ZAGREB, 6 Sept 2021 - The new school year 2021-22 begins on Monday for almost 460,000 elementary and secondary school students across Croatia, including about 37,000 first graders, and all will have face-to-face classes.

This year again HRK 158 million was earmarked in the state budget for free textbooks for elementary school students.

Science and Education Minister Radovan Fuchs said on Sunday that elementary school students in grades five to eight and secondary school students would have to wear masks if the distance between them in classrooms was less than 1.5 to 2 meters.

However, masks are mandatory in hallways, outside classrooms, and in school transport.

Teachers who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 do not have to wear masks in classrooms, while those who have not been do, Fuchs said on RTL television.

The ministry has issued epidemiological recommendations based on research, the experience of epidemiologists, all stakeholders in the education system and other EU countries as well as in line with those of relevant European and international organizations, notably the World Health Organization.

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ZAGREB, September 7, 2020 - The new school year 2020-2021 starts across Croatia on Monday with 460,000 students enrolled in primary and secondary schools that are implementing the epidemiological measures proposed by the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) due to the epidemic of COVID-19.

Classes in primary and secondary schools, higher education facilities and pre-school education facilities will be organised in accordance with three models due to the coronavirus epidemic circumstances.

Model A are classes conducted in school, Model B is blended learning, which combines classroom learning with online instruction, and Model C is distance learning.

According to Science and Education Minister Radovan Fuchs, in Model B, schools operating in a single shift, and there are 60% of those, can split their students in two shifts (morning and afternoon) to reduce the number of pupils in the building, and other schools in which maintaining physical distance and wearing masks is not possible can divide their pupils so that some have classes in school and some online.

The epidemic of COVID-19 is the reason why the uncertainty is lingering in the air, and eight schools are starting this new school year with distance learning, since some of their staff are positive for coronavirus and some are self-isolating.

Other schools are opening their doors to children, and strict epidemiological measures are being introduced in those buildings.

This past Friday, Education Minister Fuchs called on school workers to act responsibly even outside their working hours so that the virus would not spread to schools and prevent face-to-face classes.

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