STA, 28 December 2020 - Schools and institutions for special needs children might reopen on 5 January, a day after coronavirus testing is organised for the staff, Education Minister Simona Kustec said on Monday. Pupils in classes one through three of primary school are to be next to return.

The rest of pupils are expected back at schools by the end of January if all goes well, Kustec said as she arrived for a session of the parliamentary Education Committee called to discuss the return of students to brick-and-mortar schools.

The minister said that the relevant task force would adopt advice for the government on Wednesday, while the government would make a final decision by the end of the week.

Kustec said that the education and health ministries were finalising testing protocols. Those working with special needs children will be tested on 4 January, followed by staff working with students in the first three years of primary school.

Testing will be conducted at school premises by mobile teams provided by the Health Ministry, said Kustec, adding that schools had determined in internal polls last week that more than half of their staff would be tested.

If interest in testing is also expressed by parents, testing will be made available for children as well. But it will not be mandatory, the minister said.

On Saturday, the government's Covid-19 spokesman Jelko Kacin raised a lot of dust when he said that school staff would have to get tested over the New Year's weekend or else they could not come to work on Monday.

Health Ministry State Secretary Marija Magajne said at the government briefing today that testing would not be obligatory.

She added that should some decide not to get tested, it was a matter of employers to act in line with occupational hazard regulations.

The minister underlined today that the return to school must be safe and permanent, meaning that teachers, children and parents will have to follow safety protocols.

The Education Committee meanwhile backed the resolutions by the centre-left proponents of the session urging the government to allow special needs children to return to school as a priority.

It also backed a coalition-sponsored resolution urging the government to work towards a prompt and safe return of all primary and secondary school children to school as well as pre-school kids to kindergartens.

This was after a debate in which the MPs of the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), Left and the Social Democrats (SD) criticised the government for what they consider an arbitrary approach to closing and opening schools.

Željko Cigler of the Left said schools had been closed since early November, while no clear plan for their closure or reopening had been presented.

Minister Kustec said the plan of how children would return to school had been know for a while, adding that special needs children would go back to school next week.

Cigler claimed schools were not the main source of infections, but State Secretary Damir Orehovec said this was not true as the number of infections there had been growing fast when the decision to close them had been made.

Iva Dimic of the coalition New Slovenia (NSi) said not everything was as bad as the opposition would like to show.

"The situation is hard for everyone, for us and for parents, school children and teachers, and they are are doing their best," added Mojca Škrinjar of the ruling Democrats (SDS).

STA, 14 December 2020 - School will continue remotely at least until the end of the year given the demanding epidemiological situation. This is to protect the health of teachers as well as children, Education Minister Simona Kustec said on Monday.

Kustec said remote learning was generally going well and without major problems, and in the current circumstances it is the best possible way to ensure the right to education.

When the epidemiological situation improves, the priority will be to open schools, first for children in the first three years of primary school and for special-needs children.

Children with special needs will return to school as soon as experts give the green light. "We don't have this assessment yet," she told reporters on the margins of a National Assembly session.

After almost two months of severe restrictions, the government decided to relax some measures starting tomorrow. Schools are not included in the relaxation package.

The president of the Slovenian Headmasters' Association, Gregor Pečan, told the STA the decision was expected but expressed concern that industries with strong lobbying power might disrupt the course of restriction easing as laid out recently by the government.

He said that some of the easing planned for tomorrow caused confusion and uncertainty among teachers. "If this is only about the ability of individual lobbies to influence, this is unusual, at the very least, while I personally believe it is bad for citizens."

Even though he supports the efforts of the industrial chambers, Pečan is worried that the scheme of restriction easement will indeed work the way it has been set out. In case of lobbying, Pečan doubts the relevance of declaring the five epidemic stages that lay the foundation to restrict or impose different restrictions.

Commenting on Kustec's position that remote schooling was going without major issues, Pečan said: "It's definitely going better than in the first wave".

There are however still some technical issues, and parents find it harder to help their children because many more are working now than in the spring, he said.

STA, 3 December 2020 - The Constitutional Court has established that the temporary measures banning the gathering of people at educational establishments were extended with invalid government decisions. This means there is currently no legal basis for distance learning.

The court held that the decisions taken by the government and the education minister to extend the school closure are not valid.

It says it is aware the epidemiological situation in the country might not yet allow for people gathering at schools in such great numbers and that their reopening could require certain guidelines and organisations adjustments.

It therefore decided that its decision would enter into force three days after being published today in the Official Gazette, giving the government more time to act.

The court says the three-day window should give decision-makers enough time to reconsider whether such measures are indeed based on expertise and act adequately to potentially arrange what is needed to go back to in-person learning at schools.

The court is aware that the government could again decide to keep schools closed.

But it adds that given the current situation, conditions are met for temporary injunction on a government decision to close special needs schools.

The court had in effect ruled several months ago that government decisions regarding restrictive measures cannot be open-ended, which is why it ordered it to review them periodically, which is what the government has been doing.

Now, it held that by simply extending the measures without publishing formal decisions to that effect, its decisions are invalid.

Given that this is how most existing measures are extended, this may affect all restrictions.

The court was petitioned to deliberate on school closure by legal representatives of two special needs primary school pupils.

The judges took the decision in a 7:1 vote. Voting against was Klemen Jaklič, who announced a dissenting opinion.

STA, 26 November 2020 - As schooling continues remotely in Slovenia, the education minister has decreed measures that in effect reduce the number of required school marks this school year. Primary schools are advised against assessing pupils' work while classes are held online.

Under the decree signed by Minister Simona Kustec, the currently two assessment periods are being merged into one running from 1 September this year to 24 June 2021 for primary, secondary and music schools. For final year primary pupils it ends on 15 June 2021.

Assessments in primary school will be done in class. During remote classes teachers can also mark pupils individually.

However, recommendations issued by the National Education Institute that have been sent to schools along with the new rules, suggest primary schools should leave written or oral exams for when pupils return to school.

"Pupil's work for classes that are on the curriculum up to two periods a week, need to be assessed at least twice during the school year," the decree reads.

Pupils will need to get at least one mark for classes on subjects that come up less than twice a week, and at least three for subjects such as maths where there are more than two periods a week.

Pupil's work in music classes needs to be marked at least three times per the assessment period, but not all marks should be based on written assignments.

Secondary schools need to adjust assessment rules to the single assessment period.

The government has extended remote schooling for another week because the country is yet to see a meaningful improvement in the coronavirus situation.

Classes moved online for secondary school pupils and primary school pupils from the sixth grade on on 19 October, a week ahead of the autumn break, and the other pupils switched to distance learning after an extended two week break.

In its circuclar to schools, the Education Ministry said that "if everyone makes the effort and we improve the epidemiologic situation in Slovenia" return of at least part of pupils to class is likely from 7 December.

"We are in talks for pupils up to the third grade and all special needs children involved in adjusted programmes to return to schools first," the ministry said, referring to primary schools.

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 13 November 2020. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Criminal liability of govt over Covid-19

STA, 13 November 2020 – Mladina, the left-wing weekly, says that the puzzle showing Slovenia as a country with one of the largest Covid-19 death tolls per million people is being slowly but surely put together, and calls for criminal liability of the decision-makers in the government who the magazine believes are responsible for the situation.

Under the headline Criminal Liability, the left-leaning weekly says that the government has "consciously failed to establish a system in which those who should stay in isolation are provided with compensation for the loss of income".

A system which would solve this problem was put into the fifth coronavirus legislative package, which entered into force only on 24 October, two weeks ago and two weeks after the government had imposed a lockdown because the epidemic had got out of hand.

The media were warning the government about this already during the first wave, but they were ignored, and "today, the price of this unbelievable ignorance of the actual social situation is being paid by the entire Slovenia".

In the coming weeks, this price will be paid in the most brutal way by residents of care homes, Mladina says, criticising Minister Janez Cigler Kralj, who is in charge of social affairs, for failure to introduce regular and systematic testing of care home staff.

"Why they haven't been tested? This is an utter defeat that no other country is experiencing", and Cigler Kralj has done nothing while being nothing but a "sweet talker".

This also holds true for Education Minister Simona Kustec, as the education system has entered the second Covid-19 wave totally unprepared. Ahead of the new school year, her ministry took ineffective and illogical measures, which could simply not be realised without additional funds and staff.

"People should start thinking about criminal liability of these people, who have failed to do their jobs. They are sitting in the government," concludes the commentary.

Demokracija: Education in the West undermines patriotism

STA, 12 November 2020 - The latest trend in the West is teaching children that the history of their countries is horrible, based on racism, Christianity, sexism, and homophobia so as to undermine patriotism and pave the way to multiculturalism, the right-wing weekly Demokracija says in its latest editorial.

The weekly says the "education system that is convincing children how great multiculturalism is" is even more destructive than the media that are distancing themselves from Slovenia's independence like the public broadcaster did in case of a show presenting independence efforts 30 years ago.

"The goal is to use the education system and other subsystems to undermine patriotism and create a society of some kind of artistic performance where there will be no restrictions and everyone will be equal."

This idea is appealing to young people whose personalities are not fully developed yet. They are attracted by the rule of the street, and this results in riots, hooliganism and deliberate causing of unrest, which could be seen in the capital not only last Thursday but ever since the centre-right government took over.

"Encouraged by months of incitement by the media mainstream and the left opposition, the brainwashed 'protesters' can no longer make logical conclusions themselves, which is only an introduction into something much sinister.

"This is how it all started in Europe, where now not just militant leftist groups are raging the streets but where migrants walk around killing the autochthonous population - exclusively because people such as [Slovenian SocDems leader] Tanja Fajon were on the covers and in prime time shows saying that the right response to violence and Islamic terrorism is 'solidarity and lighting of candles'.

"Such liberal and emphatic ideology is nothing but a suicide pill," Demokracija says under the headline Suicide Pill.

All our posts in this series are here

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.

Dyslexia week was in October, when this story was supposed to run, but take too much work, add a little kitten and set against a background of all the news in the world, and things get forgotten.

Luckily, the KOBI app isn’t a time limited offer, but a full made in Slovenia tool to help children with reading difficulties. Intended for those aged 6 to 12, it provides an essential suite of tools, including the proven technique of coloured letters,  to help poor readers (re)gain confidence and independence, and learn to love the worlds opened up by books. 

We got in touch with the team behind KOBI, and they were kind enough to answer our questions

What problem does the app address?

Reading is still the foundation of learning and everyday communication. Many intelligent children with reading difficulties fail to acquire sufficient reading  fluency to succeed academically and even have problems in everyday life. Research has shown that a lot of psychological issues in children and even a large portion of minor suicides stem in learning difficulties. Moreover, when a child is not learning to read as expected this oftentimes becomes a source of conflict between the parents and the school, which leads to an even more stressful environment for the child.

Our clients are thus parents of children with moderate to severe reading problems between the ages of 6 to 12. The school system requires parents to read with their child, but does not direct them how best to do this.

And here we should not that we’re talking about children who don’t like to read. Reading is painful for them. Even short sessions often end with anger, stubbornness and tears. Their parents are looking for ways to motivate and make reading easier. There is still a stigma attached to the problem of learning to read, which is why parents and schools often wait until problems become intolerable. 

In contrast, we’re positioned in the “early aid” segment. Our solution does not require any diagnostics because it supports the learning process as it happens with all children. It therefore closes the gap between the first signs of problems and the conclusion of a typically long lasting diagnostic process.

Learning to read is a tough job. It requires a lot of repetition, training and patience. We believe that parents and educators must work hand in hand to support a child as long as it is necessary to gain this skill of life-long importance. And as any skill you only master it by doing it. 

KOBI is focusing on reading connected text, which is a crucial part of the learning to read. Many parents cannot afford to hire a professional tutor and thus they are challenged to become reading tutors themselves. They need evidence-based, easy to use, efficient solutions, that can be adopted to any reading curriculum.

So how does KOBI it work?

KOBI is a mobile app. You install it on your phone or preferably tablet. You can pick a book from our growing library or simple take pictures of a book you have at hand. Then you let your child choose modifications of the text. The main feature of  KOBI are the “coloured letters”. 

By giving a certain colour to a letter or letter combination the brain receives additional sensory input that helps the child with some specific issues. For example, one of the things kids struggle with are so-called letter reversals. They mix up similar shapes such as b/d/p/q, u/n, e/a. However, with colours the brain can very quickly learn that a b is red, so the problem is solved. Since letter reversals are a developmental issue it will disappear with time, but in the meantime the use of colour will prevent a lot of frustration, and help the child to read more fluently.

KOBI also has tools such as focus frame and word-to-speech, and it tracks the reading practice. All these tools together help the child and keep them motivated, so they continue to improve

What special features does it have compared to the competition?

Overall, the key advantage of KOBI is its mix of functionalities and the fact that it can be used to support any school curriculum. Selective colouring of letters is one of the unique features, and while the interface is in four languages – English, Slovene, Spanish and Dutch – but you can import books in any western language. The interface that’s used by the child is completely icon-based, and can be easily operated by a seven year old.

How is it being used in the real world?

In Slovenia KOBI has already been widely adopted  by special education teachers and, of course, parents. Abroad it’s mainly used in a home setting to help with reading practice, required reading materials or simply to adjust any materials that the child would like to read but the print is not suitable. The letters are too small, for example.

What feedback have you had from users?

Users tell us that KOBI is a game changer for children who struggle with letter reversals, as well as lack of motivation for reading. Parents get very emotional when they see that their child can not only suddenly read, but wants to read. Still, the secret of success here is perseverance and grit. Learning to read requires a lot of practice, especially for kids, even with the support of technology.

Who works at the company?

There are four cofounders. Andrej Peršolja, with a background in journalism and who is responsible for content and growth, Marko Fornazarič, our all-round developer, Auke Touwslager, designer and visionary, and Ursula Lavrenčič, a designer who five years ago took a deep dive into the pedagogics of reading.

What's next for KOBI?

We have many goals ahead. We are working on the next big update of the product, putting in everything we have learned. We are fine-tuning the business model and target number one is to get a foothold in English-speaking markets. Our mission is to build a product that will be in the toolkit of every family of a child who struggles with learning to read, and to help them become enthusiastic, independent readers.

You can find out more about the app, and download it for Apple or Android devices, here, with the website offered in English, Slovenian, Spanish and Dutch. You can also follow the project on Facebook

STA, 21 October 2020 - There were technical issues preventing some students from participating in remote learning when students from grade 6 switched top remote learning on Monday. The authorities say the kinks have now been ironed out and the system is robust enough even if all students switch to remote learning.

On Monday many students reported having problems logging into accounts that were set up specifically to access online classrooms run by the Academic and Research Network of Slovenia (ARNES), which provides internet infrastructure for educational and research institutions in Slovenia.

On Tuesday there were still some glitches with the online classrooms, while today ARNES witness two distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks, at 8am, when most students were logging in, and again at 10am. The online classrooms were therefore unavailable for roughly 15 minutes, but both attacks were successfully deflected, ARNES said today.

ARNES director Marko Bonač provided assurances that the problems have been sorted out as he met with Education Ministry State Secretary Jure Gašparič today. "I hope it stays this way," he said.

Gašparič said the system was now "sufficiently robust and resilient" even if students from grades one to five of primary school were to switch to remote learning now.

Education Minister Simona Kustec expressed regret and said she expected the system will be stable in the future. "I hope that this was a beginners' mistake that will not happen again because it must not happen."

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia

At the British International School of Ljubljana staff, parents and pupils have started the transition to online learning, following the new government measures in effect from Monday 19^th October.  This transition for students to follow a full timetable of lessons online each day is just one of the stages that have been implemented by the school since the academic year started at the end of August 2020.

As with many schools, a thorough and detailed five-stage strategic plan had been created to enable the students to continue receiving a high-quality provision of education should there be an increase in Coronavirus cases. 

This plan included working closely with parents, staff and students to gather feedback, further enhancing onsite and online safety procedures, providing exciting online courses, developing the staff with a range of training opportunities, and then planning a seamless transition for students from the physical classroom to an online environment.  The school has also set up regular communication routines to celebrate student achievement, support individuals with their work, and to keep parents up to date with any advice or changes to guidance.

The online lessons include not just the academic classroom-based subjects such as English and Mathematics, but a full schedule of Performing and Visual Arts, Physical Education and Languages for the students to attend and enjoy.

A typical day might include English, Mathematics, and Slovene lessons before break, then Geography, Art and a Physical Education class with theory followed by a keep-fit session with all students actively involved before lunch, finishing the online school day with Music and Form time where students can reflect on their day with the support of their Form Tutor.  During this time, both physical and mental wellbeing are very important as students seek a balance between schoolwork and healthy living.  The students start the day with a brief video meeting with their Form Tutor for any urgent announcements, helpful organisation tips and group activities to complete before the online lessons begin.  This is an effective use of time to bring the students together, support with any concerns, and set a positive tone for the during this challenging time.

The students have thus far been incredibly mature, upbeat and receptive during the transition to online learning, and with a familiar timetable in place, the students can attend all classes online, revisit activities to consolidate learning or challenge themselves further to stretch ahead and learn more.  The lessons observed so far have had a real ‘buzz’, interest and excitement as many of the students are helping each other and continuing to develop their own technological expertise.  For parents, all curriculum plans are readily accessible, allowing them to see a complete overview of the units that the students will cover for the entire academic year, for every year group and every subject.

The Principal, Mr Paul Walton, commented, “We are very proud of the strategic plan we put in place from May 2020 when we returned to the school premises, we are now seeing the significant impact of all of the effort by our dedicated and passionate teachers.  Although initially this can be seen as extra work to improve policies, attend training sessions, and develop innovative online content, we can now see first-hand how the students are benefiting from this forward-thinking approach. It has also been a pleasure to support and share best practice with other schools here in Slovenia, as we are all working towards the same goal, I have been delighted to be able to contribute to this.”

In school, all events are held online, including a recent virtual coffee morning with the Principal, and useful workshops for parents to equip them with the tools to support their child’s learning at home further. Recordings of online events are then sent out to parents with further information.  They continue to follow the highest standards of hygiene and health and safety guidelines for the students and staff who continue to work in the building.

Positive feedback from our families at school reacting to the online learning transition and our communication.

In relation to this, during Thursday 15^th October, the school had its Ministry of Education visit as part of the nationwide checks on schools.  It received a 100% compliance result, including no further targets or areas to improve.  It included an interview with the Principal, a comprehensive check on policies, procedures and security, a tour of the site, visits to classrooms, checks of safety measures, signage/instructions for students to follow and other important preventative measures that schools are following during this time.  With the small class sizes at the British International School of Ljubljana, impressive quality of teaching and personalised learning methodology, they are able to create a very positive and safe environment for students to learn in.

The school has already received a large number of positive comments and encouraging feedback from parents on how the online provision has been set up, communicated swiftly and the ease of which the transition was handled.

The bridge connecting the two buildings is already visible and this new project will be a wonderful showcase entrance to the school building.   

Along with the developments in online learning, the school continues to grow with its new additional building progressing extremely well.  The new building will include a range of outstanding facilities to enhance the pedagogical opportunities offered for its students, such as a performing arts theatre with six sound proofed adjoining practice rooms, a robotics lab, computer suite, new library and large specialist classrooms.  The bridge connecting the two buildings is already visible and this new project will be a wonderful showcase entrance to the school building.   

The British International School of Ljubljana benefits from being part of the Orbital Education Group,  where there is a continued focus on offering a provision of high-quality education across all the schools. Find out more about the British International School of Ljubljana here.

Finally, the British International School of Ljubljana is hosting a Virtual Open Day for prospective families at 10am on Tuesday November 17 - find out more here if you are interested in joining the event. 

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 25 September 2020. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Education Ministry rebuked for situation at schools

STA, 25 September 2020 – Mladina, the left-wing weekly, criticises the government and Education Ministry for "sending the education system into the corona-autumn completely unprepared". It says in Friday's editorial that all staff at schools, not just teachers, are on the verge of exhaustion and that the system could easily collapse.

No additional teachers and kitchen or cleaning staff - vital to keep the system going in the difficult times - was hired, the idea for teaching in shifts was not examined and no plan was made to adjust teaching for individual subjects in case face masks have to be worn, says editor-in-chief Grega Repovž.

Talking with a face mask for six hours in a classroom is hard and calls for adjustment. "But how could have the ministry made the plan when it had claimed there would be no masks," the editor wonders.

"The ministry has let schools down," he says, adding that teachers who cannot wear masks for health reasons were given no concessions, and while healthcare workers are entitled to coronavirus testing, no such testing was provided for teachers.

Instead of providing masks free of charge for teachers and children, the government provided 500,000 disposable masks for the entire education system. The figure is bizzarely low, given that 200,000 children and youth go to school every day, whereas masks free of charge are said to be provided to small businesses.

Mladina says Education Minister Simona Kustec should not resign because of a minor mistake of not wearing a mask at a gala dinner, but so that somebody who is up to the challenge takes over at her office.

The entire government has failed to deliver, with the education system breaking down three weeks after the new school year started, and a similar fiasco can be observed in other systems, such as public transport, Mladina says.

It suffices to look at healthcare to see what education is in for. While doing nothing to prepare the healthcare system for the autumn, it is clear already that the government will use the situation to quickly and mercilessly privatise it. Laboratories are the first to go.

Reporter: Slovenian healthcare not public but state-run

STA, 21 September 2020 - The right-wing weekly Reporter is critical of an expected rise of the compulsory healthcare insurance, saying it signals a potential continuation of the decline of the healthcare system even under the centre-right Janez Janša government.

Speaking of continuing systemic issues, Reporter argues in its latest commentary Slovenia does not have public healthcare, but state-run healthcare that prevents access to all the doctors available in the country and to direly needed services in time.

Moreover, the system is rife with corruption, with some of those distributing the public funds also representing those vying for them, the weekly says under The Millionaires and the Victims of 'Public Healthcare'.

"People known best in the public for calls for public healthcare can afford fast and private healthcare...When they are told the waiting line for tests is six months or more, they go to a private doctor and get treatment within a few days.

"The 'small people' in whose name the former ones are raising their voice on the other hand cannot afford this. They can stand in line and hope their condition does not deteriorate drastically in the meantime. This happens after years of paying compulsory insurance in order to have access to healthcare."

All our posts in this series are here