Education Minister Radovan Fuchs, who on Monday wished a happy hew school year to all students and teachers, announced the introduction of national standardized tests this year to "analyze the schooling system," state agency Hina reported.

National testing of pupils for validation of learning and performance monitoring has become a regular practice in most European countries, and Fuchs said in the coastal city of Zadar today that Croatia and Greece were possibly the only EU member states without such national tests.

The results of such national tests can help the stakeholders in the education sector to analyze the system and establish what is good and what should be changed and upgraded, he added.

Knowledge is individual and all students cannot reach all the learning targets, but teachers should identify shortcomings and act accordingly, the minister said.

He also expressed concern at the fact that the number of first graders had declined over the past years.