PARENTS IN DANUBIAN AREA TO CHOSE LANGUAGE CLASSES WILL BE HELD

OSIJEK, Aug 25 (Hina) - Classes in schools in the Croatian Danubian area are to begin on 8 September and, notwithstanding the number of children attending the classes, they will be held in the Croatian or Serbian language for members of the Serb minority whose parents chose this form of classes, head of the Osijek-Baranja County Office for Education and Culture, Ksenija Zbozil, said at Monday's news conference in Osijek. She announced that parents in all schools in the Osijek- Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem counties would be asked on 1, 2 and 3 September to chose the language in which classes would be held, which was also useful for obtaining information about the exact number of children attending schools in the Danube river region, about which the Croatian education authorities had had contradictory information. #L# Zbozil stressed that not one school in the Danubian area would cease work, but they had to conform to the Croatian legal system. The recently nominated acting deans of schools in the region are to take up offices on 1 September. Their duty would be to conform schools' work with Croatian regulations, after which an open competition would be launched and deans would be nominated, she said. Fifteen million kuna would be needed for the repair of schools in the part of the Osijek-Baranja County which is under UNTAES control, she added. (hina) lm jn 251749 MET aug 97