Primary Education in Serbia

Primary education in Serbia is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Sciences and it is compulsory for all children.  Students start the 1st grade in the year they turn 7. It means that all children in a class were born in the same year, except for a few exceptions. Primary school is divided into two stages: Lower Grades (1st to 4th grade) and Upper Grades (5th to 8th grade).

Lower Grades

Class system is somewhat unique to Serbia and the Balkans. Right before the start of a school year, all 1st grade students are assigned to classes. The number of classes depends on the number of students enrolling in the 1st grade. The maximum class size is 30 students. Each class is also assigned a teacher.

After a student is assigned to a class, he or she remains in the same class for the next 8 years. Students don’t switch between classes, and they don’t attend any subject periods with students from other classes. The only exception is P.E. and sometimes Religion.

Only one teacher is responsible for a single class. Teachers take a class of 1st grade students and continue to teach them throughout the lower grades – until the 4th grade, after which they take a new class of 1st grade students. A lower grades primary school teacher (sr. učitelj) teaches all subjects to the class (sometimes, there is one more teacher for English and P.E).

At the start of each year, students are handed a class schedule, which is usually created by their teacher.

The school day lasts 5 or 6 hours. There are two shifts in most urban schools, called Morning shift and Afternoon shift. Shifts are switched depending on the school. In general, they are switched weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or, rarely, annually.

Classes are also numerated. For example, if there are three classes in the first grade, they will be named First 1, First 2 and First 3. When they pass to the next grade, they become Second 1, Second 2 and Second 3… and so on until the 8th grade.

Upper Grades

In the 5th grade, students are no longer taught by the same teacher as in the lower grades. Instead, they have a new teacher for each subject; teachers almost always have a Bachelor’s degree in the subject they teach.

In Serbia, upper grades last from 5th to 8th grade (until 14 or 15 years of age).

At the start of the 5th grade, students are assigned a whole new set of teachers. Each teacher teaches a different subject (and they usually do not change until the 8th grade).

Each class is also assigned the Head Teacher. It is a teacher responsible for a certain class. Their duties range from addressing issues such as students’ behaviour and bad grades, organizing parents’ meetings and talking to students about upcoming events and trips, as well as organizing them, and preparing students from them. One Head Teacher can only be responsible for a single class.

Graduation

At the end of the 8th grade, students take The Graduation Exam (sr. Matura), which is compiled of many different subjects previously taught.

Around the time of graduation, there is an event called T-Shirt Signing (sr. Potpisivanje majica). On that day, 8th grade students wear a white T-shirt and have other students, teachers and friends sign their names on the T-shirts.

There is also a graduation party, similar to a prom night, called “Mala matura”. It is a farewell party which all 8th grade students and their teachers attend. They dress in formal attire and gather in front of their school. Afterwards, students are each given their Diploma in a place such as a theater (or a similar institution or room) in front of an audience consisted of their parents and friends. After that, they go to an elegant restaurant, where they have dinner, and listen and dance to a live performance concert of traditional music.

School Curriculum

Lower Grades

Primary school students in lower grades have both compulsory and elective subjects, which are all taught by one teacher (except P.E. and electives). The list of compulsory subjects is as follows:

Serbian Language

• 1st Grade – Students have 5 classes of Serbian language per week. In 1st grade, they learn how to read and write in Cyrillic alphabet. When it comes to literature, they read various fairy tales, fables and short stories. They are also introduced to basic grammar and spelling rules.

Mathematics

• 1st Grade – students have 5 classes of Math a week, where they learn how to tell position, size and shape of different objects and lines; they learn how to tell, count and calculate numbers, and how to do basic measurements.

English language

• 1st Grade – students learn basic English vocabulary and grammar.

World around us

• 1st Grade – students have 2 classes a week. In this subject, they learn basic principles of behaviour at school and home; basic needs and rights of themselves and other people; health and personal hygiene; protection in natural disasters and dangerous situations and how to protect themselves on the way from home to school; how to differentiate between man-made and natural objects; about natural environment (bodies of water, plants, animals, body parts, human senses; how to save water, dispose of garbage and protect the environment.

Music

In the class, students listen to music, sing and play it. They usually learn how to play a musical instrument (most commonly the synthesizer). In case a student is talented in singing, they may be chosen to perform in the school choir.

Art

In the Visual arts class, students learn about the arts and they also learn how to draw, paint, create collage, make figures using Plasticine or clay, and similar. When it comes to drawing and painting, they learn how to use different types of graphite pencils, coloured pencils, watercolors, tempera paints and wax pens.

Religion / Civics

Students choose one of the two. Religion / Civics – Students choose one of the two.

Physical Education

Depending on school, there are other electives students may choose. They include Keepers of Nature, National tradition, From Toy to Computer, Calligraphy and Baking.