Education System in Croatia

Primary	Primary	1–8	6–14	8	Primary- Osnovna škola
Secondary	Secondary	9–12	14–18	4	Secondary- Gimnazija Certificate/diploma awarded: Svjedodžba o maturi
Secondary	Specialized Secondary	9–12	14–18	4	Specialized Secondary- Umjetnička škola (Art School) Certificate/diploma awarded: Svjedodžba o završnom ispitu
Post-secondary	Certificate			3	Certificate- 180 ECTS credits: Republic of Croatia is currently undergoing a comprehensive reform in order to be part of the European Higher Education Area by 2010 and implement the Bologna Declaration
Vocational	Vocational Secondary	9–12	14–18	4	Vocational Secondary- Strukovna škola (Vocational School) Certificate/diploma awarded: Svjedodžba o završnom ispitu and a vocational qualification.
Tertiary	Undergraduate			3–4
Tertiary	Graduate			2	Doctor in Medicine is awarded after six years and 360 credit points
Tertiary	Postgraduate			2–3	Specialist Degree is awarded after one to two years of postgraduate studies, the Doctor of Sciences and the Doctor of Arts after three years

Primary Education

Education in Croatia is a constitutional right in terms of which primary education is free and all other education is available to all. Elementary education lasts for 8 years of which the first 4 are characterized by unitary class teachers. Thereafter the curriculum widens to include specialist teachers and additional scientific subjects.

Secondary Education

There are two main types of secondary schools in Croatia, namely gymnasiums and vocational schools. The former schools offer 4 separate four-year tracks, namely maths / informatics / science, languages, classics and general education, while the latter focus on producing entry-level employees.

Vocational Education

The Croatian government has introduced a program to align vocational training with the european union model that includes occupational standards and listed qualifications. Progress is being made with mutual recognition too. This should soon see the nation’s youth free to develop their careers in the wider European context which can only be good for national development.

Tertiary Education

Croatia Education There are two broad types of tertiary institutions, namely universities and polytechnic schools. These days distinctions are blurring although university graduates are still regarded as superior. At university level, individual faculties form separate colleges with own administrative facilities, and may be located some distance apart or even in different towns.

The University of Zagreb was established as a Jesuit Academy in 1669. Its faculties include sciences, engineering, bio-medical sciences, bio-technology, social sciences, humanities and arts.

Resources:

Ministry of Science, Education, and Sports of the Republic of Croatia