The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia organizes educational work in the Serbian language for students of Serbian origin abroad in order to develop awareness of their own national and cultural identity by learning Serbian and becoming acquainted with the most valuable works of Serbian cultural heritage, and to encourage maintenance of lasting ties with the fatherland.

The supplementary schools are organized in 16 countries – Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, Slovenia, Malta, Greece, Great Britain, the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Republic of South Africa, the Kingdom of Spain, and Russian Federation.

Interest in attending classes in Serbian is continuously growing among members of the Serbian people living abroad.

In the 2022/23 school year, 7632 students of Serbian nationality attend classes in Serbian abroad, which is 834 students more than last school year.

Germany, Switzerland and Slovenia have the largest number of students of Serbian nationality who attend classes in Serbian.

In addition to face-to-face classes, the Ministry of Education has enabled online classes starting from this school year. This type of classes includes 303 students who are unable to attend face-to-face classes in the Serbian language.

In order to understand how important it is to organize educational work in the Serbian language abroad for students of Serbian origin, the fact should be recalled that there are about 5,100,000 displaced Serbian citizens in about 100 countries worldwide, with over 1137 clubs and associations in all five continents, and an extensive network of diplomatic and consular missions covering 178 countries on a residential and non-residential basis.

The improvement of educational work in Serbian abroad is undoubtedly one of the key contributions to the preservation of the Serbian language and alphabet.

The Serbian language and alphabet are the foundation of the national identity of the Serbs, therefore the key needs of the members of our people living in the diaspora and the region are being catered to.

Source: Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia

Photo: Serbian school in France, Italy and Slovenia