Prague

Education

In Prague, children generally attend school from ages six to 11; they then have eight years of secondary schooling in the academic and technical tracks and for teaching careers. Twenty-three universities operate in the Czech Republic, and students must pay only one-quarter of the fees. Charles University, founded in 1348, is one of the oldest and best-known institutions of higher learning in Europe. The Czech Academy of Sciences and a large technical university also reside in Prague. For centuries, education in Prague has been heavily influenced, first by the Hapsburgs, who forced the German language on Czech natives, and then by the Communists, who forced socialist principals and the Russian language and banned religion. Now, education in Prague is notably free of religious and political persuasion. The International School of Prague, founded in 1948 for foreign students, teaches pre-kindergarten through eleventh grade, and the French Cultural Center teaches in French to nursery and kindergartenaged children. With 100 percent literacy levels since the early twentieth century, Prague's educational system is more successful than those of many countries.