The education in the field of art and applied sciences on culture at the public colleges/ higher education institutions (that is the tertiary education) falls under the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic (MŠVVaŠ SR), public secondary school system and “ZUŠ (basic art schools)” are established and administratively managed by VÚC (higher terrestrial unit) and methodically managed by MŠVVaŠ SR.
At the level of pre-school stage and of compulsory education the fine/visual, literary and music arts are traditionally methodical part of syllabus. It concerns „classic“ education which the children have within pre-school education and in teaching, above all, at the 1st level of basic school system compulsorily in the one-week working plan (whether obligatorily or within leisure-time activities). The bases of drama, theatre, audiovision, multimedia or cultural heritage are left mostly on personal initiative of concrete pedagogue of humanities and social subjects and on his ability and interest to integrate them into the curricula of his subject, alternatively to implement the given areas in a summary manner into more „classic“subjects. The interest in these subjects is supported each time more frequently by organized activities of such type as e.g. “Night of museums, White night, European day of music, Open door day” and the like or project of cultural cards of the Ministry of Culture of the SR or the constantly expanding offer of programmes of education departments and departments of marketing of individual art institutions in Slovakia and the direct interconnection of these projects with offer of concrete theatres, museums, galleries or other art institutions. It concerns predominantly interactive, non-violent education of youngest visitors whether by form of various creative workshops but also of compact programmes of education for given target groups (e. g. Kunsthalle Bratislava, Bratislava City Gallery or School in Museum of Slovak National Museum, Mouse in Museum in Martin, education programmes in Slovak National Theatre and the like).
At the level of secondary school education (at gymnasium with 8 educational programmes as the case may be) the situation is more complicated because the educational standard is stipulated by the State Pedagogic Institute and the content and performance standard is fixed in it what the pupil/student shall master but the teaching of art and art-science subjects is represented within of compulsory curriculum agenda minimally, mostly by one compulsory subject, and namely Art and Culture. This subject is ranked or arranged in to compulsory subjects in gymnasiums providing the classic secondary school education. It is the subject which dedicates itself in his syllabus to the art history and to the development of abilities to perceive art and to expressing means of culture.
Information on culture and art is integrated also into the teaching of Slovak language and literature, foreign languages, geography, history, science on society or ethical education. In area of practical secondary education and of apprentice´s education the given subjects are arranged or ranked very seldom and in very free structure rather like complementary subjects, that is, no big emphasis and weight are laid on them. During the reform of secondary school education and of successive making the syllabus looser the gymnasiums arose in system of secondary school (SŠ) which strengthen the time and content subsidy of artistic and educational subjects within of their School Educational Programme, and so they offer an enlarged composition of subjects from the field of art and culture. In Slovakia we have also the only Slovak Literary Gymnasium in Revúca with compact module of literary-dramatic creation. Dense network of basic art schools (thereinafter ZUŠ) is phenomenon of Slovakia which passed within the reform from under establisher´s competence of the MŠ SR under self-government what influenced mainly their financing. Their review we will gain here: http://www.cvtisr.sk/cvti-sr-vedecka-kniznica/informacie-o-skolstve/publikacie-casopisy…/zistovanie-kvalifikovanosti/prehlad-zakladnych-umeleckych-skol.html?page_id=9575.
The basic art schools do not provide a degree of education. They provide the bases of education in given specialty of art. In spite of this that they prepare the pupils for study at secondary and higher education institutions/colleges of artistic or pedagogical focus and for study at the conservatories they are not prerequisite for the thing in order the pupils to be admitted at this type of school. The ZUŠ organizes preparatory study, basic study of 1st and 2nd stage/division study with enlarged number of lessons and the study for adults. They associate themselves in Association of Basic Art Schools. The idea of ZUŠ (formerly Folk Schools of Art) arose already in the fifties of past century and their main target has been to provide to the children and youth in the age of 6 to 18 years the developing of skills and talent in classic musical art, fine arts, dancing and dramatic art and to search and to develop the talents. The ZUŠ is in every district town (in school year 2018/2019 there are about 365 “ZUŠ”s) and as a rule it has mainly deportment of music and department of fine arts; since the nineties, however, also dramatic departments/branches are very widespread. Qualified pedagogues teach at them which studied directly the art college, corresponding approbation at some of pedagogical faculty as the case may be. They have mastered not only the technique (for playing at instrument or fine art/sculptor´s techniques) but also methodical guidance of various age groups of young people. The teaching at ZUŠ is held chiefly in afternoon hours and children have individual and group practical teaching two up to three times within 1 week completed by theory of corresponding art branch. They are duly rated for their study at ZUŠ by similar system as in compulsory education.
Towns and bigger municipalities, in which the ZUŠ do not function for various reasons, they try to satisfy the demand of parents and children by various qualified courses and circles/clubs in the Centres of Leisure Time where, however, the quality methodical teaching is not always secured and the result is rather in form of leisure time activity.
From the rows of former students of the first (preparatory course and with duration of 8 years) and the second (3 years) cycles came out a number of professional Slovak artists which went on in professional education at the conservatory, Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica respectively, alternatively abroad.
The Bratislava Theatre School Ludus has peculiar position within ZUŠ: private school with focus on dramatic art, which operates beside classic education also the Theatre Ludus, in which the students perform within professional projects. The Bratislava self-governing region (BSK) is establisher of the theatre.
