Abolition of tuition fees

On 1 August 2005 the legally compulsory tuition fees were abolished for all full-time pupils in secondary and special needs secondary education, and for 16 and 17-year-old pupils in vocational training and general secondary adult education. As a result, central government received about 250 million euro less in tuition fees from households. At the same time central government paid 118 million euro less in compensation allowances for school costs (WTOS)  to households. After abolition of tuition fees for the above-mentioned categories, spending on education by central government rose net by 130 million euro in 2005, while spending by households fell by the same amount.