Directors of Czech primary and secondary schools consider excessive bureaucracy and administration to be the biggest problem, a view shared by 95 percent of them. Other significant issues identified by principals include the salaries of non-teaching staff, the amount of so-called “other non-investment expenditures” (ONIV), and the shortage of teachers. In contrast, most principals do not see bullying, nor a shortage or surplus of students, as problems. These findings come from a survey conducted among 500 principals of primary and secondary schools across the country by GTS Alive, a company that also issues and manages ISIC and ITIC student and teacher cards.
“School principals are also frustrated by the expectation that they be superheroes. They have to handle everything from broken toilets and choosing linoleum to educational leadership and the strategic development of the school. They are expected to be experts in a hundred and one areas. According to them, it’s impossible to manage all this, especially when they have to spend days repeatedly filling in the same data for various institutions or administering very complex grants,” summarized another finding from the survey, Radek Schich, director of GTS Alive.
Despite all the problems mentioned, many school principals have not been discouraged, and the majority would choose to work as principals again if given the choice. Just under a quarter would hesitate, and only one-fifth would not take up the position again.
Principals also view the quality of their teaching staff relatively positively. When asked how many teachers they would enthusiastically choose to teach their own children, 40 percent said the majority of the staff. Another third said they would choose almost all of their teachers. However, one-fifth of principals were more skeptical and would only enthusiastically entrust their children to half of the staff.
The biggest problems from the perspective of school principals:
| Do you see this issue as a problem from your school’s perspective? | YES | NO | DON'T KNOW |
| Bureaucracy, administration | 95,4 % | 4,1 % | 0,4 % |
| Low salaries of non-teaching staff | 89,6 % | 10,2 % | 0,2 % |
| Amount of ONIV (non-investment expenditures) | 82,6 % | 15,1 % | 2,3 % |
| Lack of teachers | 72,9 % | 26,7 % | 0,4 % |
| Funding for school development, equipment, etc. | 72,0 % | 26,6 % | 1,5 % |
| Students’ family background and its impact on students’ performance and behavior | 71,3 % | 24,4 % | 4,4 % |
| Parental involvement | 67,6 % | 30,4 % | 2,1 % |
| Increasing age of teachers | 67,0 % | 30,7 % | 2,3 % |
| Students’ mental health | 59,6 % | 35,8 % | 4,6 % |
| Teachers’ salaries | 58,6 % | 37,8 % | 3,5 % |
| Students’ attitude | 53,2 % | 45,1 % | 1,7 % |
| Adequate and suitable spaces and capacities | 51,8 % | 46,2 % | 2,1 % |
| Impact of the current economic situation on parents’ ability to finance students’ participation in school events, meal payments, purchasing supplies, etc. | 45,4 % | 47,1 % | 7,5 % |
| Bullying | 29,4 % | 64,2 % | 6,5 % |
| Overcapacity of applying students | 22,1 % | 73,3 % | 4,6 % |
| Lack of students | 20,3 % | 76,4 % | 3,3 % |
| Insufficient classroom ventilation leading to decreased student concentration | 13,8 % | 81,4 % | 4,8 % |
The survey was conducted in June 2023 and involved 500 school principals from all 14 regions of the Czech Republic. Sixty percent of the schools were primary schools, with the remainder being grammar schools, secondary vocational schools, and secondary vocational training centers.
Notes for editors:
GTS Alive s.r.o. issues and manages ISIC student cards, ISIC Scholar pupil cards, ITIC teacher cards, and to a lesser extent other cards in the Czech Republic. The company was founded in August 2000, succeeding GTS International in the Czech Republic. GTS Alive s.r.o. is part of the international GTS Alive Group, headquartered in Prague, with branches in seventeen countries across four continents.
Through the ISIC PORT chip identification system, GTS Alive also provides access security and electronic attendance systems for numerous primary and secondary schools. Additionally, the company offers travel and accident insurance to students.
For further information, please contact:
Jan Šimral, mediální zástupce GTS Alive
Tel.: +420 737 944 370
E-mail: info@jansimral.com
