Education and Science Minister Blazenka Divjak on Tuesday said that the ongoing strike of primary and secondary school teachers, who have been holding their industrial action for 32 days, would very likely extend the current school year.

After the government’s meeting on Tuesday afternoon, Divjak said that the backlog was such now that it was very likely that the school year would be prolonged.

“Making holidays shorter and extending the academic year is very probable,” she told the press.

As for the ongoing negotiations between the striking teachers and the government, the minister described them as “tough”.

“I suppose that nobody expects that all the injustices would be rectified in two years of (my) term, everything that teachers have experienced in the last 230 years,” she said.

She added that she was hopeful of a good outcome of the negotiations.

The latest round of the talks between the strikers and the head of the office of the government started at 1630 hrs Tuesday.