Author
Pre-school education is not possible for asylum-seeking children, but only for those children who are granted asylum, which will potentially be changed with new amendments to the Asylum Act.[1] These amendments were expected in 2024, but the political situation in Serbia implied several elections and resignation of the Government in February 2025. According to the author of this report, is unreasonable to expect that in 2025 the changes will come into force.
Asylum seekers have the right to free primary and secondary education regardless of their age.[2]
The right to education in Serbia is regulated by a number of legal instruments, primarily the Act on the Basis of the Education System,[3] with relevant issues also regulated by the Primary School Act,[4] the Secondary School Act[5] and the High Education Act.[6] These laws also govern the education of foreign nationals and stateless persons and the recognition of foreign school certificates and diplomas.
As already outlined, asylum seekers are not entitled to receive pre-elementary school education.[7] Also, the Integration Decree does not foresee any kind of support to asylum-seeking children in their preparation for enrolling in elementary school. These children are mainly supported by CSOs and international organisations, but it is also important to note that CRM also provides its assistance, even though they are not legally obliged. Still, several cases from IDEAS practice have shown that it is possible to enrol children in pre-elementary (kindergarten) institutions.
The application process for kindergartens takes place through the electronic portal eUprava (eVrtić). Electronic submission of requests is done by filling out an electronic form on the Portal, where it is not necessary to attach documents that should have been submitted earlier, given that they are obtained ex officio. This request can only be submitted by a parent who is a citizen of Serbia, which means that this service is not available to asylum seekers and refugees.
The financial aspect further complicates access to preschool education for the children of asylum seekers, because they are not able to receive subsidies that are available to citizens of Serbia and foreigners with permanent residence.[8] Subsidies for children’s stay in kindergartens significantly reduce costs for parents, but the criteria for receiving them are set so that asylum seekers cannot meet them.
In order for a family to be entitled to a subsidy for a private kindergarten, it is necessary for the parent to have Serbian citizenship or permanent residence in Serbia, to be registered in the territory of the municipality where the child is enrolled in the kindergarten, and it was not previously possible for the child to be enrolled in the state kindergarten due to insufficient capacity.[9] It is precisely these conditions that exclude asylum seekers, making it significantly difficult or completely impossible for them to access kindergartens. The way subsidies are paid additionally points to institutional support for domestic families, while asylum seekers do not have access to these benefits at all.
This situation leaves many families of asylum seekers and refugees in a vicious circle – without a kindergarten, parents cannot work or get an education, and without a job they cannot afford a kindergarten, which makes their integration and economic independence difficult.
The Act on the Basis of the Education System foresees that foreign nationals and stateless persons shall enrol in primary and secondary schools and exercise the right to education under the same conditions and in the same manner as Serbian nationals. Schools are obliged to organise language, preparatory and additional classes for foreign pupils, including stateless persons and refugees, who do not speak the language used in the schools or are in need of specific instructions in order to continue their education.[10] Access to education for children shall be secured immediately and, at the latest, within three months from the date of their asylum application.[11]
With joint efforts from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Save the Children, UNICEF, CRM and other international and non-governmental organisations, all asylum-seeking children were provided with the opportunity to be included in mainstream education in the academic year 2017/2018 in line with the regulations governing mandatory attendance of primary schools for all children irrespective of their status or the status of their parents.
A major practical challenge proved to be regular school attendance by underage asylum seekers. Namely, the language barrier and limited number of interpreters for the languages spoken among the refugees resulted in a lack of interest among the children to attend lessons they do not understand. An additional challenge is the lack of interest of many parents in educational activities, as they are certain their stay in Serbia is only temporary. This trend continued during 2022. According to CRM, only 10 asylum seeking children were introduced in the Serbian educational system.[12] Still, this number probably reflects those children accommodated in ACs, and especially Krnjača camp, but other asylum-seeking children staying in private accommodations have enrolled in schools in the municipalities where they live. In 2023, only 14 asylum seeking children in AC Krnjača were official enrolled into elementary schools, while no UASC was enrolled into school in RC Šid.
It is also important to note that there are no specifically designed programs for the preparation facilitated by the State, but that in AC Krnjača, Save the Children was facilitating preparation for those few children who are willing to attend elementary and secondary schools in 2023. Those asylum seekers who are eligible for the university education can be supported by the UNHCR through the DAFI scholarship. Currently, 6 refugees are enrolled into this program, out of which 2 have the status of an asylum seekers.[13]
In 2021, with the help of the UNHCR office in Serbia, the ENRIC/NARIC Center of the Qualification Agency of the Republic of Serbia joined the Council of Europe project of the European Qualification Passport for Refugees.[14] In 2022, several diplomas were recognised by the ENRIC/NARIC centre for one asylum seekers from Burundi represented by IDEAS. In 2023 4 asylum seekers had their diplomas recognised, and it is reasonable to assume that this number is higher due to the fact that APC and BCHR are providing this type of support as well.
Primary and secondary education is available to all the children residing in Krnjača. UASC accommodated in Šid do not attend school due to their short-term stay. The conclusion that can be drawn is that the majority of children do not attend schools regularly, due to problems in communication, but also frequent absence from asylum centres and eventual decision to leave Serbia.
There are no limitations in accessing the Serbian education system, and apart from language barrier and lack of institutional support in preparation for enrolment, there have not been any major problems reported. The lack of state support is for now covered by CSOs, UNHCR and Save the Children.
[1] Article 27 of the draft Amendments to the Asylum Act, available at: https://bit.ly/3yepU9U.
[2] Article 55(1) Asylum Act.
[3] Act on the Basis of the Education System of the Republic of Serbia, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, no. 72/2009 and 52/2011.
[4] Primary School Act of the Republic of Serbia, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, no. 50/92, 53/93,67/93,48/94,66/94 – Constitutional Court decision, 22/2002, 62/2009 – other law, 101/2005 – other law and 72/2009 – other law.
[5] Secondary School Act of the Republic of Serbia, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, no. 50/92, 53/93, 67/93, 48/94, 24/96, 23/2002, 25/2002 – cor. 62/2003 – other law, 64/2003 – corr. of other law, 101/2005 – other law, 72/2009 – other law and 55/2013 – other law.
[6] High Education Act of the Republic of Serbia, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, no. 76/2005, 100/2007 – authentic interpretation, 97/2008 and 44/2010, 93/2012 and 89/2013.
[7] Article 48 Asylum Act.
[8] Decision on the Right to Compensation for Children’s stay in a Preschool Institution whose Founder is Another Legal or Natural person in the Territory of the city of Belgrade, Official Gazette of the City of Belgrade, no. 41/2023, available here.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Article 100 Law on the Basis of the Education System of the Republic of Serbia.
[11] Article 55(2) Asylum Act.
[12] CRM, Response to the request for the information of public importance np. 019-27/2-2023, 9 March 2023.
[13] See more at: UNHCR Serbia, Osnaživanje izbeglica kroz visoko obrazovanje – UNHCR Serbia, YouTube, 31 January 2024, available at: https://bit.ly/3UAtlCB.
[14] More on the European Qualification Passport see on the following link: https://bit.ly/3wy8gOC.