowledge of sustainable development issues is below the EU17 average (484.2 vs EU17 506.7). Moreover, the difference in students’ knowledge of sustainable development linked to parental educational background in Slovakia is the highest among all other surveyed EU countries (142.49 vs EU17 76.25)⁴. Many actions supporting learning for sustainability are being implemented through the bottom-up initiatives, also with support of the civil society organisations that are well linking schools with good practices⁵. As regards the share of schools where the eighth graders took part in sustainability-related actions, Slovakia is around the average of the countries participating in the (Damiani et al., 2024). However, the budget allocation for Slovak school projects could be further reinforced, including for example for the field trips or school bicycle facilities. The EU funding supports learning for sustainability in schools (see Section 4, Box 1).

Sustainability is in general included in initial teacher education and in continuing professional development. However, it is fragmented, the impact is not measured, and sustainability-related competences are not included in the teacher competence framework. According to ICCS 2022, a higher proportion of Slovak teachers have not participated in training on sustainability than on average in the EU (52.9% vs EU17 47%). Yet, Slovak teachers are very active in their practice, and the share of teachers who took part in actions related to sustainability with their eighth-grade students (63.4%) is well above the EU17 average (52.8%). Although school leaders have a key role in including sustainability in school practice, there are no specific provisions supporting their leadership in relation to sustainability in Slovakia. Furthermore, there is a shortage of qualified teachers in subjects relevant to sustainability. For example, the share of lessons taught by qualified teachers is among the lowest in ethics (66%) and civic education (68%) (Janotíková & Balberčáková, 2024). The Slovak state school inspectorate report (2021) stated that civic education, that includes topics on sustainability, has not enough space in the formal curriculum, which might explain students’ poor results. From the teachers’ perspective, a lack of time was reported among key barriers to effectively implementing the global education objectives (Matej Bel University, 2018).

Monitoring of implementing sustainability in schools could be reinforced. There is no strategic framework mapping needs and no specific criteria related to sustainability in school evaluations. Schools would benefit from targeted support and further guidance or training opportunities for teachers, as well as from further support to developing effective school leadership for the whole-school approach to sustainability.

2. Early childhood education and care

The ECEC capacity has been improving in Slovakia and ambitious reforms are ongoing. However, the participation rate in ECEC for children from age 3 to the starting age of compulsory primary education is far below the EU average (78.6% vs EU 93.1% in 2022)⁶. Regardless of the demographic estimates suggesting an overall decrease in the number of children by 3.2% between 2023 and 2030, ECEC capacities remain insufficient. The demand for kindergartens is uneven across the country with Bratislava in lead. Missing capacities for 3-5-year-olds are mainly in eastern regions (Kosice and Presov) while population is estimated to grow (by 3% and 5.6% respectively) (EPI, 2023). At the same time, some municipalities report under-used capacities, for example in the Kosice region, the average occupancy rate of newly created ECEC capacities is 76%, while some children from vulnerable groups, including Roma, are significantly underrepresented. From September 2025, 3-year-olds will have a legal entitlement to ECEC in line with the School Act amendment (2023). The reform towards normative financing of kindergartens envisaged from 2025 is also a step in the good direction.

Slovakia has the lowest enrolment rate of children under 3 in ECEC in the EU. It was at 2.3% in 2022, and dropped to 1% in 2023, which is significantly below the EU average of 2023 (37.5%)⁷. For this age group, there is no national curriculum, and no mandatory evaluations in the childcare centres. The 2023-2025 action plan for the national strategy for the development of coordinated early intervention and early care services declares support to construction of nurseries and strengthening of staff capacities, as well as support to remuneration and training of early intervention and early care employees (Government Office, 2022 and 2023). For children from disadvantaged backgrounds, marginalised Roma communities and children with disabilities, institutional conditions for their cognitive, physical, social and emotional development have not yet been created in Slovakia by the state, and early childhood education and care is supported by social services (Seepro3, 2024).

Insufficient attractiveness of the teaching profession and lack of qualified and motivated teachers affect the quality of the ECEC provision. In 2023, 1 937 children attended 97 special needs kindergartens, with 198 enrolled in 27 special classes in regular kindergartens (EPI, 2024). Support to inclusive education in kindergartens is at early stage of its implementation, and financial motivation of ECEC teachers is insufficient (Seepro3, 2024). Furthermore, a lack of specialist support staff contributes to inability of pre-primary settings to respond to diverse needs of children. The number of teaching assistants in ECEC in Slovakia is very low. The national education centre is currently developing a system of inclusive education support measures that would implement continuing education programmes for teaching and specialist staff, including in ECEC. In line with the country-specific recommendation for Slovakia (European Council, 2024), further efforts are needed to increase the availability and use of affordable high-quality early childhood education and care for children under the age of 3, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

3. School education

Around one third of students from Slovakia lack a minimum level of proficiency in mathematics, reading and science, which may negatively impact future skills supply for a competitive economy. According to the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022, 33.2% of students underperformed in mathematics, 35.4% in reading and 30.6% in science (EU averages: 29.5%, 26.2% and 24.2% respectively) (OECD, 2023). This is among the highest underachievement rates in the EU and showing a sharp increase. In mathematics it grew by 8.1 pps in Slovakia vs. 6.6 pps in the EU between 2018-2022, affecting performance of both advantaged and disadvantaged students. In mathematics, the share of underachieving students was 33.2% (vs 29.5% in the EU) in 2022. This is a worrying decline also in the context of the previous excellent performance of Slovak students in mathematics in mid-1990s when the students in the eighth grade (14–15-year-olds) ranked third in Europe in 1995 TIMSS (ICS, 1995).

Figure 1: Top performance rate in reading, PISA 2012, 2018, 2022 (%)

The top performance also declined, and in reading it is among the lowest in the EU. In 2022 the share of top performers was at 3.4% (EU: 6.5%) in reading (see Figure 1); 4.3% in science (EU: 6.7%); and 7.3% in math (EU: 7.9%). Further research is needed to identify the drivers behind the declining trend. Furthermore, the worsening results in key competences in basic schools (including in maths and reading) were also observed in a recent widespread innovative testing in Slovakia (FinQ, 2023), including among younger children (age 6-10), signalling possible further deterioration in basic skills in the future, if no interventions are taken.

Slovakia has among the widest performance gaps related to students’ socio-economic background which points at equity and quality challenges in the education and training system. In mathematics, the socioeconomic gap in underachievement between disadvantaged and advantaged students (see Figure 2) rose by 10.2 pps since 2018, reaching 50.6 pps in 2022, well above the EU average (37.2 pps), and only around 6% of disadvantaged students are top performers, the lowest across the OECD (OECD, 2023a). In Slovakia, more than 6 out of 10 students from the disadvantaged socioeconomic background have not achieved the minimum competence level in mathematics (62.6% vs EU 48%), a rate which has increased 1.5 times more than in other EU countries since 2018 (14.6 pps vs EU: 9.9 pps). The isolation index measuring the concentration of socio-economically disadvantaged students in some schools in Slovakia is among the three highest in the EU (0.28 in 2022.) The ICCS 2022 also confirmed significant influence of the socioeconomic background on Slovak students’ civic knowledge.⁸ More than 60% of Roma children attended schools where all or most pupils were Roma (FRA, 2022).

Figure 2: The socio-economic gap among advantaged and disadvantaged students in mathematics, PISA 2018-2022 (pps)

Furthermore, the Slovak education system shows features of early tracking and grouping students by their ability (OECD, 2023b). There seems to be a concentration of lower academic performing students in mathematics in specific types of schools (OECD, 2023c), which indicates that not all schools receive adequate support to fulfil the needs of all students. While the inclusion of learners with special needs into the mainstream schools has been improving in Slovakia over the recent years, the education system does not seem to be able to adequately support their diverse needs or the schools.

Student well-being at school, mental health and relations with others influence academic performance. While 74.6% of Slovak students felt they belong at school, which is in line with the OECD average, around 18% students feel lonely (16% on average in OECD). A positive sense of belonging was associated with a 12 points higher score in mathematics performance. Around 70% of students reported that their family regularly asked about school while students who were supported at home had more positive attitudes towards learning (OECD, 2023c).

One in five students reported that they were frequently experiencing bullying, a harm that affects students regardless of their schools’ socioeconomic characteristics. Exposure to bullying at least a few times a month is associated with an 18 points score drop in mathematics performance⁹. Furthermore, while interaction with teachers can affect students’ performance, as regards mathematics, only 66% of Slovak students agreed that their teachers were available when they needed help. With a view to introducing a long-term monitoring of the mental health of children in Slovakia, a national project on systemic support of mental health and prevention of children, pupils and students through the counselling and prevention¹⁰ is currently being implemented by the Slovak research institute of child psychology and pathopsychology. Its first outcomes are envisaged in 2025.

The declining performance in PISA 2022 can only be partially attributed to school closures and distance learning during the pandemic. The scores in reading and science had already been falling prior to this period. During the pandemic, over 19% of students reported frequent problems with access to a digital device and over 22% of students reported frequent problems with finding a quiet place to study. More systemic challenges include teacher shortages, the low attractiveness of the teaching profession in Slovakia, as well as a long-term underfunding of education.¹¹ Also, an increasing share of children in Slovakia is living in severe material and social deprivation (from 7.9% in 2018 to 10.8% in 2022 vs EU 8.4%),¹² suggesting that further efforts are needed to support small children living at a risk of inter-generational poverty. Moreover, some experts also point to poorly prepared young teachers and the weaknesses in the evaluation of higher education institutions’ performance (Petlák, 2023), and a possibly weaker motivation of students in PISA testing. The independent Centre of Educational Analyses notes that in comparison to 2018, more students from primary schools and from VET programmes offering apprenticeship certificates participated in the testing in 2022, which may have also contributed to the worse PISA 2022 results (Ministry of Finance, 2023). The Slovak Chamber of Teachers also points at the challenges teachers experience in accessing the in-service trainings due to administrative burden.

In February 2024, the Education Ministry presented a draft 2024-2026 implementation plan for public discussion, updating the national programme for development of education. The draft contains ambitious strategic goals to improve basic skills and measures envisaged. For example, the proportion of 15-year-old children with low results in reading, mathematics and science should be below 15% by 2030. Actions also include projects on the preparation of high-quality teaching materials and improved monitoring. A regional top-up contribution to teachers’ salaries will be provided (EUR 60 million) in 2024. The RRP supports the provision of new schoolbooks and teachers training in Slovakia, which aims to improve the Slovak students’ performance in the future.

4. Vocational education and training

Slovakia has a relatively large VET sector which constitutes a strong pillar of the education system. In 2023, 43% of 15–19-year-olds were enrolled in secondary vocational education and training (VET) in the Slovak Republic. 50% of 25–34-year-olds have a VET qualification as their highest level of attainment. In 2023, almost 8 out of 10 (76,5%) of recent VET graduates were in employment, which was below the EU average (81%). On average, the VET graduates earn about 12% more than those without upper secondary education attainment, whereas workers with finished general secondary attainment have an earning advantage of 13%.¹³

VET programmes that provide no further learning opportunities have been abolished increasing the permeability of education pathways. One of the systematic weaknesses in the Slovak VET system was the F-type lower secondary VET programmes (ISCED 253) as they did not provide a final certificate allowing the acquisition of lower secondary education and opening the possibility to continue to upper secondary education. This was addressed by introducing legal changes allowing students to complete lower secondary education in lower secondary vocational education in a 2- and 3-year combined programme. The reform is expected to increase the effectiveness of the Slovak VET system.

Slovakia aims to improve the quality of VET, also with support of EU funds. In December 2023, Slovakia approved the national ESF+ project ‘Introduction of quality management in VET and adult education’ aiming to develop an overarching national strategy for quality assurance with a budget of about EUR 7 million. One of the expected results of the project is an impact analysis by 2026. Next, Slovakia plans to ensure the nationwide acceptance and implementation of the European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training.

VET potential to improve the situation of the long-term unemployment, low-skilled people and disadvantaged groups by upskilling and reskilling could be further explored. The European Social Fund+ keeps supporting the innovations in vocational education and training with four projects being approved in 2023 only, having a value of EUR 40 million. Slovakia is still lagging behind the EU average (62.1% vs. 64.5%) with regard to exposing students to work-based learning. The positive experiences from the World Bank’s Technical Support called Catching Up Initiative (CURI) I-V in combination with European Structural Funds in providing VET schools with resources and infrastructure for gaining practical skills in Prešov, Košice and Banska Bystrica regions could be good practice examples for other regions.

5. Higher education

Over the past decade the tertiary educational attainment rate has substantially increased. In 2023, 39.8% of young people aged 25-34 held a tertiary degree, compared to 26.9% in 2013, but this is still below the EU average (43.1%). The gender gap remains significantly above the EU average (17.5 pps vs EU 11.2 pps), and the share of women entering tertiary education (ISCED 5-8) also remained stable: around 57% between 2016-2022¹⁴. Slovakia saw, however, a decline in student enrolments by 16.2% between 2016-2022¹⁵. At the same time, there was also a decline in the number of Slovak academic staff (by 4.6%). Further analysis could shed light on other factors behind this change. The share of public expenditure directed to tertiary education as a percentage of GDP decreased from 0.7% in 2015 to 0.6% in 2022¹⁶ in Slovakia. While the European University Association’s data as regards autonomy of higher education institutions shows that the situation remains stable in most of the researched countries, in 2023 a decreased autonomy has been identified in Slovakia, in particularly in financial and staffing dimension (EUA, 2024).

Slovakia’s graduate mobility rate is higher than the EU average. The inward mobility rate for graduates at ISCED 5-8 was 3.1% in 2022 (EU 2.6%), and the outward mobility rate was 20.1% (EU 11%)¹⁷. Like some other small education systems, Slovakia had significantly larger ‘degree’ than ‘credit’ mobility flows.¹⁸ However, at 17.5%, the proportion of Slovak graduates who spent a period of higher education-related study abroad was still below the EEA 23% target. As regards student mobility, Slovakia showed a higher share of inward degree-seeking students (around 10%) than the EHEA average in 2020/2021 (2.9%), coming mostly from Ukraine, Czechia and Germany.

The Recovery and Resilience Programme supports reforms aimed at improving the quality of higher education through the introduction of performance-based funding. By January 2024, all higher education institutions (HEIs) signed performance contracts. Each university is expected to increase its performance along 14 indicators and can benefit from a total allocation of EUR 80.4 million in 2024 linked to performance. The upcoming verification of excellence in research (VER 2026) will involve not only the evaluation of scientific outputs, but also of social impact and research environment, with the outcomes foreseen in June 2026. Furthermore, HEIs introduced new procedures for ensuring the quality of education which are now the subject of accreditation by the Slovak Accreditation Agency for higher education. The procedures of this agency were internationally assessed,¹⁹ including by the ENQA agency review²⁰; and in October 2023, the agency was registered in the European quality assurance register for higher education.²¹ Finally, Slovakia is implementing national qualifications frameworks (2022/2023) promoting the readability and comparability of qualifications.

6. Adult learning

Participation in adult learning has improved in Slovakia. The indicator on participation in adult learning within past 12 months has improved in 2022 (49.5%) compared to the last measurement in 2016 (42.6%) and is well above the EU average (39.5%)²². Participation in non-formal learning for the age group 25-64 has increased to 53.1% compared to the EU average of 44%. However, the number of training participation hours shows a worrying trend - decreasing to 32 in 2022, compared to the EU average showing an increase to 84 hours²³, and raising concerns about its effectiveness in terms of skill acquisition.

The long-awaited law on adult education is to be adopted in September 2024, coming into effect in January 2025²⁴. The draft promotes a personalised approach to adult learning and effective lifelong learning. It also introduces new elements, such as individual learning accounts, micro-credentials, validation of previous learning outcomes and provides a definition on basic skills. This law ensures the effective continuation of the implementation of the strategy on lifelong learning and guidance and its first action plan. Based on the lessons learnt, a new action plan for 2025-2027 is expected to be sent for Government’s approval by March 2025.

A particular focus on the lower qualified groups is essential for closing the qualification gap between the available workforce and labour market requirements. The ESF+ funded projects focus on enhancing employability of different social groups and basic skills. The ERDF together with the ESF+ are financing the establishment of an electronic platform for the individual learning accounts and its pilot testing to 5 000 users. The ESF+ plans a call for proposals that will monitor and assess the level of adult key competences, and also a call that will focus on building basic skills of low-skilled target groups (EUR 6 million). Furthermore, a national project on skills for the labour market (EUR 45 million) focuses on training, requalification, and acquisition of new skills for NEETs, employed as well as unemployed persons. Finally, the Alliance of Sectoral Councils, that is also funded through ESF+, aims at providing skills forecasting in various sectors to adapt the reskilling programmes.