Today, 24 October 2024, the Ombudsman Peter Svetina welcomed the Minister of Education, Dr. Vinko Logaj. They talked about systemic improvements in the field of upbringing and education, touched on the issue of children with special needs, including in music schools, paid attention to the issue of peer violence and care for children with emotional and behavioural problems, and the Ombudsman drew the minister’s attention to the recommendations made to the ministry in this area made by the institution of the Ombudsman.

"At the Ombudsman, we are advocating for the introduction of inclusive education, which as a right also derives from Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but in Slovenia we are still very far from this," said Ombudsman Svetina in the discussion.

In the 2023 Annual Report alone, the institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman made 10 recommendations to the Ministry of Education, namely in connection with the completion of matriculation with adaptations for children with special needs and disabilities; regarding the consideration of the needs of schoolchildren and the creation of appropriate conditions for the implementation of their lessons at the Poček training ground; regarding appropriate accommodation options in expert centres around Slovenia and the possibility of additional training for staff in them to work with children with emotional and behavioural problems, and other recommendations.

The Ombudsman also recommended that the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, in cooperation with other competent authorities, consider the findings and proposals of the 33rd National Children's Parliament and define each finding and proposal and implement them accordingly taken into account in decisions affecting children.

The Ombudsman, Peter Svetina, also emphasised in the conversation that a thorough consideration of the shrinking of curricula is needed, in order to make room for the introduction of the contents of the publication on common goals and their placement in the knowledge catalogues from 2023. There is also a need for a concrete shift to less static and more movement-oriented education. There is also a need for a dialogue with the faculties that train teachers, in order to train them in these skills.