Education first

Právo reported in its lead story yesterday that a two-track economy is forming in the CR, with a rich West and a poor East. At the bottom of the page, Právo noted with a degree of disapproval that Deputy Premier Martin Jahn is sending his two young daughters to the "elitist" British International School, which has its classes in English. Few of Právo's left-leaning readers probably saw the correlation between the two stories. There's a widening gap - socially, scholastically and economically - between Czechs looking beyond their borders and those unable or unwilling to take advantage of the globalizing economy. Education is perhaps the single most important factor. Unless the approach to teaching and learning changes, many of today's multilingual young "elite" will pack their bags one day and move to a place where a good education isn't something to hide. [Czech Republic schooling ČSSD languages]