Minister of Science and Education Blaženka Divjak visited the Dragutin Domjanić Primary School in Sveti Ivan Zelina on Friday, one of the 72 schools selected for the experimental implementation of the curriculum reform, and stated that preparations for the reform are proceeding as planned.
A total of 72 schools have been selected for the experimental program ‘School for Life’, namely 46 primary and 26 secondary schools attended by approximately 8,500 students and employing 1,500 teachers and professors, said Minister Divjak, adding that three times more schools applied for the reform.
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The selection met all spatial and social criteria that were set. Among them is the primary school with the smallest number of students, 23 in three classes where the program is being introduced, and the school with the most students, 321. In secondary schools, the range is between 16 and 183 students, said the minister who was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Predrag Štromar, Assistant Minister Lidija Kralj, and the Mayor of Sveti Ivan Zelina Hrvoje Košćec (HNS).
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Schools have 200 million kuna at their disposal, which is insufficient for all the schools that applied, so they have been divided into two groups. The first group of 72 selected schools will have all the conditions: new curricula, digital textbooks, tablets, equipped classrooms, and free Internet provided by three operators, as well as all preparations for teachers, said the minister, adding that for the other schools, the Ministry can provide all curricula, digital textbooks, and preparations if the founders ensure classroom equipment.
Multi-month education at three spatial levels
Assistant Lidija Kralj stated that the Ministry will visit each of these experimental schools in the coming weeks and months and organize multi-month education at three spatial levels.
They will receive methodological manuals in digital form with interactive content, which will be updated with examples of good practice, she said, adding that they will encourage the connection of all teachers, students, and participants around common projects.
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The reform will have the support of the European Commission, which will send experts from several countries who will share experiences from their countries that have implemented the reform, said Assistant Kralj, emphasizing that from previous contacts they learned that the biggest problems in those countries were related to the education of those implementing the reform.
The school principal Gordana Čosić stated that constructive discussions were held at all councils in the school and that they did not approach the reform euphorically. ‘The conclusion of the discussion is that changes are necessary and that we want to be part of them,’ she said.
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In response to a journalist’s question, Minister Divjak said that current allocations for education and research are insufficient and that she will seek an increase in these funds.
For the meeting at which a decision will be made on the composition of the Expert Working Group, she said, she is waiting for a call from the Prime Minister.
