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Fico Proposes Playing Slovak Anthem at Schools Twice a Year
Monday 26 April 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, April 26 (TASR) - Children in state, church and private schools should listen to the Slovak national anthem twice a year - at the beginning and the end of the school year, according to an amendment to the State Symbols Act proposed by Prime Minister Robert Fico and approved by the Government at its session on Monday.
The proposal is now heading for fast-tracked legislative proceedings in Parliament, and should come to effect in September if approved.
According to the amendment, the Slovak flag, the lyrics of the anthem and the preamble to the Slovak Constitution will have to be placed in every classroom. The document also includes a requirement submitted by Education Minister Jan Mikolaj (Slovak National Party/SNS) that patriotic education should become a part of the curricula at each level of the school system.
The flag and preamble should also be placed in rooms in which sessions of local councils and Higher Territorial Unit authorities take place. The state anthem would be played or sung before every local council, VUC, Government and parliamentary session.
Slovak Radio and Slovak Television would be obliged to include the national anthem in their schedules every day between 23.30-00.30. The anthem must be broadcast between two programmes, but not as a part of a commercial break. In addition, the anthem should be played at the beginning of every sporting event.
Fico's proposal is very similar to the Patriot Act proposed by the co-ruling SNS but vetoed by President Ivan Gasparovic in March. The Patriot Act stated that the national anthem should be played once a week in schools. According to Gasparovic, schools wouldn't have been able to furnish themselves with the necessary equipment (such as loudspeakers for playing the national anthem, and several state symbols) by April. Parliament is due to deal with the Patriot Act at its session on Tuesday.
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