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Description
Contrary to popular belief, public school system in Slovenia is not free. The expenses for workbooks, school meals, school supplies, outdoor education programs, cultural and sports days, which are an integral part of education and which many parents cannot afford, create many negative effects: stigma, lower participation in school activities, as well as poorer academic performance, all of which can mark a child for life. Currently, the public school system does not provide the same opportunities for optimal development and school performance to all children as it should, so every year humanitarian organizations try to patch up the holes that exist in the welfare state in this specific area.
Therefore, with the project For a free public school, following the example of Sweden, where the idea of a truly free primary school has already been implemented, we will prepare concrete proposals on how to change this. We have invited referential experts in the field of education to prepare a comprehensive proposal for changes to the legislation in an inclusive manner – in cooperation with humanitarian organizations and the interested public.
However, we do not simply want to articulate the solutions, but do everything we can to make changes happen. In support of the proposals, as we have done successfully with the previous campaigns of the 8th of March Institute, we will organize a campaign that will bring together humanitarian organizations, civil society, pedagogues, and parents, with which we will try to persuade the politicians to accept our proposals.
Summary of project results
Under the project For Free Public Education, it was found that despite the fact that primary education in Slovenia is compulsory and free, there are significant associated costs. Parents must pay for school meals, workbooks, school supplies, school trips, cultural and sports days. Because some parents cannot afford these costs, not all children have equal opportunities for optimal development and school success as they should have according to legal goals.
Together with education experts and humanitarian organizations, they conducted substantive discussions and analyzed the current situation in Slovenia. Following the first legislative change ensuring free school meals for all, based on the analysis and a survey, they prepared a proposal for an amendment to the Education Financing Act with the goal of providing free teaching materials (workbooks, textbooks with workbook elements, and other educational materials). This would ensure equal conditions for all students in public primary schools, regardless of their financial status.
It was prepared and coordinated with the broad Slovenian professional public the Proposal for an amendment to the Education Financing Act, the aim of which is to provide free educational materials and thus equal conditions for all primary school students, regardless of their financial status, through a new method of full financing of workbooks, textbooks with workbook elements and other teaching materials that are part of the set of textbooks for all primary school students. The proposal for a law was presented to the general public before the start of the 2024/2025 school year. It has already received the support of the Association of Principals and Assistant Principals of Slovenia and a total of 70 experts in the relevant and broader field.