Slovakia

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Slovakia

Basic Data
Official Country Name:	Slovak Republic
Region:	Europe
Population:	5,407,956
Language(s):	Slovak, Hungarian
Literacy Rate:	NA
Academic Year:	September-June
Number of Primary Schools:	2,493
Compulsory Schooling:	9 years
Public Expenditure on Education:	5.0%
Foreign Students in National Universities:	1,725
Libraries:	2,630
Educational Enrollment:	Primary: 329,880
	Secondary: 677,377
	Higher: 101,764
Educational Enrollment Rate:	Primary: 102%
	Secondary: 94%
	Higher: 22%
Teachers:	Primary: 16,820
	Secondary: 54,694
	Higher: 9,849
Student-Teacher Ratio:	Primary: 20:1
	Secondary: 13:1
Female Enrollment Rate:	Primary: 102%
	Secondary: 96%
	Higher: 23%

History & Background

The Slovak people, one of Eastern Europe's smaller Slavic groups, achieved a degree of recognition, autonomy, and finally national independence only during the twentieth century. At the start of the twenty-first century, Slovakia was an independent republic seeking full membership in NATO and the European Economic Union. Linguists have noted the relationship between the Czech and Slovak languages within the greater family of Slavic languages; yet a combination of history and geography have encouraged each group to seek its own destiny, despite the close proximity.

The nature of Slovakian geography has imposed a degree of isolation. The country stretches on a west-east axis from the Danube River on the western border to the Carpathian Mountains on the eastern border with the Ukrainian Republic. The northern border is adjacent to Poland and the Czech Republic while the southern border abuts Hungary. The high Tatra Mountains along the northern border have minimized the contact and influence of Poland. The remaining borders have contributed to a chaotic history. Historian R. W. Seton-Watson (1965) has observed that the Slovaks had no discernable, separate history among the early Slavs, had a distinctly separate history from Bohemia (historically, the Czechs to the northwest), and were generally viewed as part of the history of Hungary. While the Czechs were heavily influenced by German affairs, the Slovaks were influenced by the Hungarians or Magyars. Nineteenth century romantics attributed a colorful past to the Slovak people.

Not until the end of the ninth and into the beginning of the tenth century, nearly 100 years after the death of Charlemagne (A.D. 814) as a point of comparison with western European history, did the presence of the Slovaks become discernable. According to Seton-Watson (1965), the presence of the short-lived Moravian state (A.D. 896-906) drove a permanent wedge between Czechs and Slovaks. Much of the history of the Slovaks was under the influence of Hungary, populated by the Magyars, an Indo-European Finno-Urgic people from the steppes of central Asia whose progress into western Europe was halted by Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great on the Lechfeld of Bavaria (A.D. 955). Of profound significance, both the Slovaks and the Magyars were christianized by the western Latin church as represented by the missionaries St. Adalbert of Prague and St. Stephan, who was also crowned the first king of Hungary. The presence of the Latin church meant that the Slovak language would use the Latin alphabet, which would, in turn, strengthen the ties to and influence of Western Europe. For centuries, Latin was the official language of Slovakia. Western Slovakia came under the jurisdiction of the bishopric of Erztergom.

As a counterbalance to the political power of the Hungarian nobility, the monarchy began to encourage German colonization of Hungarian towns, whose existence was guaranteed by a royal charter. This included those towns north of the Danube in Slovakian homelands. German settlers brought along their own legal code, the Magdeburger Recht, which insured that town property could only be sold to Germans. This code laid the basis for future discrimination against the Slovaks. Subsequently, the development of a wealthy German urban class would free the Hungarian monarchy from its uncomfortable dependence on the Hungarian nobility. For their part, the Slovakian people, largely rural and illiterate, lived in feudal servitude to the Magyar nobility.

Ironically, the situation was intensified by the Ottoman invasion and occupation of Hungary south of the Danube River (A.D. 1526-1711), a fact which brought even more of the nobility into historically Slovakian lands, and created the opportunity for more ethnic friction. The history of the Slovaks was tied to Hungary for centuries. The rural Slovakian people lived north of the Danube, often in the isolated valleys of the high Tatra Mountains, still subject to an increased population of Magyar émigrés who had moved their exiled capital to Brataslava (Pressburg in German) on the western Danube border. The eventual defeat and withdrawal of the Ottoman Turks allowed Hungary to reclaim its identity. The Bohemian phase of the Thirty Years War strengthened the Hapsburgs, eventually placing the crown of Hungary under the complete control of this hereditary dynasty with the Treaty of Karlowitz on 26 January 1698.

The eighteenth century saw increased centralization and Germanization under the empress Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II. Not until the nineteenth century with the growth of nationalism under the impetus of romanticism and the legacy of the French Revolution did the Slovak people begin to emerge with their own national aspirations and desire for autonomy. Slovak nationalists and patriots had begun to follow a path of cultural politics as a means of establishing national identity. This task was aided by the presence of the Jesuits, who were among the first to give the Slovakian language a literary expression. In 1787 the priest Anton Bernolak published a Slovak grammar, and in 1792 founded a Slovak literary society at Trnava. Jan Holly translated the major classics of western civilization into Slovak and wrote his own epics to provide a literary heritage for the Slovakian people. The efforts of these cultural revolutionaries and nationalists were encouraged by the Revolution of 1848. Ludevit Stur gave voice to nationalist, romantic, and pan-slavist sentiments. Slovak nationalists such as Stur conducted revolution on two fronts, against the Germans in Vienna and against other non-Magyar minorities. Magyarization of Slovak schools became a sore point. For a time, Stur was the much abused, only Slovak member of parliament. His death in 1856 deprived the nationalists of crucial leadership. Yet they were able to celebrate a small victory in the founding of a Slovak Academy of Law and a chair of Slavonic at the university in Pest.

With the establishment in 1867 of the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy, the Ausgleich, a new era for non-Magyar minorities ensued. The Czechs were the only minority to benefit from Law XLIV, Article 17. The promise of Slovakian schools did not materialize. From 1869 to 1911, a deliberate policy of the central government reduced the number of Slovak primary schools from 1,921 to 440 (Seton-Watson 1965). The Slovak priest Father Hlinka led the nationalists with a voice, which became increasingly demagogic and anti-Semitic. By the end of the nineteenth century, the seven Slovak representatives in the Hungarian parliament were badly treated and often incarcerated. The Magyar elite continued to pursue the policy of Magyarization. Backward and impoverished living conditions, including alcoholism and tuberculosis, encouraged heavy migration to North America. According to Seton-Watson (1965), the Middle Ages in Slovakia ended politically in 1848 but continued economically until 1918. This Slovak community abroad proved to be an important source of funds, and had considerable influence on the planning of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's design for post-World War I Europe. In July 1918, a Slovak congress convened in the U.S. city of Homestead, Pennsylvania, demanding Slovak autonomy. In December 1918 there was agreement on a union with the Czechs, which was ultimately affirmed by the treaties of Versailles and Trianon (1919 and 1920). However, the republic of the Czechs and Slovaks suffered from the same malady that had affected the Austro-Hungarian empire: unhappy and dissatisfied minorities, the fate of most of the states carved from the old empire. In the case of Czechoslovakia, the Sudeten Germans were the loudest, most unhappy minority, along the border with Germany. The industrial Czech half of the county also placed Slovakia at a disadvantage in terms of wealth and resources. The Munich crisis of 1938 and the subsequent German occupation of the remainder of Czech lands in March 1939 led to the establishment of a Nazi German protectorate, the Slovak state under the Catholic priest Father Josef Tiso as premier. After World War II, Tiso was executed as a war criminal, and the pre-World War II borders of Czechoslovakia were reestablished, minus its substantial German population.

From its post-World War I inception, the Slovaks had been dissatisfied with the nature of the state created. They viewed the Czechs as replacements for their Hungarian rulers of the past, and vigorously advocated federalism throughout the 1920s and 1930s (Gawdiak 1989).

Despite the experience with the March 1939 clerical fascist state and German protectorate under Tiso, and despite the centralization of the post-World War II communist government, Slovak national aspirations were not quelled. When Soviet communism collapsed in Eastern Europe and Czechoslovakia once again emerged as a democratic republic, Slovakian nationalism guaranteed that the Republic of Czechoslovakia was to be short-lived. On 1 January 1993 a constitution for an independent Republic of Slovakia was born.

At the start of the twenty-first century, this new Slovak Republic had a population distribution of approximately 85 percent Slovak and 11 percent Hungarian (Magyar), a potentially prickly problem. The remaining ethnic minority distribution is among Czechs, Moravians, Silesians, Roma (Gypsies), Ukrainians, Ruthenians, and Germans. A law passed in 1995 makes Slovak the official language and also recognizes Hungarian. About 60 percent of the population is Roman Catholic with the remaining religious affiliations distributed among the following groups: Protestant, 8.4 percent; Orthodox, 4 percent; and other, 17.5 percent. Atheists constituted 9.7 percent of the population (CIA 2000). The Slovak Republic signed an agreement in late 1998 to settle questions regarding the redistribution of former Czechoslovakian federal property and continues to negotiate with Hungary concerning the Glabcikovo Dam.

Constitution & Legal Foundation

The 1992 Constitution of the Slovak Republic, Article Six, Section One, mandates Slovak as the state language. Section Two provides for the regulation of other languages by law. In November 1995 a law passed by the unicameral Slovak parliament further reinforced Slovak as the sole official language (Turner 2000). Under Section Four, pertaining to the rights of national minorities and ethnic groups within Slovakia, Article Thirty-Four guarantees their right to set up and maintain educational and cultural institutions in their own languages. This part of the constitution is intended to soothe the anxieties of the Hungarian minority along the Danube. Article Forty-Two of the Constitution outlines the basis for educational rights and government policy in the Slovak Republic in the following four brief paragraphs:

Everyone has the right to education. School attendance is compulsory. Its period and age limit will be defined by law.
Citizens have the right to free education at primary and secondary schools and, based on their abilities and society's resources, also at higher educational establishments.
Schools other than state schools may be established, and instruction in them provided, only under conditions defined by law. Such schools may charge a tuition fee.
A law will specify under which conditions citizens who are engaged in studies are entitled to assistance from the state. (Euroweb 2001)

Article 43 guarantees the freedom of scientific research and art, and that the results of such creative intellectual activity are protected by law. The second part of the article guarantees the right of access to the cultural heritage under conditions defined by law. Article Eighty-Six gives to the National Council of the Slovak Republic the power to establish ministries and other state administrative bodies by means of law. Article 102 gives the president the power to appoint university professors and rectors.

Educational System—Overview

The history of education in Slovakia is closely bound to the region's cultural politics and nationalist aspirations. The legacy of Magyarization in the Slovak region has had lasting effects, even into modern times. The presence of over a half-million Hungarians within the borders of Slovakia still effects the shaping of Slovakian educational policy. Other ethnic minorities, except for the Roma (gypsies), have always had larger national states beyond Slovak borders with which they can identify. The defeat of Germany during World War II has silenced the remaining German enclaves in Eastern Europe. The region's volatility is underscored by the history of the Balkan Wars of the 1990s. The fact remains that educational concerns are highly impacted by ethnic questions. Before the nineteenth century, Latin was the official language of Slovakia. A distinct Slovak language emerged under the tutelage of Ludovit Stur. The Constitution of 1992 was designed to maintain a degree of balance among potentially competing ethnic groups and as a remedy for past injustices.

The Constitution of 1992 makes an effort to fulfill the promises made or implied after the Ausgleich and Dual Monarchy of 1867, where Article Seventeen of Law XLIV promised instruction in the mother tongue. The fact remains that Slovaks were without institutions of secondary education from 1875 to 1918 (Seton-Watson 1965). Not until 1919 did Slovakia have a university, Comenius, in Brataslava. In an effort to shed the legacy of communism, the civil legal system has reverted back to the legal codes of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (CIA 2000). This is reflected in the structure and educational requirements. Compulsory education begins at age six and lasts eight years. The government does not require a secondary education. After completion of compulsory education, students choose a vocational or an academic track leading either to a trade or to a professional career that requires university study. The official language of instruction is Slovak.

The most recent statistics on the Slovak educational system date from 1995. As a new democracy in east central Europe, Slovakia has had to struggle with the economic difficulties of the move to a market economy. Funds are scarce, so innovation in education is at a minimum.

Preprimary & Primary Education

Voluntary preschool known as the mater skola may begin at age three. Many, but not all, Slovak children partake of this opportunity. As in German educational tradition, compulsory education begins at age six with elementary school, the zakladna skola, which can last nine years. After this, adolescents are free to pursue apprenticeships or an academic secondary education. In 1995, there were 3,322 preschools and 2,485 primary or elementary schools (Turner 2000). The mater skola is the equivalent of the German Kindergarten, and the zakladna skola, is the equivalent of the old German Volksschule. The first four years of basic schooling are the only times when children of all abilities are in the classroom together.

Secondary Education

All Slovakian children must complete a minimum of one year of secondary school. The path to the university requires attendance of a grammar or preparatory school which is called a gymnazium, a term directly derived from its Germanic legacy, the Gymnasium. Just as Germany with its Abitur and Austria with its Matura, a diploma from the Slovak gymnazium is required for university study. There are approximately 190 grammar schools in Slovakia (Turner 2000). The vocational track offers approximately 364 vocational schools and some 357 apprentice training centers as well as 400 special schools (2000). The statistics provided by Turner do not differentiate between public and private schools. The diplomatic community in the capital of Brataslava sponsors a private international school operated by a private corporation, Quality School International, with instruction through grade ten in English (United States Department of State 1995).

Higher Education

University level education in Slovakia has its origins in the late Middle Ages when the university as an educational institution was being established as a fixture of western civilization. In Hungary, of which Slovakia was then a part, a royal charter from the King of Hungary was necessary in order to distinguish it from any other academy or college. From 1465 to 1490 the first university on Slovakian soil was the Akademia Istropolanta, soon complimented by the Jesuit institutions, the Universities of Trnava and Kosich. The last of these earlier institutions was the Hungarian Elizabeth University in Brataslava. The Turkish invasions and occupation as well as the subsequent absorption of Hungary into the Hapsburg Empire swept away these institutions. Not until after the emergence of the first Republic of Czechoslovakia following World War I did higher education find a new beginning in Slovakia.

Stanislaw J. Kirscbaum (1999) provides a detailed summary of Slovakian institutions of higher education in his book, Historical Dictionary of Slovakia. In 1918 and 1919 the Comenius (Komensky) University in Brataslava was founded. In 1937 the Slovak Technical University in Koske was founded and was later transferred to Nira in 1942, now known as the Slovak Agricultural University of Nitra. The Academy of Fine Arts and Design was begun in Brataslava in 1949. In the same year the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts was established in Bret. There are two technical universities, one in Zvolen and one in Kosice. A university of veterinary medicine was established in 1952, and the Pavol Safarik University was established in 1959. This was followed in 1960 by the University of Transportation and Communication, since re-christened the University of Zilina in 1996. During the brief years of the second Czechoslovakian republic, two additional universities were founded: Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica and the University of Trna and Pedagogical Academy in Nitre in 1992. In 1996 the latter was renamed Constantine the Philosopher University. With the emergence of the second Slovakian republic, the year 1993 saw the establishment of the Liptovsky Mukulas Military Academy and the General M. R. Stefanik Air Force Academy, which were drawn from military schools of the Czechoslovakian army of 1973. In 1996 the University of Preslov and in 1997 Saints Cyril and Methodus University of Trnava, the Academy of Arts in Banska Bystrica, and the University of Trenein became the latest additions to Slovakina higher education. The Comenius University in Brataslava provides orientation programs in Slavic languages for exchange students who are embarking on study in a Slavic country. As in the former Czechoslovakian republic and its socialist precursor, degrees offered are the state examination and promotion (doctorate).

Administration, Finance, & Educational Research

As noted, the Constitution gives the president of the Slovak Republic the power to appoint professors and rectors, which means that the Austro-German university system of the past serves as the primary model. As evident by their titles, a number of institutions are organized according to discipline and specialization. The idea of the Gesamthochschule (comprehensive university) has not yet arrived. The disappearance of the heavy centralizing pressure of Soviet communism has encouraged Slovakia to look to its past. The state finances higher education, but the Constitution gives enough latitude so that the state may or may not subsidize students. With the disappearance of the requirements of communist party membership and a Marxist philosophy, admission to study is more democratic. For Slovakian universities to be competitive with western European and North American universities in terms of research will require greater Slovakian prosperity. In 1994 the total expenditure on education constituted approximately 5 percent of the GNP (Turner 2000).

Nonformal Education

When Slovakian citizens gain access to the Internet, they will greatly increase opportunities for informal education. The extent of the influence of the Internet in Slovakian education is yet undetermined. In the capital of Brataslava, the Open University of Great Britain has an established outlet. A second distance learning institution, this one from the United States, City University registered in Spokane, Washington, offers programs for U.S. college credits.

Teaching Profession

As with most formerly communist countries, the transition to a democratically educated teaching profession has its difficulties. An unemployment rate of approximately 20 percent puts pressure on the educational system to contribute to economic recovery. On the positive side, teachers, who are civil servants, are well trained and competent in their subjects. Teachers at the gymnazium have a university education. Preprimary and primary level teachers are graduates of teachers colleges and pedagogical seminars. The university pedagogical system reflects the older German university. Since the president of the Slovakian republic is constitutionally empowered with the task of appointing university professors and rectors, it is a probable assumption that the total number of full professors is limited, socially prestigious, and institutionally powerful, much like that of the Ordinarious in neighboring Austria and in the recent past of the German university.

Summary

Now that Slovakia has achieved independence and autonomy, the question as to whether or not it will survive long-term is still to be answered. Slovakia's most obvious need is to require more years of compulsory education of all of its children. In a technical age of rapid change and growth, leaving a large spectrum of the population with just an elementary education diminishes the ability of the country to respond to economic change. Slovakia needs to abandon the old Austro-German template with its innate verticality that points the way towards the re-stratification of society. Even after decades of the ideology of egalitarianism, which was a part of communism, that Slovakia has turned the clock back. The old German system, as well as the current Slovakian system, does not serve late bloomers well. Slovakia needs to retain the academic rigor of its old system while at the same time incorporating flexibility and experimentation. While literacy rates are not available, it is probable to assume that they are quite high, with the exception of the Roma (Gypsies) who have traditionally had a high rate of illiteracy.

Slovakia's general fiscal situation remains weak, saddled with structural problems originating in the first years of the second republic under the leadership of Vladimir Meciar, which included inefficient enterprises, banking insolvency, high inter-company debt, and declining tax and social support payments (CIA 2000). University students are finding themselves paying more and more of their own costs, which is very unsettling in a context where the state once paid the entire subsidy. The future of Slovakia is hopeful, yet tenuous, as in most of Eastern Europe.

Bibliography

Boehm, Laetitia and Rainer A. Müller. Universitäten und Hochschulen in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. Düsseldorf, Wien: Econ Verlag, 1983.