Science and Education Minister Blazenka Divjak said on Monday the results of her work were the curricular reform, the reforms in general and vocational education, relevant higher education and encouraging excellence in science, adding that she planned to see through all four reform processes together with her team.

The experimental curricular reform programme School for Life is being implemented in 74 elementary and high schools and, as of next autumn, in all schools, Divjak told reporters.

She said HRK 2 billion was secured for the curricular reform from EU funds, the national budget and the European Commission’s support for strategic reforms in the 2017-20 period. She added that her ministry paid HRK 43.3 million to all elementary and high schools that will introduce the curricular reform this autumn.

The minister went on to say that 40 new curricula were adopted, that more than 32,000 teachers underwent curricular reform training, that the law on education in elementary and high schools was amended to facilitate the reform, that a new law on textbooks was passed, and that textbooks for all elementary school pupils were paid from the state budget.

She recalled that in this school year IT was introduced as a compulsory subject in grades four and five of elementary school, and said the new IT curriculum would be introduced in all grades of elementary and high school.

Divjak said that last year HRK 36.5 million was invested in the equipment of 891 schools, and that a network of 25 regional vocational education competency centres was established, for which more than HRK 1.2 billion in EU funds was set aside.

She also recalled Croatia’s dual education model, that HRK 233 million was set aside for a project aimed at modernising vocational education to align it with market requirements, and that HRK 180 million was secured in structural funds for STEM studies.

The minister highlighted the agreement on Croatia’s associate membership in CERN and its agreement with the European Space Agency concerning space cooperation for peaceful purposes. She also noted that the science budget was increased.

Asked to comment on the collection of signatures among MPs for her dismissal, Divjak said she fought against suspicious ideologies and private interests. Asked if Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic supported her work, she said all reform projects were government projects.

(EUR 1 = HRK 7.4)