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On Monday, September 1, not only does the new school year 2025/2026 begin, but also the amendment to the Education Act comes into force. It changes a number of things, and significantly. This time, it is not just about cosmetic changes to existing legislative changes, but about the introduction of a number of new features. They affect not only the youngest pupils of primary schools, changes will also be made to secondary school leaving exams and doctoral scholarships at universities. An overview of the changes that will apply to kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and universities is summarized in the Deník review.

1. Postponement of compulsory school attendance

In response to the fact that the Czech Republic is statistically at the top of international rankings for deferrals for children before starting school, a structural change is taking place from September 1, 2025. According to the amendment, only those children who suffer from a long-term serious illness or moderate to profound mental disability should be granted a deferral. "School principals will decide on the deferral based on an assessment by the school counseling facility and the opinion of a specialist doctor or clinical psychologist," explained Veronika Lucká Loosová, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, to Deník .

The amendment also establishes a transitional period during which the old rules will still apply when granting a deferral. The new rules for granting deferrals of compulsory school attendance will therefore only be fully effective for enrolments in 2028.

2. Enrollment dates for kindergartens and schools are changing

The amendment to the law also changes the dates for enrollment in kindergartens and elementary schools. The new dates for kindergartens are from March 15 to April 15. Elementary schools are then to prepare enrollment days from January 15 to February 15.

3. Starts learning according to new educational programs

It is not yet mandatory for everyone, but primary and kindergarten schools, if they decide to do so, have the opportunity to teach according to the newly revised framework educational programs from September 1, which change the structure of the curriculum. And for kindergartens, for example, it is introducing a new goal of mathematical and reading literacy. "These areas are adapted to the age capabilities of children and ensure the natural development of skills needed for further education. The goal is to equip children with basic tools that will facilitate their transition to primary school and help them succeed in further education," the National Pedagogical Institute reported .

4. The meals in school cafeterias will change

From September 1st and the 2025/2026 school year, some canteens will voluntarily start cooking according to the new school catering decree . The food baskets are changing and the aim is to include more vegetables, legumes and fish in children's lunches. The rules for bringing your own food are also being adjusted, for example if children have food allergies.

But the decree also sparked debates and concerns about whether canteens are technically prepared for this and whether the consumer baskets are well-organized. Nutritionally, but also attractively for children. "Children simply don't like legumes and fish very much. Preparing fish in a restaurant, where the serving takes several hours, is not easy. Fish that has been in a gastro container for several hours at a certain temperature, will not taste good," Adam Kilberger, chairman of the Association of Public Catering , expressed his concerns to Deník .

Experts, including some doctors, have also expressed doubts about replacing animal proteins with plant proteins. "It makes no sense to replace full-fledged animal proteins with plant proteins. For example, the obligation to offer red meat, from which we obtain nutrients that we cannot do without, has completely disappeared," Kilberger added of the changes.

The obligation to cook according to the new consumer baskets will come into effect a year later, from the beginning of the 2026/2027 school year, but according to the ministry's announcement, some schools will voluntarily start doing so immediately from September. According to the ministry, others will be given enough time to make changes. "Thanks to the shift, school canteens will have the opportunity to consistently prepare for the new consumer basket - by testing new recipes, properly implementing the consumer basket, training school canteen employees, and so on," spokeswoman Lucká Loosová responded.

5. A certificate will replace the high school diploma

Schools will now be able to recognize certain certificates as a replacement for part or all of the exam of the profile part of the high school diploma. "The principal determines which specific certificates can be recognized. So far, the possibility of replacing the exam concerned languages, now it will be possible to use certificates in the field of ICT (information and communication technology , ed. note) skills," explained the spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Veronika Lucká Loosová. This applies in particular to schools with a technical focus. The advantage of some certificates is that students can obtain them whenever they want, for example during the lower grades.

6. Instead of a high school diploma, the student writes a thesis

In selected fields of secondary education , the profile part of the school-leaving examination will be replaced by a so-called comprehensive profile paper. "The comprehensive profile paper will be prepared in cooperation with employers selected by the school. The assignment, including possible topics for the comprehensive profile paper, will be published by the school principal and the student can choose the topic they want to work on. The paper can have a practical form, for example, a product with a description of the procedure," Lucká Loosová informed.

According to the analyst of the EDUin education information center, Nikola Šrámková, the graduation thesis is a way for students to profile themselves and expand their competences. "The student will thus demonstrate not only theoretical knowledge of the topic, but also practical experience gained, for example, from internships or from the real environment of companies . At the same time, they will acquire skills associated with creating a professional written thesis and, during the preparation and oral defense itself, they will deepen their argumentation and presentation skills. This approach fits into the support of the concept of lifelong learning and contributes to better preparation for further education, for example at a university," Šrámková explained to Deník.

7. Doctoral students will improve their financial situation

A major pain for higher education is the decline in doctoral students . Both in terms of those who start and for various reasons do not complete it, and in terms of applicants. There are few of them. "The number of doctoral students even fell below twenty thousand in 2023, which was the lowest since 2002. Of the 19,775 doctoral students, 28 percent were foreigners," he said the Czech Statistical Office

One of the reasons is financial security. Although doctoral students receive a scholarship, it was very low. Usually it was around twelve thousand crowns. So they had to work while studying, which put them in a vicious circle, where studying gave way to work. Moreover, the amounts varied at individual universities. The Ministry of Education therefore decided to introduce a merit-based doctoral scholarship. How high it will be will affect whether the doctoral student is just studying or is already academically employed as part of the doctoral scholarship. In both cases, the doctoral scholarship may not fall below 1.2 times the minimum wage . This corresponds to almost 25 thousand crowns.

8. Payment of support teaching positions and anchoring 

School psychologists and special educators have had funding anchored in schools since September 1st thanks to the amendment to the law. They will become part of the teaching staff. The amendment also anchors the position of social educator. The money for the salaries of these jobs will come from the state budget if the school has more than 180 pupils. The number of pupils also determines the contracted scope of work and the amount of pay .