ACCESS TO EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT OF ETHNIC MINORITIES IN THE WESTERN BALKANS
COUNTRY REPORT CROATIA
Author: Antonija Petričušić, M.A.
“Only the educated are free.”
Epictetus
(Greek philosopher, cca. 55-135 A.D.)
Europäische Akademie Bozen / Accademia Europea Bolzano (EURAC)
Drususallee 1 / viale Druso 1
I - 39100 Bozen / Bolzano
List of Abbreviations
CARDSCommunity Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation
CES Croatian Employment Service
CHCCroatian Helsinki Committee
CNESCroatian National Educational Standard
CLNMConstitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities
CoECouncil of Europe
ECRIEuropean Commission against Racism and Intolerance
ECRMLEuropean Charter for Regional and Minority Languages
ERRCEuropeanRomaRightsCenter
EUEuropean Union
EUREuro
ESDPEducation Sector Development Plan
FCNMFramework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
HDZCroatian Democratic Union
HRDHuman Resource Development
ILOInternational Labour Organization
NGONon-governmental Organization
MoELEMinistry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship
MoSESMinistry of Science, Education and Sports
OSCEOrganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
PPSPurchasing power standard
REFRoma Education Fund
ROPRegional Operational Programme
SDSSIndependent Democratic Serbian Party
SAAStabilization and Association Agreement
SMESmall and medium enterprise
UNUnited Nations
UNESCOUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNTAESUN Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium
Executive summary
The legal framework for minority protection has improved significantly with the adoption of the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities in 2002. The Law sets the domestic legal framework for minority rights and, together with several related laws, establishes a high level of normative prerequisites for the protection of minority rights. It is generally perceived that the position of minorities has improved and that minorities are able to execute their rights to a great extent. Usual complaints for the non-implementation of prescribed minority rights refer to a lack of financial resources. Both in the field of education, where units of regional self-governments (counties) are responsible for the management of schools, and in the field of employment of minorities in areas of return (known also as areas of special state concern) this justification is quite habitually used.
The tradition of education in languages of the national minorities has been rooted in the Croatian educational system. For that reason, Hungarians, Italians, Czechs, Slovaks, Ukrainians and Ruthenians in general do not criticize existing educational models for minorities. In addition, the education for pupils of Serb ethnic background has been improved in the last five years and some new minority educational programmes have been initiated. Nevertheless, there are still examples of hesitance at local level to provide pupils from the Serb minority with education in their language (e.g. for the education in the minority language of the Serb minority in Knin) and to integrate them into a mainstream educational system (e.g. the example of separate classes for Roma in Međimurje). The other problems that burden the educational process of most of minorities are the inadequate training of teachers and the lack of teaching materials in minority languages. In addition, the physical separation between Croat and Serb/Roma pupils in some schools remains an issue of concern.
The general unemployment rate remains high in Croatia (app. 14% compared to 8.5% EU average) and the economic underdevelopment of areas of return inhabited by national minorities (Serbs mostly dwell in such areas, but also Roma, Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians, Ukrainians and Ruthenians) affects both the majority population and the minorities. Nevertheless, discriminatory practices towards Serbs have been documented in some areas of return, since there are no Serb employees in the local bodies of state administration. The issue of employment discrimination needs further investigation and monitoring since equal access to employment opportunities for all minorities, including returnees, is essential if Croatia is serious about an effective return programme that is sustainable and democratic.
Statistical data presented in this report were collected from the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, the Croatian Employment Service and from a number of minority and non-governmental organizations involved in educational and employment initiatives. Nevertheless, accurate statistical data on the number of minority employees in state administration and public institutions and the exact number of Roma in Croatia are still missing. Because of this, it is impossible to monitor the implementation of the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities regarding proportional representation of minorities in the state administration and it is impossible to plan policies for the improvement of measures for the socio-economic inclusion of Roma.
1. Introduction
The Republic of Croatia is a country of approximately 4.5 million inhabitants. The Croatian Constitution lists in its preamble as Croatian minorities the Serbs, Czechs, Slovaks, Italians, Hungarians, Jews, Germans, Austrians, Ukrainians and Ruthenians and the other ethnic minority communities that are citizens of Croatia.[1] Apart from this constitutionally mentioned ethnic communities, members of several other ethic groups are recognized as minority communities: Albanians, Bosniaks, Bulgarians, Montenegrins, Macedonians, Poles, Roma, Romanians, Slovenes, Turks, Vlahs and Jews. A census conducted in Croatia in April 2001 reported that around 90% of the country’s inhabitants are of Croatian ethnic origin. The results of the census further reported that 7.47% of population belong to national minorities, which is half of the total number of the minority population in 1991.[2]
The protection of minority rights in Croatia is comprehensively assured by the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities (CLNM)[3] that was adopted in December 2002. The country has ratified the majority of international human and minority rights instruments[4]which, once ratified, form part of the internal legal order of Croatia and are in higher rank compared to domestic legislation.[5]
Croatia is applying for membership in the European Union (EU). The country signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU on 29 October 2001. The Government submitted the application for EU membership on 21 February 2003. The European Commission (EC) issued its Opinion on Croatia’s EU membership application on 20 April 2004 and recommended that EU accession negotiations be opened. Minority protection has been an issue of concern when the EC prepared the Opinion. The Opinion found that the principles of equality and non-discrimination, protection of the national identity, social integration, freedom to establish educational institutions, educational programmes and curriculum and the provision of adequate teacher training appear to be incorporated in the Croatian legislation. In its Opinion, the Commission considered that Croatia needs to take measures to ensure that the rights of minorities, in particular of the Serb minority, are fully respected. Croatia was furthermore advised to speed up the implementation of the CLNM and to accelerate efforts to facilitate the return of Serb refugees from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.[6] The European Council decided in June 2004 to grant Croatia the status of an EU accession country and the negotiations were opened in November 2005.
Ethnic Composition and Territorial Distribution of Minority Groups
There are several regions where minority populations are mostly concentrated. The Italian minority inhabits the western coastal part of the country, dwelling in a great number in the Istrian peninsula that administratively forms the IstriaCounty but also in the Primorje-GorskiKotarCounty. The Italian minority numbers roughly 20.000 members. In those municipalities and cities in which Italians make one third of the population, the Italian language is the second official language.
The biggest of the autochthonous minority groups, the Serbs, have traditionally constituted a majority in the Krajina region surrounding the south western city of Knin (Zadar-Knin County) and made a significant portion of the population in the Eastern part of Croatia (the Osijek-Baranja County and the Vukovar-Srijem County). Nowadays, the largest number of Serbs lives in the Counties of Vukovar-Srijem, Osijek-Baranja, Sisak-Moslavina and Karlovac. A certain number of the Serb minority dwells also in the Primorje-GorskiKotarCounty, Lika-SenjCounty and in the City of Zagreb. The latest census witnessed a sharp drop of the Serb population, reporting that approximately 202.000 of them dwell nowadays in Croatia. The Serbs used to make up 12% of population in the 1991 census, but their share in the population has been drastically reduced to 4.5% in the 2001 census. Their number dropped due to the exodus of the Serb population in the beginning of 1990s, when smaller numbers of Serbs left Croatia straight after the country’s declaration of independence in 1991. The biggest exodus took place in 1995, following two military actions undertaken by the Croat government to re-integrate the occupied territory in the spring and summer of 1995. The are estimations that approximately 300.000 Serbs left Croatia in 1990s. The majority of them became refugees in neighbouring Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Even though the government has been reiterating that the country will accept the return of ethnic-Serb refugees who were driven out of their homes in 1995, to date merely 123.000 Croatian citizens of Serbian nationality returned, constituting 40% of the total number of Serb refugees.[7]Returnees are deterred by a number of factors including uncleared minefields in some areas, questions about their eligibility to receive state benefits, and the possibility of some being indicted for war crimes. The process of return of refugees is moreover hampered by the lack of employment opportunities in the areas of return. The general level of security in Croatia has improved. Nevertheless, ethnically motivated incidents are still taking place in the areas of return.[8]
About 15.000 Albanians dwelling in Croatia originate mostly from nowadays Republic of Macedonia and the province of Kosovo. They are distributed throughout the country, but the biggest number dwells in the City of Zagreb, in the coastal regions such as the County of Primorje-Gorski Kotar and in Istria. Approximately 20.000 persons declared themselves as members of the Bosniak minority in the last census. The majority of the Bosniaks in Croatia had been declared as Muslims in the previous census while they opted for the term Bosniak in the latest census, after the Bosniak ethnicity has been ascertained in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most Bosniaks live in the City of Zagreb, in the County of Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar. 13.173 members of the Slovenian national minority were registered in the Republic of Croatia in 2001. Most Slovenians live in the City of Zagreb, in the County of Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Osijek-Baranja. 4.270 members of the Macedonian national minority were registered in the 2001 census, with a majority of them living in the City of Zagreb. Members of the Bosniak, Macedonian and Albanian minorities reside in bigger cities, since they have come to Croatia in great numbers in the last fifty years as a result of economic immigrations.
Circa 10.000 Czechs and Slovaks inhabit cities in the Podravina region (Bjelovar-BilogoraCounty). Slovaks are also found in the Osijek-BaranjaCounty. Approximately 16.000 Hungarians dwell in several towns and villages in the eastern region of the country, bordering the Serbian region Vojvodina, which as well has a significant number of inhabitants of Hungarian ethnic origin. Most Hungarians live in the County of Osijek-Baranja, Vukovar-Srijem and Bjelovar-Bilogora. Members of the Ukrainian and Ruthenian minorities live in the Vukovar-SrijemCounty. The largest number of Ruthenian's lives in the County of Vukovar-Srijem and Osijek-Baranja. Most Ukrainians live in the County of Vukovar-Srijem, Zagreb and Slavonski Brod -Posavina.
There are almost 10.000 registered Croatian Roma who predominantly dwell in several cities in the continental part of Croatia. The largest number of registered Roma lives in the County of Međimurje, in the City of Zagreb and the County of Osijek-Baranja. However, a great number of Roma tends not to report their ethnic origin in the census, therefore the official number is very likely wrong. The NGOs dealing with Roma estimate that there might be 40.000 Roma members in Croatia. Unofficial data, for example, say that there are about 9,000 Roma living in Zagreb. Data collected by NGOs estimate, that around 6000 Roma (or slightly more than 30% of the entire Roma population) live in 16 mostly non-urban settlements in the town of Čakovec, situated in the NorthWesternMeđimurjeCounty. This group of Roma predominantly faces segregation due to their language difference and their lack of knowledge of the official language. Roma in Eastern Slavonia are more proficient in the official language and therefore are able to integrate easier. As there is no standardised Roma language, it is not used for teaching and pupils from the Roma population are included in the regular educational system in the Croatian language.
2,902 members of the German national minority and 247 members of the Austrian national minority were registered in the Republic of Croatia in 2001. Most Germans live in the County of Osijek-Baranja, Zagreb and Split-Dalmatia. Most Austrians live in the City of Zagreb, the County of Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Istria. 576 members of the Jewish national minority were registered in the Republic of Croatia in 2001. Most Jews live in the City of Zagreb, in the County of Split-Dalmatia and Primorje-Gorski Kotar.[9]
Participation of minorities in state authorities and public sector
The CLNM guarantees to members of national minorities the right to be represented in the Croatian Parliament (Sabor). In accordance with the Electoral Law, out of 152 members of Parliament, eight are elected into Parliament as minority representatives.[10]
A special legal framework is in place regarding the rights of the Serb minority in the Danube region; this was established by the Erdut Agreement, a legal basis for the peaceful reintegration of the region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Sirmium into the constitutional and juridical system of the Republic of Croatia, which was signed in 1995, and the Government Letter of Intent of 1997. The Erdut Agreement granted assurances for minority representation, among them “the right of Serbs in Eastern Slavonia to be represented in local self-government, the right to have Serb sub-prefects in both counties of Eastern Slavonia and proportional representation in local health, police and judiciary.” The Agreement additionally foresaw four assistant ministers’ position for members of the Serb minority. In accordance with the agreement, the Serb minority is entitled to assistant minister positions in the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports. [11] Most of the rights guaranteed under the Erdut Agreement are transposed into the CLNM. Nevertheless, some specific rights that arise from the Letter of Intent, such as proportional representation in the police force and the judiciary and rights to minority schools still have a legal ground in this document.
The Agreement on Cooperation of the ruling HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) with the SDSS (Independent Democratic Serbian Party) signed in December 2003, in advance to a vote of confidence to Ivo Sanader’s Government, assured four additional assistant minister positions for the Serb minority; in the Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and in the Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development.[12] Nevertheless, the current government has failed to implement the coalition agreement with the Serb representatives in the Parliament and therefore has not nominated deputy ministers of Serb origin in the Ministry of Labour, Economy and Entrepreneurship and the Ministry of Health and Social Care in the two years of its government. Similar agreements were signed with the representatives of the Bosniak minority and the Italian minority MPs.[13]
2. Access to education and training
Literacy of Croatian population
The percentage of illiterates dropped from 3% in 1991 to 1.8% in 2001 of the total population. The 2001 census registered that 2.9 % of the entire population older than fifteen are illiterate (12.693 men and 57,084 women). Most illiterates are found amongst the population over 65 years of age and 80% of those are women, which is a consequence of their insufficient participation in the education in the past. Census results indicate that men up to 30 years of age form a slightly larger group of illiterates, but after the age of 30 the number of illiterate women grows so that at the age of 65 there are more illiterate women. Illiteracy among Roma minority members is drastically higher. According to the recently undertaken UNDP study, 14% of the Croatian Roma are illiterate which actually would be a much smaller number that generally perceived.[14] Contrary to this data, a survey conducted by the Centre for Education and Counselling Women in one of the Roma settlements in Zagreb found out, that the illiteracy rate of Roma was 80-90%.[15]The 2001 census reported that 15.7% of the population has incomplete elementary education, with 21.8% of the population having completed only elementary education and 40.1% of those completing secondary education.[16]
Overall institutional system of education
The existing educational system consists of pre-school education[17], primary and compulsory education[18], secondary education[19], higher education and life-long learning programmes. In 2004 there were 503 kindergartens registered in Croatia, with about 32% of the total number of children aged 1-6 (approximately 110.000) attending day care programmes. Only elementary education is compulsory. The official data report that there are 2.141 elementary school institutions in which 393.421 pupils are enrolled.[20]The Constitution and the Law on Primary Education oblige parents as well as the society as a whole to assure that children enrol in schools and that adequate conditions are provided for a solid education. Nevertheless, the fines for those parents who do not take care that their children complete elementary school are ridiculously low (approximately 300 kuna, equivalent to EUR 40). The greatest majority of elementary school pupils (98%) successfully finish primary school and 94% of them continue their education in secondary schools.Secondary education is a continuation of primary school and is characterized by several types of schools: grammar schools or gimnazija, vocational (technical and related schools or tehničke škole; craft schools or obrtničke škole and industrial and related schools or industrijske škole) and art schools or umjetničke škole) with the maximum duration of four years. The greatest problem of elementary and secondary education is insufficient differentiation. In 665 institutions of secondary education level there are 195.340 students attending various programmes.[21] After the completion of secondary education, pupils take a school-leaving exam (matura), which enables them to enrol at the university. Education at tertiary level is conducted at faculties, polytechnics, academies of arts and schools of higher education. They compose the universities of Zagreb, Split, Osijek, Zadar, Dubrovnik and Rijeka. There are 102 faculties in which 126.322 students are enrolled.[22] Private universities and two-year colleges can be founded with the consent of the MoSES after obtaining an opinion of the National Council of Higher Education.