The Minister of Science, Education and Sport, Zeljko Jovanovic, said on Saturday that studying in Croatia should be free, warning that Croatia today was not a country of knowledge or of equal opportunities because of a disproportion between the number of students coming from highly educated families and those coming from families with lower educational qualifications.
"Only two per cent of students come from families with primary school qualifications and that's why all students in Croatia who meet their requirements regularly must be entitled to a free education," Jovanovic told reporters in Pula where he opened a sporting competition involving college and polytechnic students from throughout the country.
Jovanovic said it was very important for Croatia to have as many highly educated people as possible. "At present only 18% of the working-age population are highly educated, so it is necessary to ensure that as many people as possible earn a university degree so that Croatia will have enough qualified people to get the country out of the crisis," he said.
The minister said that investment in education, science and research was the only way that would make it possible for Croatia to overcome the present crisis.
