Author
The right to education is a constitutional right for all children staying in Croatia. According to the LITP, child applicants are entitled to primary and secondary education under the same conditions as for Croatian nationals.[1] Applicants who have begun to exercise the right to secondary education are allowed to continue secondary education even after they have turned 18.[2]
According to the LITP, children can access education within 30 days of lodging an application.[3]
According to the Ministry of Interior, the procedure for enrolment of asylum-seeking children in pre-school, elementary or high school is performed by the employees of the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection, while for those children who are accommodated in social welfare institutions, the procedure is carried out by their guardians.
According to the Ministry of Science and Education, in order to be included in the educational system, candidates are required to have the following documents: a certificate of status in the Republic of Croatia; a certificate of residence in the Republic of Croatia; an identity document (birth certificate, identity card, passport or corresponding document of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Croatia); and a document testifying to a previous education.[4] If they do not have a document on previous education, they need to give a statement before a public notary and present it to the services of the educational institution in order for them to organize an enrolment test and determine which class the candidate can attend.
Child applicants are also entitled to special assistance to learn Croatian and to make up for the knowledge they might lack in some school subjects, in the form of preparatory and supplementary classes.[5] In November 2011, a Programme of Croatian for preparatory classes for primary and secondary school students who do not speak or speak Croatian insufficiently was adopted.[6] This is an intensive 70-hour course of Croatian, spread over a maximum of one academic year.
AYS reported that the problems related to inclusion of children to preparatory classes continued in 2023. According to them, in practice, organisation of preparatory classes is extremely lengthy and children often wait for months before preparatory classes are approved. Also, some children have to go to another school for preparatory classes, and as a result, they cannot attend part of classes at their own school. If a child after 70 hours of preparatory classes does not meet the minimum requirements for inclusion in the regular education system, she/he should once again attend the program of preparatory classes. At the same time, in most cases, 140 hours of learning Croatian language is not enough for a child to be able to use the language independently to successfully achieve academic goals. [7]
The Ombudsperson for Children reported that difficulties with inclusion in the educational system were recorded in 2023. According to the 2023 report of the Ombudswoman for Children, children seeking international protection and children under international protection continued to face difficulties within the educational system. The ombudsman followed the case of a child who turned 15 during relocation to Croatia and had to re-enrol in the eighth grade. The City Office for Education, Sports and Youth of the City of Zagreb has approved regular school enrolment. The school requested the consent of the Ministry for Science, Education and Youth which rejected enrolment due to the high number of children with disabilities, with the instruction that the child attends a primary school for adult education or that another school should be found. After five schools in the area refused to enrol the child, the child was enrolled in the eighth grade through the efforts of the school to which the child was originally referred. The Ombudswoman for Children further reported problems with the inclusion in preparatory classes as well as the lack of support for language learning and writing homework. Staying in a class with other peers while waiting for the approval of classes, causes frustration in children due to their lack of knowledge of the language. They are often enrolled in lower classes, which affects socialization, and causes isolation and peer violence.[8]
Beyond access to schools, several organisations provide educational activities and language classes as described in detail in Conditions in Reception Facilities.
[1] Article 58(1) LITP.
[2] Article 58(2) LITP.
[3] Article 58(3) LITP.
[4] Information provided by the Ministry of Science and Education during the webinar „The Protection of Unaccompanied Children: Procedure and Exercising Rights After the Accommodation of Children” organised by the Croatian Law Centre on 2 March 2021.
[5] Article 58(4) LITP; Article 43 Law on Education in Primary and Secondary Schools (Official Gazette 87/2008., 86/2009., 92/2010., 105/2010., 90/2011., 5/2012., 16/2012., 86/2012., 94/2013., 152/2014., 7/2017., 68/2018., 98/2019., 64/2020., 133/2020., 151/2022., 155/2023., 156/2023.)
[6] Official Gazette 151/2011, available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/3Xs6dsO.
[7] Information provided by Are You Syrious,29 January 2024.
[8] Ombudswoman for Children: Report on the work of the Ombudswoman for Children in 2023, available in Croatian: https://bit.ly/3zeXcJw.