Peic said that only four students had applied for a Croatian-language secondary school programme this year. "During the enrolment time, the HNV was available round the clock, we contacted the Croatian organisations and called parents, but to no avail."
She said that for centuries the ethnic Croats in the Vojvodina province of northern Serbia had maintained their identity through cultural organisations and events, customs, and religious ceremonies, "but obviously that is not enough."
Peic said that the lack of interest was partly due to the fear that still existed among parents and the fact that only a small number of Croatian children enrol in Subotica's Gymnasium, because most of them complete vocational schools and do not continue their schooling.
The possible formation of a Croatian-language class in the Gymnasium this autumn would mark the beginning of secondary school education in the Croatian language in Serbia, which is expected to have a positive impact on the enrolment of pupils in the first year of primary school with curricula taught in the Croatian language.