Slovak Ministry Defends Teacher Safety After Fatal School Attack

Slovakia's education ministry has rejected claims that the state fails to address teacher safety and risky student behaviour, after a knife attack at the Primary School with Kindergarten in Staškovo, in the Čadca district, left one teacher dead and two other people injured.¹²

The attack in Staškovo

A 13-year-old eighth-grade student was detained as the suspect in a knife attack at the school. According to TASR, a 61-year-old teacher was killed and a 44-year-old pedagogue was injured with a chest stab wound in the attack.¹

A female student remained in critical condition after the attack, while the 44-year-old pedagogue was reported in stable condition, outside danger.¹²

Ministry response

The education ministry said it has taken concrete steps to identify risky behaviour early since a previous tragedy in Spišská Stará Ves. "Since tragedy in Spišská Stará Ves we gradually adopted concrete measures to identify risky behavior early," the ministry said.¹²

The ministry said the school responded immediately after the incident, with an intervention team from the Center for Counseling and Prevention at the school on the Monday following the attack. "After incident last week school responded immediately. Monday intervention team was at school," it said. The ministry also pointed to 29 million euros allocated for school support teams covering September to December 2026, and said it had strengthened parental responsibility and information-sharing when a student transfers schools.¹²

The ministry additionally claimed the number of social pedagogues has risen by 77 percent since 2021, a figure disputed according to the dossier's sourcing. It said teacher and child safety cannot rest on a single measure, stating: "Teacher and child safety cannot be ensured by one measure or law. It requires functional prevention system."¹²

Teachers demand equal protection

The Slovak Chamber of Teachers issued a statement saying teachers deserve the same level of protection they provide to children. "Teachers daily protect and educate children. It is time for the state to protect them with equal seriousness," the chamber said, adding: "We stand with all pedagogical and professional employees who daily give their strength and heart to work with children."¹²

The chamber linked online behaviour to violence, saying inappropriate statements by public figures and disregard for democratic norms online further encourage human-rights violations and violent conduct. It also pointed to an acute shortage of professional workers in counselling services, resulting in long waiting times, and said schools cannot retain enough specialists without dignified pay, psychological support and better working conditions. "We cannot expect teachers to be a pillar of safety for others if we do not create a safe, dignified and supportive work environment for them," the chamber said.¹

New prevention measures

According to the ministry, it has launched a database of prevention programmes, restricted mobile phone use in primary schools, and the government has adopted a concept for combating radicalisation and extremism. The ministry said two-thirds of schools have adopted an early circles initiative, brief teacher-student meetings before classes, which it said significantly improved classroom atmosphere and children's mental wellbeing, according to a ministry survey.³

The ministry said new teacher handbooks will include more than 20 activities per lesson hour aimed at emotional and mental health, and that a school law amendment introduces mental health protection as integral to education. It said damaging a teacher's reputation and spreading false information about teachers will become punishable, and parents who refuse professional help for a child's risky behaviour could face penalties. A child file system, including an overview of support measures, is due from 2026, alongside a requirement for counselling facilities to inform schools of risky behaviour.³

Education Minister Tomáš Drucker said the challenges are shared across countries. "Education systems worldwide face same challenges – protecting children's mental health, increasing safety, preventing radicalization," he said, adding that the ministry was responding to feedback from schools: "We respond to school feedback that emotions, relationships and mental health need more space." He said the school-family relationship was key and stressed that the measures were not meant to stigmatise children, noting that psychiatric diagnoses remain confidential.³