The Croatian Parliament voted on Friday to pass amendments to the Education and Upbringing Act for primary and secondary schools, which define the purpose, objectives, and structure, as well as the process for adopting curricular documents related to the curricular reform of the education system, and allow for a 30 percent salary increase for teachers participating in European Union projects implemented in schools.
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A total of 68 representatives voted for the legal amendments, 26 were against, and 29 abstained.
An amendment from the HDZ and HNS parliamentary club became an integral part of the law, equating the employment opportunities for individuals with a completed relevant master’s degree with those who have completed a teaching degree with an additional enhanced program, while preference is still given to subject teachers.
Opposition amendments were all rejected, as were the proposals from Most and SDP for a third reading.
The provision defining employment priorities caused disputes within the ruling coalition.
The parliamentary club of HDS, HSLS, and HDSSB requested that preference in hiring for subject teaching be given to those who have primarily educated themselves for that subject, i.e., subject teachers, followed by those who have been educated to work in the educational system, i.e., teachers with an enhanced subject, and then all others, i.e., engineers with completed pedagogical subjects.
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The parliamentary club of the Labor and Solidarity Party, Reformists, and independent representatives requested that the controversial provision remain unchanged as there was no public debate conducted on it, and it was inserted into the law between two parliamentary readings.
