AGREEMENT REACHED ON REINTEGRATION OF DANUBE RIVER AREA SCHOOLS

ZAGREB, Aug 6 (Hina) - Croatian education and sport ministry officials and UNTAES representatives reached agreement on reintegration of schools of the Croatian Danube river area into the Croatian school system, at a meeting in Zagreb on Wednesday. Following several-hour-long talks the two parties accepted a Decision on an interim curriculum for pupils of the Serb national minority in Croatia for the 1997-98 school year, and announced the formal signing of the agreement for Thursday. UNTAES representative Robert Gravelle described this day as a historic day for both Croatia and UNTAES, and stressed that the agreement guaranteed special rights in education of the Serb national minority. Croatian Education Minister Ljilja Vokic said that Wednesday's agreement was based on Croatian laws and Constitution. The rights of Croatian children in the Danube river area were not threatened by anything, she said and added that the agreement guaranteed the right to education to all national minorities in the area in question. The adopted the 1997-98 school year curriculum for Serb children will be included into the Croatian school system in the Danube river area. Under the Decision, the history syllabus ensures that the Serb national history will be taught at 10 percent of all history classes. The geography syllabus for primary school envisages that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will be taught in the seventh form at eight to ten classes. Religious instructions will be carried according to a syllabus approved by an authorised representative of the Serb Orthodox Church and the Croatian education minister. The subject 'nature and society' in the third form of the primary school will cover lessons about the area where children live, whereas in the fourth form lessons will cover the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with two classes. Serb minority representatives are expected to propose until Thursday their authors for textbooks for the so-called group of national subjects. According to an agreement on criteria for appointment of headmasters and headmistresses of schools in the area under the UN transitional administration, signed by the Croatian government and UNTAES on August 4, fair and unbiased appointment is guaranteed of headmasters and headmistresses in schools under the UNTAES control on the basis of the development of the demographic structure of the population in the area in question. The agreement comes into effect as of the 1997-98 school year. (hina) jn mš 061946 MET aug 97