Presidency

The Slovakian Training Center of the General Directorate of the Corps of Prison and Court Guard is holding the current EPTA presidency 2020. The Corps of Prison and Court Guard consists institutionally of General Directorate and 18 prisons. The main advisory body in the field of education and staff development within the Corps is the Council for Education of the General Directorate of the Corps of Prison and Court Guard.

This Council for Education has 10 members, including prison governors and directors of departments of the General Directorate.

The Head of the Council for Education is the Director of Human Resources and Social Security Department, Lt-Col. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jozef Valuch, PhD.

The Council discusses fundamental issues and activities in the field of the education system including:

• strategies in the education and training process;
• new training methods and programmes;
• internal regulations and documents in the field of the education system;
• developmental trends in staff training;
• methodological coordination of the Training Centre of Corps, etc.

Head of the Training Centre is the Secretary of the Council for Education.

As part of the presidency, EPTA Annual Conference will be hosted in Slovakia by the General Directorate of the Corps of Prison and Court Guard. Learn more about the conference here. 

Training Centre of Corps of Prison and Court Guard in Nitra

Training Centre of Corps of Prison and Court Guard in Nitra has been transformed from the original Secondary Vocational School of the Corps of Corrections established in 1979. During 40 years of its existence, the position of the Centre mirrored the transformation process that took in the whole society and Central Europe region. However, the main objective of the Centre remained the same and the fundamental task is focused on the professional preparation of newly hired prison staff and support of their professional growth.  Currently, The Training Centre provides 11 courses for prison staff on two levels: the basic level covers education for newcomers. It is scheduled for three months and provides essential knowledge and skills required by prison staff. The advanced or specialized level focuses on the development of specialized skills and knowledge for specific professionals, for example, court guard, service K9 dog handlers, training for psychologist and educational specialists who are in daily contact with inmates. With the Head of the Centre, who is in direct subordination of the Director-General of the Corps, the Centre has nine internal trainers, instructors and lecturers. In addition, there are over thirty external experts cooperating on educational activities. These are professionals working in remand prisons, prisons and the General Directorate of the Corps. Head of the Training Centre cooperates closely with the General Directorate of the Corps through the Council for Education.