Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that a protocol to increase security measures at schools, including the employment of security guards, will be signed at the Ministry of Education on Thursday.

Following the knife attack at a school in Zagreb on 20 December, in which a first-grader was killed while a teacher and three other pupils suffered serious injuries before the 19-year-old attacker wounded himself, the task force has drawn up a proposal for measures to increase security at schools.

As Prime Minister Plenkovic announced at the government meeting, the protocol on security measures will be signed on Thursday afternoon by Education Minister Radovan Fuchs and all stakeholders involved.

Increasing security measures in all educational institutions

The common goal is to increase security measures in all educational institutions. “What we have assessed as the best long-term solution is the recruitment of people with the necessary security skills,” said Plenkovic.

These employees, who are also particularly sensitive and trained to work with children, parents and teachers, would then permanently contribute to raising the security of schools to a higher level after this major tragedy that occurred at Precko Primary School, Prime Minister Plenkovic said.

Initial measures such as locking doors, replacing doors and installing new security systems are already underway, and local police teams will talk to school headmasters about security issues, he added.

This year, the focus will be on increasing wages, pensions…

The Prime Minister wished all citizens a good start to the new year 2025.

“On behalf of all of us, I wish all Croatians at home and abroad a happy new year 2025,” he said.

We wish you all the best and hope that we will continue to work for the benefit of society and the economy in these challenging times, in which we have managed to strengthen economic growth, reach a record number of employees and achieve the highest credit rating in history, he said.

He emphasised that the government’s focus this year will be on increasing wages, pensions, demographic measures and creating conditions for affordable housing.