Education of children is necessary

Since 2014, the Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic has been a member of the Interdepartmental Expert Group for Financial Literacy managed by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic. In 2014, we participated in the preparation of a methodological manual for the implementation of the National Financial Literacy Standard for primary and secondary school students and subsequent updates. In the period from June 2016 to June 2018, our customs and tax authorities presented the activities of Financial Administration at approximately 250 educational activities for pupils of kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, universities, orphanages and the public throughout Slovakia. We were most active in the regions of Nitra (46), Žilina (41), Banskobystricky (39) and Trenčín (23). The presentations were seen by more than 30,000 pupils, students and the general public.

Newsletter called MAFIN

Among our current and functioning activities is the publication of a newsletter intended for pupils and teachers of primary and secondary schools. We distribute its online version to about 3,000 addresses. The first issue was published in May 2023. So far, we have prepared 6 issues for schools. 
The topics we present are closely related to the activity of the Financial Administration and its identification in the public: logo, uniforms, facts about the organization, canine service, “fakes”, filing of tax returns, museum of customs and financial administration, tax curiosities. In each issue, we remind readers of the existence of the TAXEDU portal and the possibility of our personal visits to schools.

We train and give lectures

As part of public education, we also train financial literacy coordinators in schools. With the “We are learning taxes!” project which started in 2021, we have so far managed to organize 4 meetings: in Prešov, Košice, Banská Bystrica and Bratislava. We retrained 198 coordinators with the help of tax office employees and methodical-pedagogical centers. In addition, we also offer the general public various professional trainings and lectures at economic universities. On behalf of the external public, we give lectures in the field of customs, customs clearance, copyright and tax news. So far, we have completed 19 visits to universities and 22 visits to secondary schools. The presentation of Financial Administration activities always opens up the topics of the meaning and use of taxes. Here, financial management is not limited by age, we attend all types of schools. In 2022 we visited 16 cities (480 children), in 2023 it was 27 cities (900 children) and in 2024 so far 20 cities (600 children).