The new school year 2021-22 starts in Croatia on Monday, with 313,000 primary school and 143,000 secondary school pupils going back to school, and anti-epidemic rules will be milder compared to the previous academic year.

Students will be obliged to keep a physical distance from each other and will not have to wear face masks in their classrooms.

As for school halls, school buses and other means of public transportation, students will have to wear protective masks.

Primary school pupils from first to fourth grade will be allowed to socialise to a certain extent, and face-to-face classes will be allowed for elective subjects and supplemental instruction.

Students who test positive for the virus will have to stay at home until they recover.

Commenting on vaccination rates in the education sector, Minister Radovan Fuchs has said recently that it has been around 60% in high schools, around 72% at universities and close to 80% in research institutions.