What Slovakia is writing about: A third of teens read poorly. Above the OECD average in maths only because other countries fell, Denník N says

Slovak fifteen-year-olds are above the OECD average in mathematical literacy and below it in reading literacy — the weakest among the Visegrád Four countries, according to Denník N. From the same PISA 2025 testing data, newsrooms, the coalition, and the opposition have built different assessments, ranging from the education minister's "small encouragement" to a red light for future governments. The second story of the day is the final phase of candidate registration ahead of the combined local and regional elections on October 24, and the third is the public defender of rights stepping into the prime minister's dispute with the prosecutor general.

The Same Numbers, Different Assessments

The results themselves are brief. In mathematical literacy, Slovak fifteen-year-olds scored 469 points against the OECD average of 463 points. In reading comprehension they have 448 points compared to the average of 461, and in science they remain below average, although they improved by thirteen points compared to 2022. A total of 91 countries and economies took part in the comparison. TASR ↗

The Association of Primary Schools of Slovakia added a figure that appeared less often in the headlines. 34.4 percent of tested fifteen-year-olds are in the at-risk group in reading literacy, and among those tested in primary schools the figure is as high as 45.5 percent. The association's president, Eva Horníková, speaks of a mixed but important message and points out that reading is not a subject but a precondition for learning in all the others. TASR ↗

Several newsrooms explain the relative improvement in the same way. Denník N wrote that we got above the OECD average in mathematics mainly because other countries are falling faster than we are, while also noting that the decline is global and that fifteen-year-olds' results have fallen to the lowest recorded levels. In reading literacy, the paper ranks us at the tail end of the Visegrád Four. Denník N ↗ Experts approached by the daily SME summed it up by saying we have moved closer to developed countries because those countries have fallen to our level, adding that the curriculum reform itself is not among the most effective measures, since the quality of teachers and the system's ability to overcome social disparities matter more. SME ↗

INESS institute analyst Róbert Chovanculiak, in an Aktuality podcast, added the image of a student who moves from a grade of five to a grade of three. "If I had to sum it up in one sentence, we are stagnating and it's no great success, but since the results of other countries keep getting worse and falling, it's a kind of joy through tears," he said. The most talked-about success — catching up with Finland in mathematics — was, in his view, caused not by our growth but by a twenty-year decline in the Finnish education system. In the same material, Education Minister Tomáš Drucker speaks of a small encouragement and points to the improvement in science and mathematics as a signal that some things have moved in the right direction. Aktuality ↗

The political reading of the same data has three forms, and one of them came from within the coalition itself. Progressive Slovakia, through MP Tina Gažovičová, claims the data showed an extremely strong influence of socioeconomic background, and that it is precisely in scientific literacy that this influence is the strongest in Slovakia among all participating countries, having grown even stronger compared to the measurement ten years ago. SME ↗ The Slovak National Party, meanwhile, declared that Slovakia is heading in the opposite direction from the countries at the top of the rankings, targeting the ongoing curriculum reform and access to information technology in teaching — an agenda of the government in which SNS itself takes part. HN ↗

The Slovak Chamber of Teachers, in the end, sidestepped the question of whether this is a success and instead speaks of a red light for future governments. Viktor Križo points to low investment in education, the low attractiveness of the teaching profession, and frequent, ill-prepared reforms, which he says do more harm than good. TASR ↗

Commissions Finalize Candidate Registration as the Outlines of the Autumn Elections Take Shape

The combined local and regional elections take place on October 24. Candidate lists were submitted by August 25, election commissions are deciding on the registration of candidates up to today, and the Ministry of Interior is to publish the complete list of all registered candidates by September 29 at the latest, for the first time also in an electronic register. STVR ↗ Candidacies can be withdrawn no later than 7 a.m. on October 22, i.e. 48 hours before the polling stations open, and until then a candidate or an entire candidate list can also be withdrawn by the party that nominated them. After that, it cannot be undone. SME ↗

Meanwhile, regional newsrooms have published who has registered in each region, and almost everywhere incumbent regional governors are defending their mandate against multiple rivals. Juraj Droba has six challengers in the Bratislava region. Pravda ↗ In the Trnava region there are six other names running against Jozef Viskupič, and in the Žilina region Erika Jurinová is running for a third term, with seven candidates in total. Pravda ↗ Pravda ↗ The Nitra region has seven candidates and the Košice region six, as confirmed also by the TASR agency. Pravda ↗ TASR ↗ Košice regional governor Rastislav Trnka announced a campaign without personal attacks and lies. HN ↗

Among the city races, Banská Bystrica so far has hard data. According to an August poll by the Focus agency, which Denník N recalled and which the paper describes as the only relevant one in this race so far, 38.3 percent of people would vote for Mayor Ján Nosko and 36.7 percent for Diana Javorčíková, a difference which the paper says falls within the statistical margin of error. Matúš Molitoris has 13 percent and Tomáš Sobota 12 percent. The poll did not measure the remaining two candidates, including Marian Kotleba, so the incomplete field is a reason to read the numbers with caution. Denník N ↗

Ombudsman Enters the Dispute Over the Prosecutor's Office

On Wednesday, the Public Defender of Rights stepped into Tuesday's dispute between the prime minister and the prosecutor general. Róbert Dobrovodský defended Maroš Žilinka, expressed concern over Robert Fico's statements toward the Prosecutor General's Office and its representatives, and warned that outside pressure on a constitutional body can be a problem from the standpoint of rule-of-law principles. In his view, independent institutions should not act according to the government's wishes. TA3 ↗

Read also: What Slovakia is talking about: Fico called on Žilinka to resign. He himself admitted he has no way to remove him

Car Insurance and Gas Reserves

The reform known as Lex PZP is being introduced in stages, and the next deadline is at the end of the month. According to the daily SME, the Ministry of Interior already sent notices in August to owners of vehicles that have been without compulsory third-party liability insurance for more than two years, and they have until September 30 to insure the vehicle, sell it, temporarily deregister it, or adjust its registration. Anyone who fails to do so will have their car deregistered ex officio in October. SME ↗ The new sanctions regime takes effect on October 1. If a vehicle is uninsured for more than 30 days, the district office can impose a fine of between 120 and 900 euros depending on the maximum technically permissible total weight, and repeatedly no sooner than 150 days after the previous decision became final, in which case at double the amount. The amendment changes four laws, and an uninsured vehicle is also not supposed to pass a technical inspection. Zbierka zákonov ↗

The reason lies in the numbers. While in Czechia fewer than two percent of cars are without valid insurance, and in Poland one percent, in Slovakia the share is estimated at ten percent — though this compares vehicle registration records with the insurance database, so it does not necessarily reflect cars actually driving on the roads. According to the Slovak Insurers' Bureau, the cost of damages caused by uninsured vehicles reached 10.5 million euros last year, compared to 8.47 million euros the year before, and these are covered by the guarantee fund, to which insurance companies contribute. According to those interviewed, insurance prices will not fall. SME ↗

The second economic story is also interesting for how it is written. The public broadcaster STVR stated that Slovakia, along with Lithuania, the Netherlands and Germany, is among the countries whose gas storage facilities are being replenished the slowest, and wrote that ours are filled to just under 52 percent. A paragraph lower in the same text, analyst Stanislav Pánis says we have about 70 percent filled, and that at such a ratio to consumption there should be enough gas even in an above-average cold winter. The newsroom does not explain the roughly eighteen-percentage-point difference, and the text does not make clear whether both figures describe the same scope of storage facilities and the same date. The national gas utility Slovenský plynárenský priemysel cites its own figure, namely 15.7 terawatt-hours of filled capacity against a target of 17.5 terawatt-hours, which it wants to reach in the first half of October. Analyst Radovan Potočár explains the European market gas price of around 75 euros per megawatt-hour, compared to about 32 euros in February, by the blocked Strait of Hormuz and Europe's contest with Asia for the same supplies. STVR ↗

Read also: The Hormuz agreement promised a strait free of charges. The text says so for only sixty days

Under the Radar

The candidate lists also revealed where no one is competing for a post. In the 144 municipalities of the Association of Towns and Municipalities of the Jaslovské Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant Region, about a third of mayors will have no opponent, meaning that in every third municipality the incumbent mayor will run alone. SITA ↗

The opposite extreme is in Kecerovce. Of the 63 registered candidates for the eleven-member municipal council, 24 have the surname Gábor or its female form, with some combinations of first and last name appearing twice on the list. The candidates run for several parties, from SaS and KDH through Smer and Hlas to Progressive Slovakia. TN Live/Markíza ↗

The judicial topic that this morning's SME briefing brought to the fore was already reported by the paper on Sunday. According to SME, in the case of the salary top-up for former Financial Administration chief František Imrecze, businessman Jozef Brhel is to be judged by Michal Truban, a judge he is on first-name terms with. The chairman of the Specialized Criminal Court himself signaled possible bias, not only because of his relationship with Brhel but also because of his relationship with Brhel's lawyer, Michal Mandzák, whom Truban chose years ago as his own legal representative in disciplinary proceedings. He himself stated that he does not feel biased regarding Brhel, since they have not seen each other in years, but that he did see bias in the case of Mandzák. He was not excluded from the decision-making. SME ↗

And one more judicial item that went unnoticed. The president of the Supreme Administrative Court, Monika Valašiková, nominated Judge Jana Hatalová as a candidate for vice president of the court. The election will take place on November 10 before the Judicial Council, with the term of the current vice president, Marián Trenčan, ending on October 12. No one was nominated for the previous two announced elections for this post. SITA ↗

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Illustrative photo: a primary school on Ostredková Street in Bratislava. Author Wizzard, Wikimedia Commons, license CC BY-SA 4.0.