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Zagreb - Parliament on Wednesday night held a debate on an opposition motion for a no-confidence vote in Science and Education Minister Blaženka Divjak, with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković saying he would persevere in the education reform which, he added, represented a unique strategic step forward.
The government previously dismissed the motion signed by 31 opposition MPs led by the Social Democratic Party. The opposition demanded a no-confidence vote in Divjak because of the situation in the education system, the non-implementation of the education reform and her responsibility for the longest teachers' strike in Croatia.
Plenković said that during his government, the Science and Education Ministry's budget was raised from HRK 13.8 billion to HRK 18.6 billion and that 40 new curricula were introduced.
As for the teachers' strike, he said an agreement was reached with the education unions that salaries would go by 23.5% by October.
Divjak said the opposition motion was politicking, that she had improved the system and that the curricular reform was being implemented in all schools.
"We have received three positive reports from the European Commission which assessed the reform as ambitious and done according to plan," she said, adding that 90% of parents said they were pleased that their children were included in the experimental education programme.