Slovak Schools Receive New Guidelines on Handling Teacher Misconduct Cases

Slovak schools have received new mandatory procedures for addressing suspected inappropriate behavior by teachers toward students, following a rise in reported cases of misconduct. The State School Inspectorate, Slovakia's educational oversight body, has seen an increase in complaints about teacher behavior including bullying, unfair grading, and sexual harassment of students. Chief Inspector Alžbeta Štofková Dianovská criticized schools for sometimes trivializing these incidents and handling them only formally rather than taking decisive action. In response, the Ministry of Education introduced new protocols in early April that clearly define schools' obligations when such cases arise and specify sanctions for institutions that fail to comply with proper procedures.