The plans announced by the government to introduce English learning as a compulsory part of the primary school curriculum from 3rd year upwards have been put on hold.
Discussions on a revision to the Education Act have therefore been suspended until the potential risks are reviewed, informed education minister Eugen Jurzyca following the government session yesterday.
Prime Minister Iveta Radicova justified the deferral by saying they wanted to make sure it could be dealt with properly in terms of professionalism and qualifications, so that badly qualified teachers don’t end up producing bad results.
Initially, the government even wanted to start teaching English also to first year pupils, but this idea was modified so that English teaching would be compulsory from the 3rd year, and is supposed to start next year in September.