SERB CULTURAL SOCIETY 'PROSVJETA' PRESENTS PROGRAM ON ADDITIONAL CLASSES FOR SERB CHILDREN

CLASSES FOR SERB CHILDREN ZAGREB, 18 June (Hina) - The Commission for Education of the Serb cultural society 'Prosvjeta' held a panel discussion in Zagreb Wednesday, which presented the Commission's program on additional classes for primary education of children of Serb nationality in Croatia. The discussion was also attended by the representatives of the Government, Education and Sports Ministry, Yugoslav Embassy charge d'affaires Veljko Knezevic and Bosnian Embassy officials. The implementation of the program will start in September, at the beginning of the new school year. The program will be implemented in an experimental form. The program, which was approved by the Ministry of Education and Sports, will be implemented in some 25 communities throughout Croatia. The president of the Education Commission, Vladimir Funduk, named some 18 communities in Croatia which are to organise additional classes for Serb children at the beginning of September. Among those are Umag, Pula, Zagreb, Knin and Karlovac. The number of children who are to attend additional classes is between 15 to 60 in each of the named cities. The number of children who have registered for additional classes is low because parents fear that their children would be additionally burdened with school activities and become ghettoised. An opinion poll showed that only 10% of parents were ready to register their children for the program, Funduk said. The manuscript of schoolbooks to be used in the program has been sent for review, said Dusan Rapo of the Education Commission. Rapo said he hoped that the printing of the books would be completed by the beginning of the new school year. Speaking about education possibilities for Serb children, 'Prosvjeta' President Slobodan Uzelac said that there are two solutions to the problem - the first one is a model which is approved by the Croatian Constitution - schools with classes in the national language, and the other is the model of additional classes. The first model is more suitable for eastern Slavonia while the other one is more suitable for other parts of Croatia, Uzelac said. The process of motivating parents and children for the program of additional classes was being hampered by fear of both parents and children. That fear is dominant and results in the negation of one's national and religious identity, Uzelac added. The Government and Education Ministry granted 'Prosvjeta' 50,000 kunas for the program of motivating the parents for the program of additional classes. (hina) rm 181819 MET jun 97