World Teachers' Day was proclaimed by UNESCO in 1994 on 5 October. In Slovakia and the Czech Republic, however, Teachers' Day falls on 28 March, the anniversary of the birth of Jan Amos Komenský. In Czechoslovakia, this day began to be celebrated in 1955. Jan Amos Komenský is one of the significant figures of Czech and world culture. He is also referred to as a teacher of nations. The oldest and largest Slovak university - Comenius University is named after him. Bratislava Castle will be illuminated from 8pm until midnight on Tuesday on the occasion of Teachers Day, the Parliamentary Office has reported.
Teachers and teaching assistants account for 5.4% of all staff. Out of a total of 2,188,636 employees, 117,700 are teachers and professional teaching staff. This is according to the statistics of the 2021 Census of Housing and Population on the occasion of Teachers' Day. Women account for 82.8% of teachers and professional education staff, while men account for 17.2%. "In terms of economic age groups, there are 114,014 teachers and professional education workers of working age (15-64 years), which is 96.9%. There are still 3,686 (3.1%) teachers and professional education staff in the post-working age group (65 years and over)," noted Jasmine Stauder, spokesperson for the 2021 Census. Of the total number of teachers and professional teaching staff, 81.5% (95,872) have completed university education. "Compared to 2011, the total number of teachers and professional education staff has decreased by 1.7%," Stauder said. The highest number and share of teachers and professional pedagogical staff among all employees is in the Presov region (19,209 and 6.7 percent, respectively), while the lowest number of teachers and professional pedagogical staff among all employees is in the Trenčín region - 11,088, or 4.4 percent. In terms of age structure, the largest number of teachers and professional pedagogical staff of post-retirement age work in the Bratislava region (1,312), which represents 35.6% of all teachers and professional pedagogical staff of post-retirement age in the Slovak Republic. The highest number of university-educated teachers and professional pedagogical staff is in the Prešov Region and the lowest in the Trenčín Region.
This school year, 80,504 teachers are teaching in schools in Slovakia, with an average age of 47 years. More than half of the teachers have more than 20 years of experience, the Institute of Education Policy (IVP) reported on its social network. Most teachers are skilled in English, followed by Russian and German. About a third of the teaching population have advanced ICT skills. "In Slovakia, only 4.5% of teachers and 2.1% of principals feel valued by society. And although the teaching profession is still undervalued, teachers are the ones who help us develop the skills and abilities needed for children to succeed in their lives," the institute says. Analysts also add that as many as 63 percent of Slovaks think teachers work too little compared to other professions. "However, the average share of direct teaching activities in their total work is only about 51 percent. The rest of their working time is related to, for example, preparing teaching materials and aids, correcting pupils' papers, and leading clubs," the analysts added. According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, at least one in nine teachers in Slovakia experiences stress in their work. A major challenge, not only in Slovakia but also abroad, is eliminating the teacher shortage, according to the IVP.
Source: TASR
