Definition of the target group

Disadvantaged pupils are identified based on a combination of pedagogical, social, health and economic criteria. In accordance with the Primary and Secondary Education Act and related rules, these can be:

• pupils with developmental disabilities 
• pupils of lower socioeconomic status 
• pupils belonging to national minorities or pupils with poor knowledge of the Croatian language 
• pupils from families with disrupted family relationships, neglect or other risky circumstances 
• pupils with chronic illnesses or long-term absences.

Their identification is carried out through enrolment documentation and attached decisions from competent authorities, pedagogical and psychological assessment by the school's professional service (pedagogue, psychologist, educational rehabilitator), monitoring of school performance, absences and behaviour, and cooperation with parents and external institutions (health institutions, social welfare centres).

Special support measures

Support measures for pupils in a disadvantaged position in the Republic of Croatia include various forms of assistance and adjustments in the educational system, aimed at pupils with difficulties, pupils with insufficient knowledge of the Croatian language, members of national minorities, children of asylum seekers and foreigners under international protection, and pupils of lower socioeconomic status.

The National Pedagogical Standards for Secondary Education System provide for programmes in the language and script of national minorities, including bilingual programmes, with a mandatory part in the Croatian language.

According to the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities , members of national minorities may establish preschool institutions, primary and secondary schools, and higher education institutions to provide education in their own language and script. Educational institutions with instruction in the language and script of national minorities may be established for a smaller number of pupils than is prescribed for schools with instruction in the Croatian language.

Education is organised according to three models: Model A (instruction entirely in the minority language with mandatory learning of Croatian), Model B (bilingual instruction), and Model C (instruction in Croatian with additional lessons in the language and culture of the minority).

In the education of members of the Roma national minority, a significant step forward was made with the adoption of the Curriculum for the Language and Culture of the Roma National Minority in primary and secondary schools in the Republic of Croatia (Model C), which included the Roma national minority in the education system for the first time and enabled learning of their mother tongue (National Education System Development Plan for the period until 2027).

Enrolment in schools with instruction in the language and script of national minorities is carried out under the same conditions as in schools with instruction in the Croatian language, and in the event of a larger number of applications, priority is given to members of national minorities.

According to the Ordinance on the Manner of Implementing the Programme and Tests of Knowledge of Asylum Seekers, Asylees, Foreigners Under Temporary Protection and Foreigners Under Subsidiary Protection, for Access to the Education System of the Republic of Croatia, access to primary education is ensured for children of asylum seekers and foreigners under international protection under the same conditions as for Croatian citizens, with the possibility of organising additional classes and adjustments. 

In order to effectively integrate into the education system of the Republic of Croatia, preparatory or supplementary classes are organised for pupils who do not know or know insufficiently the Croatian language.

These pupils may be children of:

• citizens of the Republic of Croatia returning from abroad 
• family members of citizens of European Union Member States 
• members of national minorities 
• foreigners who are family members who have the right of residence or permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia.

Temporary forms of education are special ways of organising classes for pupils who, due to certain health reasons, cannot attend regular classes at school. According to the Ordinance on Primary and Secondary Education of Students with Developmental Difficulties, temporary forms of education include:

• home education 
• education in a health institution 
• distance learning.

The National Plan for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion for the period 2021 – 2027 has the specific goal of preventing and reducing child poverty and social exclusion. Some of the measures to achieve this goal are co-financing the equipping of kindergartens with didactic equipment for working with children with developmental disabilities, providing transportation, nutrition and teaching materials for pupils with developmental disabilities in primary school, providing transportation and teaching materials for pupils with developmental disabilities in secondary school, financing the purchase of textbooks for mandatory subjects for secondary school pupils and other educational materials and primary school pupils who are beneficiaries of the guaranteed minimum wage, providing social inclusion programmes for children and families at risk of poverty, providing empowerment and support programmes for children and young people after leaving care, providing free school meals for children at risk of poverty, cultural and artistic activities for children and young people at risk of poverty, improving the capacities (knowledge and skills) of professionals in the social welfare system to ensure high-quality and timely identification, referral, effective case management, effective family interventions and the provision of services adapted to the multicultural environment (including the Roma population), and improving the capacities of professionals in other systems (police, health, education and other systems).