24th September 2018

OECD Education at a Glance: Czech Republic: Gender pay gap among the highest, spending per student from primary to tertiary level among the lowest in OECD

The most recent OECD Education at a Glance report finds that in the Czech Republic, gender pay gap is among the highest and spending per student from primary to tertiary level is among the lowest in OECD.

 

 

 

 

Key findings:

  • Upward educational mobility in the Czech Republic is less prevalent than across OECD countries: children whose parents did not attain tertiary education are more likely not to obtain a tertiary degree and to graduate from vocational programmes than in majority of OECD countries.
  • The gender gap in both employment rates and earnings is wide in the Czech Republic. For instance, 25-64 year-old women earn 69% of what men earn on average, one of the lowest porportions among OECD countries.
  • The enrolment rate of 3-year-olds in early childhood education and care has increased during recent years and now exceeds its OECD average of 75%. However, spending per child is the lowest among OECD countries.
  • Expenditure in educational institutions has inceased during recent years. However, spending per student from primary to tertiary level is among the lowest across OECD and can explain the low salary of Czech teachers,
  • Teachers and shcool heads have relatively low salaries compared to their OECD counterparts and other tertiary-educated workers. 

 

According ot OECD, in the Czech Republic, 93% of  tertiary-educated men are employed, compared with 71% of tertiary-educated women. In 2016, 35-44 year-old women with a tertiary education earned 66% of what their male counterparts earned. Between 2010 and 2015, the number of students in tertiary education fell by 13%. The number of students in primary,secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education fell by 3%. This lead to an increase in expenditure per student of 22% and 10%, respectively.

 

 

A teacher with typical qualification at the top of the scale of teachers' earnings earns about 60% of what other tertiary-educated, full-time employees earn. Heads of schools in the Czech Republic earn nearly the same as other tertiary-educated workers in primary and secondary schools and pre-primary heads earn only 74% of what other tertiary-educated workers earn. In the Czech Republic, the number of teaching hours is lower than in most other countries observed and teacher in the country are slightly older than the average across OECD.

 

The Czech education system is very decentralised, OECD says: only 2% of the decisions concerning lower secondary education is taken by the central government, withe 68% taken by schools themselves, including hiring, dismissals, and design of the programmes of study (within a framework set by the central government) - one of the highest percentages across OECD.

 

>> Read full Country Note.

Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic