Barisic said the first step in the continuation of the education reform would be the adoption of a new action plan. He said a commission for advancing the reform had analysed what had been done so far and made ten recommendations for proceeding. He said a public discussion on curriculum documents had also been held.
The minister said it was now necessary to implement the Education, Science and Technology Strategy and that a commission had been set up to define a new action plan with deadlines and objectives. He underlined the importance of raising quality in the continuation of the education reform and bringing back those who had been involved before.
Barisic said it was important to do more about pluralism, to acknowledge diversity and reach an overlapping consensus because education was for and concerned everyone, regardless of world view. He underlined the importance of dialogue in which everyone had the possibility to have their say, saying Croatia was a pluralist and democratic society in which there was no need to exclude anyone on ideological or any other grounds.
Asked about dual education, the minister said it was one of three models of work-based learning which the European Commission saw as a key vocational education model aimed at providing students with key work and life skills.
He said dual education combined programmes, with an emphasis on apprenticeship. He said this model was used the most in Austria and Germany, and that it was based on students spending a lot of time training in companies. He said Croatia planned to carry out such a pilot project in a couple of schools next year in cooperation with German foundations.
Barisic said the second model, partly present in Croatia, was vocational education and training done in schools, including training stints in companies, while the third model is learning based on work integrated in vocational education programmes, carried out in schools with labs, workshops, kitchens, restaurants etc.
The minister said many European countries combined the three models and that this would be acceptable in Croatia because, unlike the more developed Germany and Austria, Croatia could not rely on its insufficiently developed industry to accept all students.
He said both the curriculum reform and vocational education were important. He said participation in vocational education and training in secondary schools in Croatia was 71.1%, the European Union average being 48%, but the rate of employment with secondary school education was 48%, the EU average being 70%.