MARTIN Fronc, Slovakia's education minister, said that the funds proposed by the Finance Ministry for Slovakia's schools for 2005 - 2007 were insufficient, and went against the cabinet's pledge to annually increase funds for the education sector.
According to the Slovak daily Pravda, the Finance Ministry disagreed with the allegations and argued that the funds projected for education in 2005 were actually higher than those in 2004.
Finance Ministry spokesman Peter Papanek said that the education sector would receive nearly Sk43 billion (€1.06 billion) in 2005, up 3.1 percent year-on-year. However, in 2006, secondary and elementary schools would receive less money than this year, a move that the Finance Ministry explained was caused by the falling number of pupils in Slovak schools.
