FAQ · Education 37

Private supplementary tutoring means paid lessons in school subjects given outside ordinary classes, and academic writing usually calls that practice shadow education. A 2024 article by Vera Spasenovic of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy, in the journal of the Institute for Educational Research, volume 56, issue 2, pages 203 to 220, reviews how shadow education is defined, how widespread it is, which factors influence it, and which effects it produces. The article describes private tutoring as a global phenomenon that is more common now than it was before. It says the impact on individuals, on the education system, and on society is serious enough that education authorities, together with the academic and professional community, should address the issue rather than ignore it. The same article examines how private tutoring emerged in Serbia and argues for a proactive approach to understanding and dealing with it. The record lists the keywords private tutoring, private lessons, preparatory courses, shadow education and education policy, and it notes that the work was supported by a project of the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia.

The Belgrade Student Centre notice of 23 June 2026, issued for accommodation and student meals under the Ministry of Education, limits a dormitory place to students enrolling for the first time in the first year of bachelor studies or integrated academic studies. Those students must be financed from the budget of the Republic of Serbia, hold citizenship of Serbia or of a country in the region, and keep their residence outside the town where the higher-education institution has its seat. The file is a dormitory application bought and filled in at the time of applying, certified copies of the certificate for every completed year of secondary school, a certificate that the first year is at the budget's expense, a certificate of average monthly income per family member from 1 January to 30 June 2026 certified by the municipal authority at the place of residence, and the student index and identity card for inspection. Applications are accepted only in person, on working days from 8 to 15, from 1 September 2026 through 15 September 2026, in the hall beside the accommodation service at Djusina 5a in Belgrade, and late or incomplete files are not considered. Students resident in Kosovo and Metohija who cannot obtain the income certificate bring a copy of the identity card and the original for inspection, while students who finished secondary school before 2026 also bring a notarised statement that they did not study at the budget's expense in the years between secondary school and university. Applicants also request the multi-year student card required for accommodation and meals, and further questions go to the accommodation service on working days from 8 to 15 at the same Djusina 5a address.

The rulebook on the detailed conditions for organizing, providing and monitoring pupil meals in primary school, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia under number 68/2018, sets those conditions and takes effect on the eighth day after it is published. The school director organizes the meals together with the parents' council, the school's specialist services and the staff who prepare and serve food carry the meals out, and the school must contract a competent public-health institute to monitor them. A school may cook in its own kitchen, work with another education institution that already prepares meals in its own kitchen, or use a supplier that produces and distributes meals, and it must meet the sanitary and other conditions in the law on preparing and distributing food. Planning has to take account of the pupils' ages, how many pupils are in each age group, how long they stay and how classes are scheduled, their energy needs, and both ordinary and special nutritional needs, using the nutrition norm printed with the rulebook. Pupils with a food intolerance or allergy, coeliac disease, or an illness that needs a special diet can be included where the school is able to do so, on a specialist doctor's report, and the parent must give the school a menu written by a dietitian-nutritionist. External checks by the public-health institute cover meal quality and hygiene, staff who receive, prepare and serve the meals carry out internal checks of food on arrival, safety papers and distribution, and every purchase for pupil meals must follow the public-procurement law.

The Belgrade City Institute of Public Health says immunization is governed by the Law on the Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia under numbers 15/2016, 68/2020 and 136/2020, together with the rulebook on immunization and protection by medicines and the rulebook on the programme of mandatory and recommended immunization. On that schedule, the second booster is a single dose of the combined four-valent vaccine, named DTaP-IPV or Tetraxim, given before a child enrols in the first grade of primary school, or exceptionally during the first grade. The second dose against measles, mumps and rubella is given with the MMR vaccine before first-grade enrolment, or exceptionally during the first grade. For children in the sixth grade who have not yet been vaccinated against hepatitis B, and afterwards for every person who is unimmunized or only partly immunized up to the age of eighteen, vaccination uses three doses of the individual hepatitis B vaccine on a schedule of zero, one and six months. The institute presents these steps as part of the mandatory programme rather than as an optional extra.

Under the rulebook on pupil meals in primary school, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia number 68/2018, a school organizes meals for pupils with special nutritional needs only to the extent its own capacity allows. The basis is a report from a medical specialist in the relevant branch of medicine, and that report must say which foods are recommended and which foods must be left out. The parent, or another legal representative, must give the school a menu prepared by a dietitian-nutritionist. The rulebook lists food intolerance and allergy to particular foods as one of those special needs, alongside coeliac disease. It also covers conditions that need a separate hygiene and diet regime, naming obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome. Menus for these pupils are not left to ordinary meal-planning staff in the way other menus may be, because the rulebook sets the specialist report and the dietitian menu apart from the ordinary menu.

The International School in Belgrade lists Cambridge programme prices in euro for pupils entering Year 1, Year 7 and Year 10. For the international package, the price if paid by 30 November is 7,154 euro for primary ages five to eleven, 8,199 euro for lower secondary ages eleven to fourteen, and 9,199 euro for secondary ages fourteen to nineteen, against full prices of 10,790, 13,290 and 13,690 euro, with twelve monthly payments of 596, 683 and 767 euro. A secondary international-plus package is listed at 10,149 euro by 30 November and 14,690 euro at the full price, or 846 euro a month, and the secondary distance-learning package at 6,439 euro by that date, 13,690 euro full, or 537 euro a month. The annual fee may be paid in twelve monthly instalments, a second child receives a ten percent reduction, a third child thirty percent, and a fourth or later child pays no tuition while the schooling periods overlap, with a further five percent off for payment in full. Prices are converted into dinars at the National Bank of Serbia selling rate on the day the contract is signed, and a legal entity or someone other than the parents may pay. An optional after-class Fun and Play time until six in the evening is listed at 129 euro a month for younger children.

According to the NIN account of the 2026/2027 school calendar, published on 25 August 2026, primary school begins on Tuesday 1 September 2026, the first semester ends on Wednesday 30 December 2026, and the second semester begins on Monday 18 January 2027. Pupils have five breaks, one fewer than the previous year because Easter and May Day fall at the same time, so the spring break is not split. The autumn break runs from Wednesday 11 November to Friday 13 November 2026, the winter break for primary pupils from Thursday 31 December 2026 to Friday 15 January 2027, the Sretenje break from Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027, and the spring break from Friday 30 April to Tuesday 4 May 2027. Summer break for grades one to seven runs from Monday 14 June to Tuesday 31 August 2027, while eighth-grade summer break starts after the final exam and also lasts until 31 August. Teaching for eighth grade ends on Friday 28 May 2027 and for the other primary grades on Friday 11 June 2027. The same account says the school-calendar rulebook for the territory of Vojvodina had not yet been published, and that earlier years make some differences from the rest of Serbia likely.

The University of Belgrade tells incoming students and staff to buy health insurance before the mobility period starts, for the whole stay in Serbia, and to bring a copy of the policy. It also says they must enter Serbia with a valid European Health Insurance Card or another health-insurance policy from the home country covering the entire stay, and that cover is mandatory for everyone on mobility. Candidates are told to check whether the insurance is already provided by the particular cooperation arrangement or by an international health-insurance agreement between Serbia and the partner country. Citizens of Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey use prescribed certificates for urgent care, while citizens of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic use the European Health Insurance Card. Citizens of Poland and Great Britain use a certificate of insurance issued in the home country. The student health-care service centre named for Belgrade is at Krunska 57.

The Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering notice of 2 November 2026 sets out the Belgrade Student Centre plan for older-year students seeking dormitory places in 2026/2027. Applications close on Thursday 5 November 2026, and the competition file is handed in at the student's own higher-education institution. Preliminary ranking lists are posted on the notice boards of the faculties, departments or academies once that deadline has passed. Objections may be filed from the day a preliminary list is published until Friday 13 November 2026. The final ranking list is published on Thursday 19 November 2026, both at those faculties and on the website of the Student Centre Belgrade. Places are then allocated at the faculties from Friday 27 November 2026 through Thursday 3 December 2026.

On 17 October 2024 the Faculty of Philology at the University of Belgrade announced free Korean classes, starting the following week, for interested students at every level of study. The classes are run with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Serbia and its foundation for learning Korean as a foreign language, inside the programme of the Department of Oriental Studies. They are offered both to beginners and to students who have already studied Korean and want to go further, and they include preparation for the Korean-as-a-foreign-language exam in the form certified in Korea, which the notice describes as a condition for many scholarships offered by the Republic of Korea. Each group is limited to 25 students, by agreement with the teacher who came from Korea. The classes belong to a programme of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea, they are not an elective and they do not replace the P language, and they carry no ECTS credits and no examination. The notice places beginner group A on Tuesday, beginner group B on Thursday and the intermediate group on Friday, each from 8:00 to 9:30, plus TOPIK I preparation on Tuesday and TOPIK II on Thursday from 9:45 to 11:15, all in the Korean lectorate on the fifth floor.

The Centre for Serbian as a Foreign Language at the Faculty of Philology of the University of Belgrade runs full-time semester programmes in which every level meets for a 90-minute class four times a week, from Monday to Thursday, and a completed course carries six ECTS credits. The classes work on listening, speaking, reading and writing. The beginner strand is for people with no Serbian at all, and across two semesters it covers basic grammar and vocabulary for everyday communication and for reading and understanding a text, including both the Latin and the Cyrillic alphabets. After the first beginner semester the expected level is A1 under the Common European Framework, and after the second it is A2. The intermediate strand is for people who already have enough Serbian for everyday communication, and it builds grammar, vocabulary and sociocultural knowledge. After the first intermediate semester the expected level is B1, and after the second it is B2.

Tinde Kovač Cerović was an educator and political figure who served as Serbia's deputy minister of education from 2001 to 2004. She held a master's degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Belgrade's Department of Philosophy. During her career, she worked on drafting new policies for elementary and secondary schools, including reforms for national minority communities. She also served as a state secretary in the ministry of education, science, and technological development between 2008 and 2012. In this role, she oversaw pre-university education and international cooperation in the field of education.

The Belgrade Mathematical Gymnasium is a specialized school that serves students in various age groups. In 2011, the school had 550 students aged 12 to 19. While it is formally classified as a secondary school for grades nine to twelve, it also enrolls experimental classes for the seventh and eighth grades of primary school. This means it accommodates students aged 12 and above. It is unique in Serbia for merging parts of elementary and high school education.

The gymnasium's operations were paused due to the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. During the conflict, the school building and its valuable collections were destroyed. The school did not resume its functions until October 1852. Following this period, the Serbian Orthodox Church council collected funds to reopen the institution. It initially reopened as an incomplete four-class gymnasium that was not accredited.

There is a school slava of Saint Sava that is celebrated in Serbian schools. This tradition was established by the Serbian Church in the Habsburg monarchy during the second half of the 18th century. It was later introduced in Serbia around 1827 or 1840. Today, this holiday is used to cherish the language, the Cyrillic script, and the Enlightenment. It serves as a significant celebration within the educational system.

Serbia has 17 universities consisting of 8 public and 9 private institutions. There are also 63 colleges of applied sciences and 8 colleges of academic studies divided between public and private sectors. Serbian citizens can study at public universities for free. For foreign students, tuition at public universities is relatively low, ranging between €2,000 and €5,000 per year. Tuition costs at private universities vary.

Serbian citizens can study at public universities for free. For foreign students, tuition is relatively low and typically ranges between €2,000 and €5,000 per year. There are 8 public and 9 private universities in the country. Tuition costs at private universities vary. This structure applies to the various types of higher education institutions available in Serbia.

The Mathematical Gymnasium has a history of excellence with seven principals who were all authors of various textbooks. Many of these principals held Doctor of Science titles and served as university professors. The school prepares its students for numerous national and international science competitions. As of 2012, students had won several hundred medals from top international competitions around the world. This includes significant success in International Science Olympiads and Junior Olympiads. Students have also earned many awards in fields such as mathematics, physics, informatics, and astronomy.

Under the 1963 constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, members of the peoples of Yugoslavia had the right to school instruction in their own languages when residing in territories other than their own. This was subject to republican law, though the Yugoslav People's Army used Serbo-Croatian for commands and administration. In the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, the 1974 constitution guaranteed the equality of the Albanian, Serbo-Croatian, and Turkish languages. According to the 1990 constitution of the Republic of Serbia, the Serbo-Croatian language and the Cyrillic alphabet are in official use. The Latin alphabet is also in official use in the manner established by law.

To pursue tertiary education in Serbia, students must first complete their secondary schooling. This typically involves graduating from a gymnasium or a four-year vocational school. Admission to higher education generally requires passing the Matura, which is the secondary school leaving examination. There are 17 universities available in the country, consisting of eight public and nine private institutions. The University of Belgrade is the largest and leading institution of higher education in the nation.

The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. It was founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School and later merged with departments in Kragujevac to form a single university. This public research institution currently comprises 31 faculties, 12 research institutes, and 9 university centres. The faculties are organized into four groups including social sciences, medical sciences, natural sciences, and technological sciences. The university is currently seated at the Captain Miša’s Mansion in Belgrade.

Serbia has established a scholarship fund known as World in Serbia. This initiative enables hundreds of students to study at the University of Belgrade each year. The fund was part of an effort to increase contributions and connections with various countries. It serves as a way to support international students in their academic pursuits within the country. This program specifically supports studies at the University of Belgrade.

The High School of Electrical Engineering Nikola Tesla is a public vocational high school located in Pančevo. This institution educates and trains students specifically in the fields of electrical engineering, computer science, and informatics. It was established in 1946 and is named after the famous inventor Nikola Tesla. The school currently operates out of a building on Maksima Gorkog 7 that is protected as a cultural monument. Students benefit from modern facilities, including multimedia classrooms and upgraded computer hardware.

Medieval Serbian literacy was characterized by the use of the Cyrillic script and the Serbian recension of the Old Slavic language. Before adopting formal alphabets, South Slavs used a marking system known as Slavic runes. With the arrival of Christianity, different scripts were adopted, including Greek and Latin alongside Cyrillic. The Glagolitic script, compiled by Saint Cyril and Methodius, also reached the Serbian lands early on. Historical texts like the Codex Marianus and the Miroslav Gospel point to the existence of an ancient Slavic literacy tradition.

Tinde Kovač Cerović was an educator and political figure who served as Serbia's deputy minister of education from 2001 to 2004. She held a Ph.D. from the University of Belgrade and taught the psychology of education and educational policy. During her career, she worked as a senior advisor for the Roma Education Fund and as a state secretary in the ministry of education. She was involved in drafting policies for elementary and secondary schools, including reforms for national minority communities. Her work also included overseeing pre-university education and international cooperation for integration with the European Union.

According to the 1990 constitution of the Republic of Serbia, the Serbo-Croatian language is in official use. The Cyrillic alphabet is also designated for official use within the republic. Additionally, the Latin alphabet is in official use in the manner established by law. These regulations define the linguistic and written standards for the country.

The University of Belgrade includes several specialized scientific institutes within its structure. These include the Nikola Tesla Institute of Electrical Engineering and the Mihajlo Pupin Institute. Other notable research centers are the Vinča Nuclear Institute and the Siniša Stanković Institute for Biological Research. The university also hosts the Institute of Physics and the Institute for Medical Research. Additionally, there are institutes dedicated to molecular genetics, chemistry, technology, metallurgy, and multidisciplinary research.

The municipality provides a free school bus service for students. This service is organized along the Gora routes. While taxi services are available in the area, they are largely unaffordable for the local population. Bus connections between Dragash town and the Opoja area are also continuing to improve. These services help residents navigate the mountainous region despite infrastructural challenges.

The Belgrade Law School was established in 1808 and serves as a regional leader in legal education. It is one of the largest law schools in the Balkans and has educated almost 50,000 law graduates since its founding. The institution prepares students for careers in law practice, business, public service, and teaching. Many of its alumni have become recognized experts, scholars, and high ranking government officials. Furthermore, the school served as the core for other law schools established in Serbia and throughout the former Yugoslavia.

The first school of art in Serbia was set up by Kiril Kutlik in 1895. Many of his students traveled to Western Europe to study, specifically in France and Germany. Upon their return, these students brought back various avant-garde styles to the country. This movement helped shape the development of applied art and design in the region. Such influences allowed different artists to explore styles like Fauvism and Cubism.

The first theater performances were staged in 1825 by the teacher Djordje Evgenijevic and his pupils. Later, Joakim Vujić arrived in Kragujevac in 1834 at the invitation of Grand Duke Miloš. Vujić was a highly esteemed person known for his extensive theater work and experience. He was appointed as the Director of the Theater to organize its professional operations. The early theater ensemble included both secondary school pupils and adult amateurs.

The Dositej Obradović Theoretical High School is a Serbian-language high school located in Timișoara. It holds the distinction of being the only high school that provides teaching in the Serbian language within Romania. The school is housed in an eclectic historicist style building that was constructed in 1881. Historically, various Serbian-language institutions and sections have operated in the area to serve the community. These educational efforts included different departments such as a gymnasium, a high school, and technical schools.

In Serbia, a preschool lasting six months has been compulsory since the 2006-2007 school year and is the first part of compulsory education. Children attend it at age five or six in the local kindergarten, from the beginning of the year in which first grade starts, for at least four hours a day and at least six months. The programme is meant to familiarize them with the school system, and they must then pass an ability exam before primary school. Preschool classes have at least five children, while primary and secondary classes have at least fifteen. Education in Serbia is divided into preschool, primary school, secondary school and higher education, and it is regulated by the Ministry of Education.

The National Library of Serbia, in Belgrade, is the country's national library and is described as its largest library and oldest institution. It was established in 1832 by the bookbinder Gligorije Vozarović in his bookstore, and in November that year Prince Miloš ordered that one copy of each printed book be placed there. It became the central state library in 1919, with the right to an obligatory copy from across the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and in 1925 it moved to a building on Kosančićev Venac. Luftwaffe bombing in April 1941 destroyed that building and its holdings, including 500,000 volumes and 1,424 Cyrillic manuscripts and charters, even though Belgrade had been declared an open city. Belgrade also has the University Library Svetozar Marković, one of the largest scientific libraries in the Balkans, and the Belgrade City Library, described as the largest public lending library in Serbia. As of 1998 the wider network counted three national libraries, 689 public libraries, 143 higher-education libraries and 11 non-specialised libraries.

Compulsory preschool in Serbia lasts at least four hours a day for at least six months, and it has been required since the 2006-2007 school year. Children attend at age five or six in the local kindergarten, beginning in the same year that first grade starts. That time is used to familiarize them with the school system, and they must pass an ability exam before primary school. Preschool groups have at least five children, while a usual elementary class has between fifteen and twenty-eight pupils. The Ministry of Education regulates a system divided into preschool, primary school, secondary school and higher education.

Belgrade's municipal library grew out of demands for a People's House with a library and reading room after the city became the capital of the Principality of Serbia. On 24 October 1930 a decision established a municipal library and a museum, and Marija Ilić Agapova was appointed librarian. The library opened on 11 January 1931 as a modern urban library, with books arranged by the Universal Decimal Classification, and that year the Kingdom of Yugoslavia opened its first children's reading room there. It was open to the general public, and books could be borrowed free of charge with an identity card used as a library card. Children's cards carried an illustration by Beta Vukanović and a passage from the 1924 Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child. The 1941 German bombing of Belgrade reduced the building to rubble and destroyed much of the collection.

The University of Belgrade, the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia, groups its faculties into social sciences and humanities, medical sciences, natural sciences and mathematics, and technological sciences. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School, it now has about 59,600 students, more than 4,600 academic staff, 31 faculties and 12 research institutes. Its own graduate count includes more than 378,000 bachelors and 14,670 doctors. Apart from the university, a vocational medical school is a four-year professional school that awards a first professional degree. Those schools usually teach 10 to 14 general subjects plus field-specific ones, and a nurse-technician course is cited as including hygiene.