Living Standards Measurements Study - Serbia 2002 - 2007

8.3. Primary education
8.3.1. General data
Children aged at least six and a half, and not
more than seven and a half years, enrol in the first
grade of primary school. The constitution
guarantees compulsory and free primary education
under equal conditions for all citizens, regardless of
sex, religion, health, national, cultural, social or any
other affiliation. Primary education lasts eight years
and it is structured in two four-year cycles. The
preparatory preschool program is part of the nineyear
compulsory education programme Primary
schools of music and ballet. operate within the
system of primary education and upbringing.
Primary musical education lasts from two to six,
and ballet four years. They are carried out in two
educational cycles, in accordance with a separate
law and academic program. The system of primary
education also includes special schools for students
with developmental disorders which last up to 8
years.
Primary schools exist in about 70 percent of
settlements. Village schools represent 60 percent of
the total number of schools, but they are attended by
only 10 percent of total population of pupils 11 . The
network of schools does not properly correspond to
the migration of the population, which is a serious
drawback in the effectiveness of the system and
reduces access to quality education. Only 13 percent
of pupils in primary schools use free public
transport to school. In Serbia, 27.8 percent of pupils
travel from 11 to 20 kilometres to school, while
27.9 percent travel more than 21 kilometres to
school 12 .
At the end of school year 2005/06 there were
3 572 primary schools in Serbia 13 (autonomous
schools and satellite sections) and 639 293 pupils
(49 percent girls). Out of total 46 353 teachers, 72
percent are women, while 36 769 teachers, or 79
percent, worked full-time. In the same school year,
there were 245 special schools (includes special
schools and sections within regular schools) with
7 707 pupils (41 percent girls) and 1 606 teachers,
as well as 19 primary schools for education of
adults, with 235 teachers and 2 653 pupils (40
percent girls).
The number of pupils repeating a grade is low
and somewhere at 1 percent. The percentage in
Vojvodina is higher (1.4 percent) than in Central
Serbia (0.8 percent). The greatest number of pupils
repeating a grade is in the fifth grade (2.2 percent).
According to data of the Ministry of Education 14 in
the 2006/07 school year there were 1 119 central
(autonomous) primary schools (including schools for
pupils with developmental disorders and schools for
the education of adults), as well as 67 primary
schools of music and ballet. Over one half of primary
schools are schools with small, satellite sections,
attended by 16 percent of pupils.
An average pupil to teacher ratio in primary
education is 14.36 (RSO, 2005). Although this ratio
is close to the average of OECD countries, the issue
is that this ratio differs significantly in Serbia
between urban and non-urban areas.
In the period from 2002 to 2005 the number of
primary schools declined slightly (0.5 percent),
while the number of pupils declined as much as 6
percent. However, the number of teachers increased
by 5 percent in the same period. Causes are the
negative birth rate, the introduction of new subjects
and establishing of classes with few pupils in
certain areas (the level of financing is set according
to number of classes). Since 2002, there has been a
downward trend in pupil enrolment in the first grade
of primary schools to 1.5 percent 15 .
Graph 8.6. Primary education (regular primary schools at the end of school year)
Employees
3589
677767 664577 656103 639293
3592
3578
3572
Beneficiaries
Institutions
44270 45072 45677 46353
2002 2003 2004 2005
Education
101