ZAGREB, 29 Nov 2021 - A newly-equipped inclusive classroom, where students will acquire modern inclusive methods for work with pre-school children, was presented at the Zagreb Teacher Education Faculty on Monday. The equipment is a donation by UNICEF and the Kaufland retailer.

A total of 1,500 teachers will be trained annually in inclusive classrooms for work with children with developmental delays, behavioral problems, and Roma children, UNICEF said.

"All futures need opportunities. In order for all children, especially the most vulnerable, to progress and one day become equal members of society, we must work together to provide them with opportunities for education. Only well-educated professionals can ensure that every child receives the necessary support for development and learning, in a supportive environment. This is an investment that has long-term significance for all future generations. We are glad that our long-term partner, Kaufland Croatia, has recognized this, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for helping to improve the education of those who care about the future of our children'', said Regina M. Castillo, Head of UNICEF Croatia.

(From left to right) Patrick Rudat, President of the Management Board of Kaufland Croatia, Regina M. Castillo, Head of UNICEF in Croatia, Siniša Opić, Dean of the Faculty of Teacher Education in Zagreb, Dejana Bouillet, Professor at the Department of Pedagogy, and Tomisljav Paljak, State Secretary at the Ministry of Science and Education. (Photo: Miljenko Hegedić/UNICEF)

Owing to a donation of HRK 350,000 by Kaufland, UNICEF has equipped five inclusive classrooms at colleges in Zagreb, Split, Osijek, Pula, and Rijeka.

UNICEF is conducting the project for the promotion of initial teacher education for inclusive education in cooperation with the Zagreb Teacher Education Faculty and four other colleges.

Inclusive classrooms are equipped with teaching equipment and aids, basic equipment for sensory integration, as well as software for technology for assisted communication that helps future teachers in practical work and in learning innovative methods for working with children and inclusive education.

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October 5, 2021 - Commemorating World Teachers' Day in Croatia is another indicator that the country is following global trends. Despite expressed sympathy for teachers, the problems in the Croatian education system are yet to be solved.

World Teachers’ Day is held annually on 5 October to celebrate all teachers around the globe. It commemorates the anniversary of adopting the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions – says the official UNESCO website. 

Croatia is no exception in honoring the people who teach the youngest generations in the country in the hope they grow into good and educated people that will make Croatia a better place. 

Despite being established on February 2, 2006, under the name of The Faculty of Teacher Education, this institution, part of the University of Zagreb, has a much richer history of educating teachers that began with the first Teacher Training School in Zagreb in 1849. Thus, the oldest instance of Croatian formal teachers' education was followed by Petrinja (1862) and Čakovec (1879).

„The Faculty of Teacher Education, in addition to its constituent units - chairs, centers, institutes, library, and gallery, has three academic departments: Department of Teacher Education Studies, Department of Preschool Education Studies, and Department of Educational Studies. With the resolution of the University Senate of the University of Zagreb dating February 13, 2007, the Four-year Teachers’ College in Čakovec and the Four-year Teachers’ College in Petrinja merged with the Faculty of Teacher Education at first as branches and then as departments of the Faculty of Teacher Education. As such, they have developed for the purposes of organizing implementing the program of study away from the Central location of the Faculty of Teacher Education. Both departments carry out the work and operations under the name of the Faculty of Teacher Education and their own name," says the official website of the faculty.

As it suits a high educational facility for the teachers' field, the Faculty of Teacher Education commemorated the event on Tuesday and appropriately celebrated their professional holiday.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković congratulated World Teachers' Day on Twitter. He expressed gratitude for teachers doing their job during the pandemic and earthquake. 

„There is no greater task than raising, educating, and shaping the youth which is the future“, wrote Plenković by Twitter as reported by Index.hr.

Croatian president Zoran Milanović attended the ceremony at the Faculty of Teachers' Education. He stated that teachers played a crucial part in shaping Croatian culture.

Based on previous writings by TCN, Milanović's statement can be evident in historical events such as the First Croatian Teacher Congress in 1871. Usually, you could learn more about the history of Croatian education by visiting the Croatian School Museum in Zagreb, but sadly it still awaits post-earthquake reconstruction.

Additionally, its worth mentioning that the start of the new School year exposed the problem of parental pressure on teachers to give children As even when their actual knowledge does not justify the grade.

If not on any other day, hopefully, both the politics and the public may learn and decide to act on World Teachers' Day to help teachers resolve this troubling issue.

Read about Croatian politics and history since 1990 on our TC guide.

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