The Social Democratic (SDP) has criticized the all-day school project implemented by the education ministry and suggested that the existing all-day programs be gradually expanded to the first four grades throughout Croatia, within the idea of ​​a nine-year primary school.

SDP Vice-President Sabina Glasovac said at a press conference that it is much more acceptable to ensure the infrastructure so that all schools can switch to a single-shift system.

She also advocated that the models of all-day classes that are successfully implemented in Croatian schools be upgraded and expanded locally.

Glasovac reminded that according to the Strategy of Education, Science and Technology, which was unanimously adopted in 2014, the nine-year elementary school should be implemented.

“At the centre of the idea of ​​the reform that is being implemented now is money, not children. It’s nice that we have money, but the key to the success of the reform is the person,” insisted the SDP vice-president and added that the teachers were ignored.

She points out that the curricula for the new subjects announced by the reform are not yet known, and the reform is generally ill-conceived and bypasses teachers.

Because of this, the schools do not apply for the experimental program of the reform, she said.

The head of the SDP Council for Education, Tanja Djakovic, said she understands the schools that did not accept the experimental reform program because the schools do not know what awaits them.

School boards and schools are being pressured into overturning their refusal of the experiment, Djakovic said.