STA, 11 July 2022 - A total of 5,194 final-year secondary school students or some 95% passed the national school-leaving exam, known as the matura exam, which is close to last year's 97%. Eighteen students scored all points and three students passed the international matura without losing a single point.

Secondary school students were also joined in the exams by those who attended the matura exam courses and some adults, so in total 5,288 candidates passed the tests or 94.4% of all who took it for the first time. Last year the share was 96%, show data released by the National Examinations Centre on Monday.

A total of 302 students passed the matura exams with flying colours, the same as last year, while the number of candidates that scored all points is up by three compared to last year.

The international version of the matura exam was organised at three schools in the country, with a total of 66 Slovenian students and 29 foreigners taking it. 52 students passed it with flying colours and three Slovenians scored all points. Last year, ten Slovenians scored the maximum number of points.

Meanwhile, the national school-leaving exam for vocational students was passed by 7,116 or just over 91% of students, which is slightly down from last year's 94%. A total of 296 students passed it with flying colours, while last year the number was 552. This year 93 candidates scored all points, while last year this number was higher as well, at 179.

The matura exam is a test that serves as an admission to higher education. The autumn exams will take place between 24 August and 3 September.

STA, 21 May 2022 - A survey by a student employment agency has found that the student work market has changed significantly in recent years for many reasons, and almost half of students would now like to perform hybrid work. Most of them expect a monthly wage of up to EUR 1,000 in their first job.

The survey carried out among 1,012 young people this month was presented by Vesna Miloševič Zupančič of e-Študentski Servis at a recent event in Ljubljana on shortened working time.

It showed that 43% of the respondents would like to perform hybrid work (remote work, work at the employer's seat and field work), 29% said they would work only at the employer's seat, 23% would work only remotely and 4% only do field work.

Around 40% of the respondents said it would be difficult for them to afford studying without student work, 21% said this was partly true and 38% said that this was not the case.

When it comes to the monthly net wage for the first employment, most of the respondents (41%) said up to EUR 1,000, 38% said up to EUR 1,500, 12% up to EUR 757.56 (minimum wage), 6% up to EUR 2,000, and 3% more than EUR 2,000.

Almost half of the students want a standard work schedule of five days a week and eight hours a day, and 27% would like to work part-time (various combinations, including a four-day working week).

Some 6% would like to perform project work (for example, more than eight hours a day, then several months off), and 14% do not think about this yet. It is notable that as many as 59% still want employment on a regular basis.

Miloševič Zupančič rejected the notion that young people do not want to work, noting that two-thirds of young people in Slovenia perform student work for an average of nine hours a week, earning EUR 200 euros a month on average.

She said that young jobseekers had changed greatly in recent years, that young people knew their labour rights and knew how to stand up for themselves, while the reputation of the employer was also important to them.

Young people are becoming increasingly interested in professional work and work related to their education, they look for work that brings important competences, lead to regular employment, and is important for their career development, she added.

They are generally digitally literate and prefer to communicate digitally, they adapt quickly to changes in the labour market, speak multiple languages, and pick jobs more strategically.

On the other hand, they are not always responsive, they spend a lot of time on their phones, they sometimes fail to show up to work, they give up quickly and are used to being serviced and entertained, Milošević Zupančič said.

The student work market has also changed. Demand is high while the number of eligible students has dropped by a third compared to ten years ago - due to demographics, legislative restrictions and students focusing on their studies.

In addition, student work has been significantly more expensive since 2015, with the minimum hourly rate set at EUR 5.21 net, and with EUR 100 in net earning for a student costing the employer EUR 167.06 due to various contributions.

STA, 6 April 2022 - The National Assembly endorsed an opposition bill on the status of university students that will raise state scholarships by 20% by 2024, increase funding set aside for the construction of student dorms, and raise meal subsidies.

Another notable feature is that a large share of income earned through student work and scholarships, up to the level of minimum wage, will be exempted from means testing.

There are also provisions on assistance to special-needs students, according to Speaker Igor Zorčič.

The bill was tabled by five opposition deputy groups and was initially rejected by the government, but Education Ministry State Secretary Mitja Slavinec said amendments attached on committee made it acceptable.

The legislation was confirmed in a cross-partisan vote. Several deputy groups said it was a long overdue improvement for students that would make their studies easier.

In a separate vote, the National Assembly endorsed a bill to equalise the minimum gross hourly pay for pensioners with the minimum rate for student work.

Pensioners will thus get the same rate as students for work they are allowed to do after retirement, though the net pay will be slightly different due to differences in contributions.

The rate has been set at EUR 4.49 net for pensioners, which is 29 cents more, as the coalition rejected the idea of the original proponents of the bill, the opposition Left, that the rate should be equal on a net basis.

STA, 8 September 2021 - Responding to an allegation of discrimination leveraged by a youth trade union, the Faculty of Medicine in Maribor has said it did not accept any non-EU first-year candidates for the coming academic year because of a shortage of staff and space constrains.

This year the faculty, acting on the government's decision to increase enrolment posts, increased the number of posts for first-year students from Slovenia and the EU by 10 to 106, which it said is its upper limit.

While not accepting any foreigners from non-EU countries, the faculty accepted two ethnic Slovenians without Slovenian citizenship, it told the STA on Wednesday.

Under the country's higher education rules, ethnic Slovenians without Slovenian citizenship are prioritised over foreigners from non-EU countries, it explained.

The reaction comes a day after the Mladi Plus trade union accused the Maribor and Ljubljana medical faculties of "discrimination based on nationality" for turning down all non-EU citizens who wanted to get enrolled in first year.

It found it particularly problematic the candidates had received the news when it had been already too late to apply at other faculties, and cited rather vague reasons given for not even considering the candidates' applications.

The trade union said that 123 third-country candidates had been turned down, of whom 101 at the Ljubljana faculty and the rest in Maribor. Its data shows that foreign students represent almost 10% of all students studying in Slovenia, of whom more than half come from the Western Balkans.

The Maribor faculty said today that it had based its decision on a similar decision by the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine.

In February, the government increased the number of available posts for students of medicine at both medical faculties by 50 to 271. It also increased the number of posts for ethnic Slovenians without Slovenian citizenship and for students from non-EU countries by 88 to 2,365 posts for 2021/2022.

STA, 7 September - Mladi Plus, a union representing students, pupils and the jobless under 35, has accused the Ljubljana and Maribor medical faculties of turning down all non-EU citizens who wanted to get enrolled with a vague explanation, alleging "discrimination based on nationality". The STA is awaiting the medical schools to respond to the allegation.

Mladi Plus, or Youth Plus, said on Tuesday that some places at Slovenian faculties are annually reserved for ethnic Slovenians without citizenship and foreign students.

It said the non-EU candidates had been promised at open days that the Ljubljana and Maribor universities would accept all of them if they met entry requirements.

But at the end of August, when it was already too late to apply to study at other faculties, they were told their applications would not be even considered.

The explanation was that all the places had been reserved for Slovenians without Slovenian citizenship, which the trade union said had never happened before.

The union finds problematic the fact the candidates, who had turned to it for help, had received the news when it was too late to apply at other faculties.

The number of rejected candidates is 123, of whom 101 at the Ljubljana faculty, said Youth Plus, which is affiliated with the country's largest trade union association, ZSSS.

It also said the chancellors and deans do not respond to invitations for a meeting with the candidates, while university services said the rejected candidates had the right to appeal.

The trade union said that foreign students represent almost 10% of all students studying in Slovenia, of whom more than half come from the Western Balkans.

STA, 12 August 2021 - The country is introducing the rule of being tested for or vaccinated against Covid or having recovered from it for a number of activities, while abolishing free rapid tests. While these will be paid for by employers for the workers who need them to do their job, university and secondary school students will have to pay for them themselves.

Student representatives strongly oppose having to pay for rapid testing themselves, which will be no longer free of charge from 23 August, except for some groups.

They will cost EUR 12, and are expected to have to be taken every two days, since a rapid antigen test result is valid for 48 hours.

At present, workers in healthcare, care homes and schools who have not been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid have to be tested once a week.

The government is expected to make it into a rule that all education workers must meet the recovered-vaccinated-tested (PCT) rule as of 16 August, when exam resits begin.

Health Ministry State Secretary Franc Vindišar said everything was ready to launched voluntary self-testing at home as the new school year starts on 1 September.

Compulsory vaccination for education workers is not being considered, while self-testing for kids in the last three years of primary school is to be introduced.

If the epidemiological situation remains as it is now, self-testing will also be introduced for secondary schools students, the state secretary said.

However, he said the option of a PCT rule for secondary schools was also being considered.

He also announced compliance for university students would be checked with digital technologies. He favours a QR code scanner to be installed at entries to faculties.

The state secretary said a meeting between representatives of students, faculties, health and education ministries would be held this month to discuss details.

He also welcomed the fact that students have accepted the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule as a way of keeping universities open.

However, while university and secondary schools student representatives understand the need for the rule, they oppose payable testing and urge self-testing for secondary school students and teachers, while complaining about the lack of information.

Organisations representing secondary schools students fear that poorer students will not be able to afford rapid tests.

Frančiška Al-Mansour, head of the Association of Secondary Schools, would prefer keeping once-a-week self-testing from the end of the last school year for students.

The Student of Organisation of Slovenia (ŠOS) is meanwhile surprised at the Health Ministry's statement that student organisations support the new conditions.

ŠOS head Andrej Pirjevec said "free testing is the only way for public education to be truly accessible in the coming school year, so we will do everything for tests to remain free of charge".

Pirjevec urged teachers and students at all levels of education to get vaccinated, with Vindišar calling on teachers to do so to serve as a role model to others.

Among those proposing for the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule to be introduced at higher education institutions was the Chancellors' Conference.

"If we want to return to in-person study process, PCT is an urgently needed basis to ensure everyone's safety and health," said Zdravko Kačič, the head of the Chancellors' Conference.

He also said that universities were not in a position to cover the costs of self-tests.

The Youth Council also welcomed the PCT system as a solution to allow all schoolchildren and students to return to schools and colleges in the autumn, but they believe secondary and university students should be eligible for free tests.

The state secretary said the idea behind new rules was to keep schools open even in the worst-case epidemic scenario.

He also told the press as he visited Cerknica that epidemiologists are still able to follow contacts of the infected persons.

But with the reproduction number increasing at the current rate, they could easily no longer be able to do so in 15 days.

STA, 11 August 2021 - Compliance with the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule will be a prerequisite for attending university lectures in the next academic year, Health Ministry State Secretary Franc Vindišar has said. The ministry proposes voluntary self-testing for secondary school students, but if Slovenia enters tier red, they will need the Covid certificate.

"Our wish is for schools to stay open. We know that was a major issue in the past and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport will do its best to ensure they remain open," Vindišar told the press on Wednesday.

He said that student organisations had agreed to the condition of Covid certificate compliance in the case of university lectures.

The ministry's Covid-19 advisory group proposed the same rule for secondary schools, but "everyone wishes to move forward with the gradual model", which envisages Covid certificate compliance as a prerequisite for in-person education after the country moves to the red phase of epidemiological status under criteria by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the state secretary said.

In primary schools, pupils in the last three years could get self-tested if they wish so. If there should be any outbreaks or clusters of coronavirus cases in individual areas, local schools might be closed, however, generally speaking, the ministry will aim to keep schools open, he said.

Vindišar also noted that the vaccination rate among school workers was not sufficient with the ministry urging them to get a jab. According to some sources, the rate stands at approximately 50%.

National Institute of Public Health head Milan Krek called on youths to get vaccinated as well, pointing out that the latest cases most frequently stem from the 15-24 age group. The average age of the infected is 33, he added.

Vindišar said vaccination trends were not favourable as the figures were much too low to contain the epidemic, warning that the situation was deteriorating.

Currently, almost 40% of the population has been fully immunised and 45% has received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Some 31% of the 18-24 age group have been fully protected against Covid-19 and 37% has been jabbed once.

The ministry intends to launch additional mobile vaccination services next week as such units have proved successful, particularly in the countryside.

The Jožef Stefan Institute said today the country has already moved to the orange phase under ECDC criteria and will, given the current trend, move to red in early September.

Such epidemiological developments mean that the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule will have to become mandatory in all areas, including healthcare, education, the hospitality sector, culture, sports and public life, Vindišar said.

STA, 20 July 2021 - A group of 40 MPs led by the Left has tabled legislation revoking the requirement that foreign students must provide upfront proof of sufficient funding for their entire stay in Slovenia, which was enacted in May and has reportedly led to many students being unable to get temporary residency permits.

The amendments to the act on aliens enacted in May "prevent students already in Slovenia from continuing their studies, and prevent new students from enrolling in university," Left MP Primož Siter said on Tuesday.

The move comes in the aftermath of media reports showing that foreign students were having trouble proving their financial situation, even as the Interior Ministry claimed nothing had changed except the type of evidence they must present.

Siter said the legislation had unduly tightened conditions for studying in Slovenia by requiring students prove they have at least EUR 5,000 on their bank account, an amount he said was impossible for many to secure.

Previous legislation merely required that students present a statement from their parents to the effect that they will finance their children for the duration of their stay in Slovenia.

The motion to revoke the requirement has been signed by centre-left opposition deputy groups and the MP for the Italian minority.

STA, 9 June 2021 - Non-EU students who want to study in Slovenia must prove they have EUR 5,000 per academic year available to obtain a temporary residence permit under the recent changes to the foreigners' act. This has upset students and universities, while the government says only the manner in which students prove they have sufficient means has changed.

Before the latest changes kicked in on 27 May, foreign students had to produce a written statement by their parents or legal guardians that they will support them during their studies in Slovenia.

Now a non-EU student has to prove in advance they have EUR 5,000 or EUR 402 per month (minimum monthly income) before applying for a temporary residency permit.

Foreign students, student representatives and universities see the new requirement as stricter than it used to be, arguing it could hurt Slovenia's higher education space.

They are also not sure whether the new rule also apply to non-EU students who are already studying in Slovenia, so they have asked the interior and education ministries for explanation.

The Interior Ministry said today the changes to the foreigners act, passed in March, only change the manner in which students must prove that they have enough funds.

The changes transpose the EU directive which says a foreign citizen must prove in a procedure to have enough funds to live on in order not to eat into the host country's social security system, the ministry said.

A foreign student will still be able to prove to have enough means with the income of their parents, but the body processing their request will not check if the parents have the means to support the whole family, only if they have the minimum monthly income of EUR 402 to support the student.

The Slovenian Student Organisation (ŠOS) announced on 28 May efforts to change the new rules, arguing they were not in line with the country's strategy on the internationalisation of higher education.

ŠOS promotes the right to studies for Slovenians and foreigners "to attract the best students who will improve Slovenian higher education and hopefully the labour market".

ŠOS president Andrej Pirjevec said that foreign students were no less able to take care of their social security than their Slovenian peers.

The chancellors of public universities meanwhile suggested on Monday that different interpretation should apply to those who have already enrolled.

The Education Ministry has told the STA that Italy and Austria have similar financial arrangements for non-EU students.

It also said it was in "intensive talks" with the Interior Ministry to make sure a scholarship counts towards the means a student has to support themselves.

There are 71,960 students studying at Slovenia's higher education establishments in the 2020/21 academic year. Over 7,680 of them are from abroad, of whom 5,527 from non-EU countries.

STA, 8 June 2021 - The results of a survey by Legebitra, an advocacy group for LGBTI rights, have shown that schools are not safe spaces for members of the LGBT community. One in four LGBT students reported of having often heard homophobic remarks at school, and in more than half of the cases, school staff did not intervene.

In a study entitled LGBT Youth - Breaking the Silence in Schools, which was conducted in 2019, Slovenian LGBT students presented their experiences of discrimination at schools. The results showed that 11% of LGBT students did not intend to complete their secondary education.

According to the study, students who have often been targets of attacks and remarks because of their sexual orientation are less likely to continue their education. One in four surveyed LGBT students reported often hearing homophobic remarks at school.

Only 13% of respondents said that school staff always or almost always intervened when homophobic remarks were made, 54% of them reported that school staff never intervened, and 33% of students observed school staff intervening occasionally.

Meanwhile, 41% of LGBT students felt that school staff responses to reports of harassment or assault were ineffective. Only around 11% of students felt that school staff responded to reports of harassment or assault very effectively, while 48% of students felt that their intervention was somewhat effective.

Legebitra also warned in a press release that homophobic, biphobic, transphobic and sexist language and other prejudice-based remarks create an unsafe school environment that can lead to LGBT people not fulfilling their potential.

The study involved 602 people aged 16-21. The average age of the participants, who came from all regions of Slovenia, was 17.4 years.