STA, 11 November 2020 - Several stakeholders have urged the government to withdraw a provision from the sixth stimulus package bill which in effect equals university entry criteria for those who have taken only the vocational secondary school-leaving exam to the detriment of those who have taken the harder, general secondary-school leaving exam.
The National Examinations Centre, the Association of General Secondary Schools and the opposition SocDems believe it would increase discrimination of those who have passed the general matura exam and lower the level of general knowledge in society.
In Slovenia, general secondary schools, known as gymnasiums, offer broader knowledge as opposed to more specialised vocational schools, hence the fear the proposed change would result in a drop in general knowledge.
The call comes on Wednesday, a day after the government adopted the sixth stimulus bill, which is designed to help businesses and residents cope with the health crisis.
Its Article 55 changes the higher education act allowing secondary schools students who have passed the vocational matura exam to enrol, at a time of the changed epidemiological situation, in university courses regardless of which vocational secondary school they have completed.
Under the existing legislation, university courses are open to secondary school students with the general matura exam and with the vocational matura exam but from the same field in which they are enrolling.
The Education Ministry responded to the call, saying it would not insist on the changes which it said had been drawn up on recommendation by the National Agency for Quality in Higher Education (NAKVIS).
The National Examinations Centre said objective circumstances and educational standards remain the same for both groups of secondary school students during the epidemic, so there is no need to change university entry criteria, which would put secondary school students with the general matura in a discriminatory position.
Similarly, the Association of General Secondary Schools said there was no basis for putting vocational secondary school pupils in a privileged position. It noted the topic having been discussed many times before, but all expert bodies having agreed on the importance of broad general education.
It said the damaging practice of allowing vocational pupils to enrol in university courses, which violates the higher education act, had been around for some time, but the epidemic did not call for legislating past irregularities. It thus warned against reckless changes which could have irreparable consequences.
Meanwhile, SD vice-president and ex-Education Minister Jernej Pikalo said this was "an absolutely unacceptable proposal" which had nothing to do with expertise or with efforts to soften the consequences of the epidemic, while bringing the disintegration of the Slovenian educational system.
Both Pikalo and the Pergam association of trade unions said it was unacceptable to address such an important topic as part of an emergency law meant to cushion the epidemic's ramifications.
