ePrihlášky na školy majú chyby, minister Drucker si za nimi stojí (16. 2. 2026)

·25 min·2 clips

Michal Rehuš explains how Slovakia's new school application system uses a Nobel Prize-winning algorithm from the Czech Republic.

The episode begins with a brief news overview covering Slovak political party registration and cybersecurity warnings. The main segment focuses on the launch of Slovakia's new electronic application system (ePrihlášky) for secondary school admissions, which has encountered technical problems. Minister of Education Tomáš Drucker defends the system. Analyst Michal Rehuš is interviewed to provide deeper analysis. Rehuš immediately separates the discussion into two levels: the technical implementation problems and the philosophical soundness of the system itself. He states he had previously criticized the old system as inequitable and had recommended adopting a model similar to the Czech Republic's. He is pleased the ministry has now implemented a system based on a priority-matching algorithm. Rehuš reveals this algorithm is sophisticated, research-backed, and its designers have won a Nobel Prize. He explains the key injustice of the old system: it did not guarantee that students with the best results got into their preferred schools, as spots could be taken by students with worse results through a process of call-backs and cancellations. The new algorithm guarantees placement based on student priorities and academic results. A trade-off is that students find out their school placement later, on June 1st. Rehuš then discusses a critical practical issue: even a perfect system fails if users don't understand it. He cites a recent Czech study which found many applicants did not rank their true first-choice school first, harming their chances. He advises Slovak families to rank schools honestly by true preference. The interview then broadens to the structure of secondary education in Slovakia. Rehuš notes that about two-thirds of Slovak secondary students are in vocational schools, a much higher proportion than the EU average. He argues this reflects an outdated view that schools primarily serve the labor market. He suggests a debate is needed on creating more universal or general education options, so 15-year-olds aren't forced into early specialization. Examples from Scotland and modified gymnasiums are mentioned. Returning to the application system, Rehuš notes it will also be used for primary school admissions this year, affecting many more families. He stresses the importance of maintaining paper-based application options for accessibility. Finally, he criticizes the ministry's reform process more broadly, citing a lack of discussion, research, and data, using the example of the mandatory mathematics graduation requirement as a poorly justified policy.

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