THE SLOVAK government will release at least Sk500 million (€13.3 million) to the regional school system, which includes elementary and secondary schools, ahead of the June 17 national elections.
Although the government, particularly Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš, has recently tightened its fiscal policy and has been extremely reluctant to spend money, this time the minister decided to meet the schools' demands. He denied, however, that the largesse had anything to do with the fact that general elections are two months away, the Pravda daily wrote.
Of the Sk500 million sum, Sk300 million should go towards increasing teachers' wages.
Former Education Minister Martin Fronc called the funding release a pre-election move from the government, and specifically from Mikloš' Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ).
"In the past, the finance minister was not so generous to schools," Fronc said.
