Elementary schools for youth and adults in Slovenia at the end of the school year 2007/08 and at the beginning of the school year 2008/09

11% fewer school children in 2008 than in 2000

The fall in the number of births until 2003 reflects in the number of school children, which is in this school year 20,000 (or 11%) lower than in 2000. At the beginning of the school year 2008/09 almost 162,000 children were enrolled in elementary schools with regular curriculum and slightly more than 1,500 children were enrolled in elementary schools with special curriculum. Basic education is carried out by 791 elementary schools and their branches, by 29 special schools and by the same number of units providing special curriculum in elementary schools.

In 2008, basic education successfully completed by 19,346 pupils

Education in elementary schools was successfully completed by 18,871 pupils, education in elementary schools with special curriculum by 231 children and elementary schools for adults by 244 students.

Statistical data show that the share of children who do not finish basic education is falling. In 2008, 303 children dropped out without completing basic education.

Two thirds of elementary school pupils learned at least one foreign language

At the end of the 2007/08 school year almost 75% of elementary school children learned at least one foreign language, of whom 68% as a compulsory subject and 7% in the scope of early learning of the foreign language (children in the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd grades). 45% of children in the 7^th, 8^th and 9^th grades (last educational cycle) decided to choose the second or third language as an optional subject. Among foreign languages, chosen as optional subjects, the most popular is the German language, followed by French, Italian and Spanish.

In the school year 2007/08 on average 12 pupils per teacher
Within compulsory basic education there were on average 12 pupils per teacher. The number of pupils per teacher differs as to the type of program the school performs and the educational cycle.
In elementary schools performing regular curriculum there were on average 12,4 pupils per teacher, in elementary schools with special curriculum there were 3,3 pupils per teacher and in educational institutions offering programs for adults there were 6 students per teacher. As regards educational cycles for which we report data to international institutions, in the first two cycles (grades 1-6) there were 15,8 pupils per teacher and in the third cycle (grades 7-9) there were 8,9 pupils per teacher.