Fuchs: Full-day classes will not start in 2027 in all elementary schools in Croatia

With that, he confirmed what the council had already said. for a long time, that all elementary schools will not be ready for the transition to full-day classes in September 2027, which was announced when the project was implemented in 2023. Namely, in addition to changing the curriculum and the form of teaching, it is crucial that schools have the infrastructure for such a program – that is, kitchens, dining rooms, sports halls, enough classrooms, labs, rooms for teachers and teachers.

Fuchs reported that so far contracts worth 358.7 million euros have been signed with schools, of which 254 million euros are non-refundable, covering 288 school projects across the country. On Thursday, 55 contracts were awarded for investments in the construction and equipping of elementary schools. The all-day school project is one of the key projects of the National Resilience and Recovery Program.

– More precise deadlines could only be known after the analysis is completed, and the goal is to reach about 91 percent of students in schools that work in one shift. The projects are in different stages, some are larger. started the works, and a smaller part is nearing completion. In total, about 600,000 square meters of new school space will be built – Fuchs pointed out.

The main problems are the lack of space and documentation in big cities, especially in Zagreb and Split. As a reminder, 63 elementary schools participate in the experimental project of full-day classes, which joined at the beginning of the 2023/2024 school year. But, for example, in Zagreb, there is only one school in that project, and many of them do not have any conditions for expansion, and therefore not for full-day classes.

Most of the schools included in the project are in small towns. In addition, the founders of the schools themselves did not submit requests and documentation for the extension and arrangement in the rhythm in which the Ministry planned. As for the program itself, there are positive reactions from the schools, and schools are coming forward for subsequent inclusion in the project.

The contracts awarded on Thursday are worth almost 521 million euros. The goal is to provide conditions for one-shift work and all-day schools in nine cities and 11 counties, which means better conditions for students. Thus, the total investment for the construction and extension of elementary schools will increase from 2.7 to 3.2 billion euros, stressed Prime Minister Plenkovi.