Fundamental principles and national policies

1.Organisation and governance

1.1Fundamental principles and national policies

Last update: 18 March 2026

Constitutional principles on education

The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia lays down the fundamental principles underpinning education in Slovenia. These provide the constitutional framework for the organisation and delivery of education and training. The key provisions are as follows:

Compulsory and publicly funded basic education: Basic education is compulsory and financed from public funds.
Right to education: The State ensures that citizens have access to opportunities to attain appropriate educational qualifications.
Education for children and persons with disabilities: Children with physical or intellectual disabilities and other persons with severe disabilities are entitled to education and training enabling active participation in society; such provision is publicly funded.
Autonomy of higher education institutions: State universities and other higher education institutions enjoy institutional autonomy.
Freedom of scientific and artistic expression: Academic and artistic creativity is constitutionally guaranteed.
Rights of constitutionally recognised national communities: The Italian and Hungarian national communities are entitled to education and instruction in their own languages and to develop and organise such education.
Special rights of the Roma community: The status and special rights of the Roma community are recognised and protected by law.
Slovenian Sign Language: The free use and development of Slovenian Sign Language is guaranteed.

Principles and objectives set out in key policy documents and legislation

White Paper on Education in the Republic of Slovenia (1995)

The 1995 White Paper constituted a strategic blueprint for the comprehensive reform of the Slovenian education system. Grounded in international standards on human and children’s rights, it articulated the core values, guiding principles and overarching objectives of education in Slovenia.

Its principal orientations included:

Secular public education: Public schools were to remain secular, maintaining the principle established prior to independence.
Institutional autonomy: Schools were granted professional autonomy vis-à-vis external authorities and ideological influences.
European integration and openness: The education system was to strengthen its links with the wider European area, particularly through enhanced foreign language learning, alignment with international standards of knowledge, and the promotion of intercultural education.
Education for all: Kindergartens and schools were to provide education and training for all members of society, grounded in shared values.
Holistic educational aims: Educational objectives emphasised the development of the individual as an autonomous person and the formation of an informed and responsible citizen.
Equality of opportunity: Improving educational outcomes required recognising individual differences among students and respecting their right to diversity and choice.
Accessibility and pluralism: Broader access was supported through the introduction of private providers, a non-compulsory part within the programmes, and differentiated instructional approaches, including ability grouping.

The 1995 White Paper laid the foundations for far-reaching legislative reform. It led to the adoption of a series of laws governing the organisation, management and funding of education, as well as the specific arrangements at individual levels of the system.

A further round of legislative amendments followed in 2007 and 2008. During this period, entrepreneurship and innovation were incorporated into the aims of basic education, and greater emphasis was placed on a competence-based approach to teaching and learning.

White Paper on Education in the Republic of Slovenia (2011)

The 2011 White Paper offered a thorough and systematic review of the structure, governance and performance of the Slovenian education system. It also set out a series of strategic recommendations to safeguard and strengthen educational quality in the long term.

The document identified four core principles underpinning education in Slovenia:

Human rights and responsibilities – This principle is rooted in the shared European political, cultural and moral heritage reflected in human rights and the responsibilities that accompany them. It affirms pluralist democracy, tolerance, solidarity and the rule of law as cornerstones of the education system.
Autonomy – This refers both to the professional autonomy of teachers and other educational staff and to the institutional autonomy of schools and other educational establishments. It is closely tied to a central educational aim: fostering independent, reflective and responsible individuals who can apply their knowledge and social and other competences in practice.
Equality – This principle is intrinsically linked to the commitment to ensuring equal life chances for all. It entails equitable access to education, fair and impartial assessment of students’ attainment, and the proportionate and unbiased application of both support measures and disciplinary procedures.
Quality – Quality is reflected not only in grounding education in shared values such as human rights, but also in the integrity and effectiveness of educational processes. These should be shaped by the broadest possible professional and societal consensus on what constitutes a good school, a high-quality kindergarten and effective educational practice more broadly.

In addition, the document outlined the principal objectives of education in Slovenia:

To ensure high-quality provision across all levels of education, from early childhood through to higher and adult education.
To promote the optimal physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development of every individual.
To provide a broad general education alongside vocational knowledge and skills comparable to those achieved in the highest-performing countries in international assessments and competitions.
To foster the capacity for lifelong learning and to support continuous personal and professional development.
To guarantee equality of opportunity in education, ensuring that no individual is disadvantaged on grounds of gender, social or cultural background, religion, nationality, worldview, or physical or intellectual characteristics.
To provide targeted support and appropriate incentives for groups requiring additional assistance.
To create enabling conditions in which highly able and gifted individuals can fully realise their potential.
To strengthen cooperation between educational institutions and the wider community.
To cultivate the knowledge, skills and dispositions required for active participation in a democratic society.

Organisation and Financing of Education Act

The principal legislative framework governing all levels of education (except higher education) is the Organisation and Financing of Education Act (ZOFVI). This Act sets out the following objectives:

To ensure the optimal development of individuals, irrespective of gender, social background, cultural identity, religion, racial, ethnic or national origin, or physical and mental characteristics, including disability.
To promote mutual tolerance and develop awareness of gender equality, respect for human diversity and cooperation, and respect for children’s rights, human rights and fundamental freedoms. In doing so, it seeks to foster the competences required for life in a democratic society.
To develop linguistic competences and strengthen awareness of Slovenian as the official language of the Republic of Slovenia; in ethnically mixed areas, to promote and develop Italian and Hungarian alongside Slovenian.
To ensure high-quality education.
To promote awareness of the integrity and dignity of the individual.
To foster citizenship and national identity, and to broaden knowledge of Slovenia’s history and cultural heritage.
To facilitate participation in European integration processes.
To ensure the possibility of choice at all levels of education.
To provide education appropriate to the individual’s age and stage of development.
To guarantee equal educational opportunities, particularly in areas facing specific developmental challenges, and for children, young people and adults from disadvantaged social backgrounds or with special educational needs.
To promote education for sustainable development and active participation in a democratic society, including a deep understanding of and responsible attitude towards oneself, one’s health and others, one’s own and other cultures, the natural and social environment, and future generations.
To encourage lifelong learning.
To enable the entire population to attain general education and acquire vocational qualifications.
To allow as many individuals as possible to reach the highest attainable level of education while maintaining established academic standards.
To enable as many individuals as possible to fully develop and realise their creative potential.

Resolution on the National Programme of Higher Education 2030

Public interest in higher education is defined by the National Programme of Higher Education adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia.

The overarching objective of this strategic document, as set out in the Resolution on the National Programme of Higher Education 2030, is:

To create the most supportive environment and conditions for higher education institutions and their staff to deliver state-of-the-art teaching, research and professional services in their respective fields.
To provide successive generations of students with the highest-quality knowledge and expertise available within the country.

The Slovenian Higher Education Programme to 2030 is guided by the following principles:

Development
Excellence
Competitiveness
Social, economic and environmental responsibility of knowledge
Close cooperation and integration within the academic community and beyond
Harnessing the potential of the digital transition

The content and objectives of the Programme are structured around five key pillars:

Social development and higher education
Legislation and funding
Quality
Internationalisation
Digitalisation

Strategy of the Republic of Slovenia for Short-Cycle Higher Vocational Education 2020–2030

Short-cycle higher vocational education represents a flexible segment of tertiary education, firmly grounded in practice-oriented study. Its defining features are competence-based, learning-outcome-oriented provision, which underpins both quality and cost-effectiveness. Expected learning outcomes are to be developed in partnership with a broad range of stakeholders.

The strategic objectives of the strategy for short-cycle higher vocational education (Strategija višjega strokovnega izobraževanja v Republiki Sloveniji za obdobje 2020–2030) are to assure:

Stable and sustainable funding for higher vocational colleges
Consistently high-quality provision in short-cycle higher vocational education
Responsiveness to the needs of the economy and society
Strong employability outcomes for graduates

Resolution on the National Programme of Adult Education in the Republic of Slovenia 2022–2030

Public interest in adult education is defined by the national programme for adult education adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia.
The objective of this strategic document is defined in the national programme of adult education (Resolucija o nacionalnem programu izobraževanja odraslih v Republiki Sloveniji za obdobje 2022–2030).

The vision of the Programme to 2030 is to ensure that all adults have equal access to quality education at every stage of life. Its objectives include:

Increasing adult participation in lifelong learning
Raising levels of basic skills and general education
Improving overall educational attainment
Strengthening citizens’ competences to respond effectively to labour market demands
Advancing research and development in adult education
Enhancing the governance and delivery of adult education provision

Development Planning Programme to 2033

The Development Planning Programme to 2033 is structured around six strategic priority areas and sets out 302 concrete measures to deliver key long-term objectives. These include strengthening lifelong learning, enhancing educational quality, modernising teaching and assessment practices, and ensuring a safe, inclusive and supportive learning environment for all learners.

The proposed measures respond directly to:

the decline in student performance in international large-scale assessments (such as PISA and PIRLS)
the need to modernise digital and technological infrastructure across the education system
the growing demand for stronger psychosocial support systems for children and young people.

The Programme is organised around the following six priority areas:

Social development and the role of education
Ensuring a safe and supportive environment for optimal individual development
Teaching, learning, monitoring progress and student assessment
Professional and career development of educational staff
Quality assurance and system evaluation
Governance and development of the education system

Objectives and principles of individual levels and types of education

Preschool, basic and upper secondary education are regulated by dedicated legislation that defines their guiding principles and objectives.

Preschool education

The Kindergarten Act defines preschool education as a non-compulsory yet integral part of the education system. It establishes the following core principles:

Democracy
Pluralism
Professional autonomy, responsibility and expertise of staff
Equal opportunities for children and parents, with due regard for children’s diversity
The right to choice and to individuality
A balanced approach to children’s physical and psychological development

Preschool education aims to:

Develop children’s understanding of themselves and others.
Encourage cooperation, respect for diversity and constructive interaction in groups.
Support emotional awareness and appropriate emotional expression.
Foster curiosity, imagination, exploratory learning and early critical thinking.
Promote linguistic development and lay the foundations for reading and writing.
Cultivate appreciation of art and artistic expression.
Introduce children to knowledge from different fields and everyday life.
Support physical development and activity.
Encourage independence in personal hygiene and health care.

Basic education

The Basic School Act defines the goals of basic education as follows:

To provide high-quality general education for the entire population.
To promote balanced physical, cognitive, emotional, moral, spiritual and social development.
To support students’ personal development in line with their abilities and interests, including the development of a positive self-image.
To prepare students for further education and future careers, with a strong emphasis on lifelong learning.
To promote education for sustainable development and active participation in a democratic society.
To strengthen knowledge of Slovenian history, cultural and natural heritage, and national identity.
To transmit general cultural values rooted in the European tradition.
To foster mutual respect, cooperation, tolerance and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
To develop literacy and broad knowledge across languages, sciences, mathematics, technology, social sciences and the arts.
To ensure proficiency in Slovenian and, in ethnically mixed areas, also in Italian and Hungarian.
To develop communicative competence in foreign languages.
To cultivate critical thinking and understanding of the interdependence of social and natural phenomena.
To achieve internationally comparable standards of knowledge.
To nurture talents and artistic expression.
To foster entrepreneurship as a mindset characterised by initiative, creativity and innovation.

Upper secondary education

The objectives of upper secondary education are set out in relevant laws (Zakon o gimnazijah and Zakon o poklicnem in strokovnem izobraževanju. The overlapping goals include:

Providing knowledge at internationally comparable standards
Developing critical thinking and responsible action
Strengthening linguistic competence
Promoting awareness of personal integrity
Fostering national identity and knowledge of Slovenian history and culture
Encouraging responsible protection of freedom, tolerance and peaceful coexistence
Preparing young people to contribute to a free, democratic and socially just society
Promoting responsibility towards the natural environment and personal health
Developing awareness of human and citizens’ rights and responsibilities
Nurturing talents and artistic creativity

The Vocational Education Act additionally highlights lifelong learning, sustainable development and integration into the European labour market as key objectives.

The Gimnazije Act further emphasises:

Education for sustainable development
Creativity, innovation, responsible risk-taking, and project planning and management
Preparation for lifelong learning and career planning

General upper secondary schools (gimnazije) primarily prepare students for higher education, especially university study. Vocational and technical schools, by contrast, prepare students for specific occupations while also enabling progression within their professional fields.

Tertiary education

Tertiary education in Slovenia comprises short-cycle higher vocational education and higher education.

Short-cycle higher vocational education

The Short Cycle Higher Vocational Education Act defines the primary role of higher vocational colleges as developing students’ managerial, planning and supervisory capacities, alongside strong vocational competences aligned with international standards.

Its key guiding principles include:

Lifelong learning
The inclusion of adults in education
Reducing the educational gap among the middle generation

The 2011 White Paper further identified three foundational principles for this sector:

Social partnership
Lifelong learning
“Different paths to the same end”

Short-cycle higher vocational education is formally recognised as part of tertiary education, but with distinctive features reflecting its close responsiveness to labour market needs. As such, it places particular emphasis on professionally oriented and practice-based learning.

Programmes are based on occupational standards that reflect employer demand and labour market requirements. The sector maintains structured links with higher education and falls under the remit of the national quality assurance agency.

Under the Slovenian Qualifications Framework Act, higher vocational qualifications are placed at Level VI/1 of the national framework, corresponding to Level 5 of the European Qualifications Framework.

Higher education

The Higher Education Act defines higher education activity as the provision of educational services together with related scientific research, artistic and support activities carried out by higher education institutions. It also includes supporting functions, such as those provided by the Central Technical Library of the University of Ljubljana.

Higher education institutions in Slovenia include:

Universities
Faculties
Art academies
Professional higher education institutions

Higher education is founded on the following principles:

Academic freedom and institutional autonomy
High-quality teaching and research excellence
Artistic creativity and innovation
Active engagement and cooperation with society and the international community, in line with the objectives of the European Education Area and the European Higher Education Area

Higher education contributes to:

Social development
Economic development
Technological advancement
The sustainable development of the Republic of Slovenia

Across all activities, higher education is organised and delivered in accordance with the principles of ethics, transparency and openness, equal opportunities, sustainability and social responsibility.

Adult education

The 1995 White Paper identified significant shortcomings in adult education. Subsequent policy developments, therefore, focused on strengthening the sector's systemic foundations.

A major step forward was taken in 2007, following the adoption of the Slovenia’s Lifelong Learning Strategy, when the ministry responsible for education formally integrated adult education into the wider education system. This integration paved the way for further legislative development, improved governance and funding arrangements, and the establishment of a structured network of providers and supporting infrastructure.

The Adult Education Act constitutes the central legislative framework in this field. It defines the public interest in adult education and sets out both guiding principles and key objectives.

The Act is underpinned by the following principles:

Lifelong education and learning
Fairness, equality and equal opportunities in access to and achievement of learning outcomes
Freedom and autonomy in choosing learning pathways, content, forms, resources and methods
Quality assurance in education provision
Proportionate allocation of learning opportunities across different stages of the life course
Systemic integration of formal education, non-formal education and informal learning
A balanced relationship between general and vocational education
Creativity and flexibility adapted to specific cultural, social and educational contexts
Alignment with nationally and internationally comparable educational standards
The non-denominational character of adult education provided as a public service

The Act sets out the following objectives:

To ensure access to high-quality education and learning opportunities.
To support the development of basic and vocational competences for personal growth, active citizenship and labour market participation.
To foster democratic engagement and socially responsible behaviour.
To empower adults for sustainable development, the green economy, cultural participation and health awareness.
To strengthen competences related to tolerance, respect for diversity, cooperation, human rights and fundamental freedoms.
To enhance critical thinking skills among individuals and social groups.
To promote solidarity, intergenerational cooperation and the exchange of knowledge and experience.
To encourage collaborative learning and contribute to social well-being.
To reduce structural and individual barriers to participation in education and training.
To motivate adults with lower educational attainment and other vulnerable groups to continue learning.
To reduce the proportion of adults without basic and/or vocational qualifications.
To increase the proportion of adults who have completed four-year upper secondary education.

The Act defines adult education as a public service and provides for public funding of guidance and counselling activities. These include independent educational counselling to support adults in making informed decisions about learning, as well as complementary activities that enhance their educational pathways.

Eurydice

Slovenia