SCHOOL YEAR TO BEGIN REGULARLY AS PLANNED - EDUCATION MINISTER

( Editorial: --> 7847 ) ZAGREB, Sept 3 (Hina) - The school year in Croatia will begin on Monday September 7, Croatian Education Minister Bozidar Pugelnik said on Thursday after a closed government session which discussed the school system. The beginning of the school year was uncertain after school unions announced the possibility of a strike unless the government complied with their demands on salary rises and higher budgetary earmarking for the school system. The Education Minister hoped all difficulties would be cleared by September 7 through talks with the unions. At today's session the government bound the Ministry of Sports and Education to analyse with other ministries data from material on the state of the school system already discussed in parliament. The deadline is two weeks. The government discussed the position of the school system, i.e. a programme the parliament discussed last spring and forwarded to the government. Pugelnik told reporters the discussions tackled matched data for school systems in transition and European countries, including salaries of education employees and the share Croatian education has in the gross national product. The Education Ministry was bound to analyse the data and report to the government. Pugelnik recalled that after a strike towards the end of the last year school season, the government passed a decision on paying US$312.5 to education employees who worked during the strike. It has still not been determined how many people worked and how many took part in the strike, he added. (hina) ha jn 031601 MET sep 98