Living Standards Measurements Study - Serbia 2002 - 2007

8.4. Secondary education
8.4.1. General data
Secondary education is not compulsory and
includes pupils mostly aged from 15 to 19 years.
The system of secondary education consists of three
types of school: gymnasiums, vocational schools
and art schools. Gymnasiums are four-year
secondary schools providing general education and
preparing pupils for further education. Vocational
secondary schools prepare pupils for work in 17
professional fields, but also for further education.
These schools provide qualifications in one-year,
two-year, three-year and four-year programs.
Education in arts is carried out in schools of music,
ballet and painting art, during three or four-year
programs. Secondary schools for pupils with
developmental disorders train them for a number of
professions during two-year and three-year
programs, including one-year vocational training.
Secondary education of adults lasts up to three
years.
At the end of school year 2005/06 there were
478 secondary schools in Serbia 17 (110 gymnasiums
and 368 secondary vocational schools) with 287 397
pupils (51 percent women). In the same school year,
there were 41 secondary schools for pupils with
developmental disorders, with 1 465 pupils (37
percent women). Immediately following completion
of primary school, in 2005/06, 23 percent of pupils
enrolled into three-year programs and 77 percent of
pupils selected four-year secondary schools (24.2
percent in gymnasiums and 53 percent in vocational
schools) 18 The number of boys who opted for threeyear
programs (67 percent) far exceeded the number
of girls, while less boys than girls went to
gymnasiums (41 percent). Out of total 27 565
teachers (including teachers from special schools)
women make up 62.7 percent. A total of 19 587 or
71 percent of teachers worked full-time. The
average pupil to teacher ratio is 10.9 19 .
According to RSO data participation in
secondary education in 2005/06 was 78 percent and
the dropout rate was 2.3 percent. In the period from
2002 to 2005, the participation of children in
secondary education ranged within the interval from
62 percent to 78 percent, while the dropout rate
ranged from 1.5 percent to 3.2 percent. Percentage
of participation of children from Roma settlements
is only 10.2 percent (MICS 3, 2005). Attrition of
Roma children is high at the point of transition from
primary to secondary education (73 percent attend
primary school, and 38 percent secondary school).
Graph 8.9. Secondary education (regular secondary schools at the end of school year)
305684 303596 299973
287397
490
491 485 478
26504 26859 27298 27565
2002 2003 2004 2005
Employees Beneficiaries Institutions
104 Living Standards Measurements Study - Serbia 2002 - 2007