Education updates: Free textbooks in Serbia and school enrollment in Slovakia

In Serbia, the Ministry of Education has allocated over 1 billion dinars to provide free textbooks for approximately 96,000 primary school students for the 2026/2027 school year. Deputy Minister of Education Ivan Ćilerdžić stated that nearly 920,000 textbook units are being distributed, with delivery to schools nearing completion. Eligible recipients include students from socially vulnerable families, those with individual education plans, students requiring special formats like Braille, and children from families with at least three students. The program also supports students studying in the languages of the eight recognized national minorities.

In Slovakia, the Rákóczi Alliance is monitoring Hungarian school enrollment for the upcoming September 2026 term. By the end of August, 3,193 Hungarian primary school starters had registered through the alliance's online platform. While demographic shifts have caused fluctuations in enrollment numbers in recent years, current data suggests the final number of Hungarian first-graders in the region may remain close to last year's figure of approximately 3,454.