Education in Serbia

Education in Serbia

Ministry of Education and Science (Serbia)
Minister of Education and Science	Žarko Obradović
General details
Primary languages	Serbian

Education in Serbia is divided in preschool, primary school, secondary school, and higher education (university). It is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Science.

Current system of education

Serbia has implemented the Bologna Process. The system of education has been modernized to the European standard. Consequently, there has been an reorganization of the educational system. Primary and secondary education remained the same. Universities offer bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. The previous Diploma has been equalized with integrated Bachelor's and Master's Degree, and Magister with the first two years of doctoral studies.

Multilateral agreements

• International Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Certificates, Diplomas and Degrees in the Arab and European States Bordering on the Mediterranean (signed 1976)
• Unesco Convention On the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees Concerning Higher Education in the Europe Region (signed 1979)

Historical system prior to Bologna Process reform

Primary education

Education starts in either pre-schools or elementary schools. Children enroll in elementary schools (Serbian, osnovna škola) at the age of 6 or 7 and it lasts for eight years. The Elementary school is divided into 2 stages. Those stages are:

• Lower Grades ( grades 1-4 )
• Higher Grades ( grades 5-8 )

In the Lower grades students are sorted into classes randomly and have only one teacher for all subjects, except the English language teacher who teaches them English. Students in the lower grades study the following subjects:

1. Mathematics,
2. Serbian language,
3. Art (children draw and paint),
4. Music class,
5. Physical education,
6. World around us (subject about nature),
7. Electives.

Since recently it is compulsory to learn English language from the 1st grade. In that class children usually learn songs and some basic words. Children start going to the 1st grade aged 6 or 7 and finish the 4th grade aged 10 or 11.

In the Higher grades children get new subjects such as:

1. From 5th grade - Biology, Geography, History, Second foreign language (French, German, Russian, Spanish or Italian) and Technical sciences.
2. From 6th grade - Physics
3. From 7th grade - Chemistry and Computer Science

Grading system is numeric and is present in this form through Elementary school and High school. Grades are from 1 (the lowest and failing grade) to 5 (the best grade). There are:

• excellent (5) corresponds to American A and A+ grade
• very good (4) corresponds to American B+ and A- grade
• good (3) corresponds to American C and B grade
• sufficient (2) corresponds to American D and C grade
• insufficient (1) corresponds to American F grade

When a student finishes 8th grade of elementary school he or she chooses if they want to continue education since compulsory education stops when you finish elementary school.

Secondary education

Secondary schools (also known as High Schools) correspond to American High Schools and are divided in four types, and children attend one depending on their choice, their elementary school grades and their entrance exams results:

• Two special schools for gifted students: Matematička gimnazija[1] which enrolls students aged 11–12 and above (which puts Matematička gimnazija in the field of both elementary schools and high schools) and Philology Special School [2][3].
• Grammar schools (gimnazija) last for four years and offer general and broad education. Student usually choose their education orientation between languages and social sciences (društveni smer) and mathematics and natural sciences(prirodni smer).
• Professional schools (stručna škola) last for four years and specialize students in certain fields, while still offering relatively broad education.
• Vocational schools (zanatska škola) last for three years, without an option of continuing education and specialize in narrow vocations.

Entrance exams mostly consists of Mathematics exam and Serbian language and literature exam, although depending on the type of school you wish to enroll you may need to take English language exam.

High schools in Serbia have specified curses and college-like institutions. Example: Medicinal school (curses: plain medicine,pharmacist (sometimes split school) etc.) Veterinary school, Machinery school, traffic school,economy school...

Most of schools apart of "gimnazije" are branded and integrated as one even thoo of two (sometimes unrelated) schools. Example: Biological-Machinery school, Economic-Trading school, Macinery-Traficant school.

The high school education in Serbia is divided in two: 4th degree and 3rd degree. You can change a curse or even a school in any time if your present and past (elementary school) grades allow it (taking a curse difference test also).

4th degree is professionalist education with bigger future ambition since 3rd degree students can't (in most shapes) continue to college or university education.

Examples: 4th degree curses in schools: Machinery technician for computer design, Electrician expert, Medicinal, economic expert, banking expert...

3rd degree: automechanic, plumber, locksmith, machinery locksmith, trader (trgovac)...

Gimnazija is an exception in Serbian education since its the only high school that doesn't give you a calling when graduated, once receiving a diploma of the school you must continue to college,university or higher school or the diploma is meaningless, though gimnazija graduates can go to almost any college with their diploma (judging by grades, "prijemni"-entrance exams etc.) whilst a Medical school graduate, for example, can not go to a Machinery university^{[citation needed]}, for example, since he or she lack the necessary high school education.

All the other schools give a calling when graduated, example: Medical school graduate is a nurse (veterinary school graduate is a veterinary nurse), economy school graduate can be bank workers and similar...

Also, children in Serbia in and before high school have two elective classes in all schools: Veronauka and Građansko. Veronauka is a religious (orthodox Christianity) segment and građansko is civic education, teaching the students how to interact and help around local and wider community. Veronauka is made of two words vera - faith, religion and nauka - science, since in Serbia there was never an atheist-religious confrontation apart of the communist age when religion (in all Yugoslav shapes: Orthodox, Catholic, Islamic) was forbidden thus turning the western problem other way around. This solved, long ago,a problem that EU and USA is facing even today. Whereas if the child (and/or his or hers parents) is atheist and doesn't want to attend prayers and learn about the Serbian orthodox religion, he or she can simply attend "građansko" that is city education. Both classes are attended in the same time (splitting the class students in two groups) in separate places by separate professors.

Tertiary education

See also: List of universities in Serbia and Academic grading in Serbia

Tertiary level institutions also accept students based on their grades in high school and entrance exams results:

• Higher schools (viša škola), lasts three years, corresponding to Germany Fachhochschulen (Universities of Applied Science),
• At faculties (fakultet) of various Universities (univerzitet) and art academies (akademija umetnosti) (see the list of universities in Serbia) last between 4 and 6 years (doctorat is 5–7 years) (one year is TWO (2) semesters long - autumn and spring) and award diplomas (all segments of education awards diplomas but its called "svedocanstvo - testimony" in lower education such as: elementary and high schools).

Quaternary education

Graduate education (post-diplomsko obrazovanje) is offered after tertiary level and offers specialization education, Magister degrees and Ph.D.

Degrees and qualifications

• Diploma o završenoj srednjoj školi (secondary school certificate)
• Diploma (Diploma Višeg Obrazovanja) - equivalent of the U.S. Associate's degree.
• Diploma visokog obrazovanja
• Magistar nauka or Magistar umetnosti (Magister of Sciences or Magister of Arts)
• Doktor nauka (Doctor of Science)

Sources

• Ministry of Education, Belgrade, 2001

See also

• List of universities in Serbia
• Music schools in Serbia
• English Schools in Serbia

External links

• Serbian Ministry of Education
• System of Higher Education in the Republic of Serbia