Living Standards Measurements Study - Serbia 2002 - 2007

Graph 8.7. Primary education (special primary schools)
7903 7895 8064
7707
236 240 249 245
1564 1624 1669 1606
2002 2003 2004 2005
Employees Beneficiaries Institutions
According to RSO data the coverage by
primary education in school year 2005/06 was 98.41
percent, and the dropout rate was 0.36 percent. The
completion rate was 95 percent. In the period 2002
to 2005, the coverage of children by primary
education ranged in from 96 percent to 99 percent,
while the dropout rate was from 0.36 percent to 1.94
percent. These data should be interpreted carefully,
as there is no accurate data about the number of
children from vulnerable groups in the population
(Roma, children with developmental disorders,
etc.), as well as the fact that data on enrolment and
graduation rate were not prepared on the basis of
monitoring a cohort, which means that they are
realistically lower. The percentage of attrition of
children is low at entry to the fifth grade (1.1
percent, RSO, 2005). Children from rural areas and
Roma children have the highest attrition rates.
8.3.2. Data from 2002 and 2007
LSMS
The percentage of children who attend primary
education is high. According to LSMS 2007, 97.5
percent of school age children attend primary
school, while 0.6 percent of children are in schools
for children with developmental disorders. Various
forms of secondary education cover 0.4 percent of
children less than 15 years of age. Compared to
2002, the percentage of children aged 7 to 14, who
are not included in the system of education, has
increased by 0.2 percent (from 1.4 percent to 1.6
percent). Children with disabilities, refugees and
IDPs are fully covered by the education system. The
coverage of primary education among children from
Roma families has increased (56 percent 2002
compared to 73 percent 2007) and the percentage of
children in schools for children with developmental
disorders has decreased (8 percent 2002 compared
to 5.6 percent 2007). These small shifts are certainly
a result of affirmative actions carried out in order to
include Roma children in the education system.
All children with disabilities, refugee and IDP
children were included in the education system at
the time of the survey. However, the most of
children outside the education system are still from
Roma families (21.6 percent), poor families (11.8
percent compared to average of 1.6 percent) and
insufficiently educated families (4.4 percent).
Relative to 2002, the number of children from rural
areas, who are outside the education system has
increased (1.5 percent 2002 compared to 2.4 percent
2007). The greatest proportion of these children is
from West Serbia, Vojvodina and Sumadija.
It is a matter of particular concern that the
difference in primary school participation of
children aged 7-14 from poor and rich families has
increased during the past five years. In 2007, 12
percent of children from families below poverty line
were not included in the education system, while in
2002 6 percent were not included.
Schools for children with developmental
disorders disorders are attended by 0.6 percent of
children, mostly Roma, children from poor families,
102 Living Standards Measurements Study - Serbia 2002 - 2007