Brnabic at Celebration of Students’ Day in Lozionica

The celebration was attended by students from four state universities with 24 faculties in the Republic of Serbia, as well as representatives of the umbrella body of academies and colleges.

Speaker Brnabic said that the most worrying fact is that, according to the data provided by higher education institutions in Serbia, both state and private, while 30,388 graduated in 2024, 18,894 students graduated in 2025. This is a difference of as many as 11,494 students, and the fact that nearly 29,000 students graduated in 2023 is additionally worrying, which according to her means that though the annual number of graduates does fluctuate, for the first time, over 11,000 fewer students graduated in one academic year.

Speaker Brnabic pointed out that the amendments to the Law on Higher Education adopted in March 2025 expect the Ministry of Education to pay 50% of the costs for self-financing students based on the paid reference tuition fee in the academic year 2024/2025, for each year of study that the student first enrolled in. Based on the data submitted by higher education institutions, 2,349,635,201.24 RDS have been paid so far for approximately 53,500 self-financing students. As she announced, the payment of funds to students who are entitled to a tuition refund in the academic year 2025/2026 will begin in April.

Regarding scholarships in the 2025/2026 academic year, Brnabic pointed out that the Ministry of Education awarded 5,743 student scholarships, 639 scholarships for gifted students, 35 scholarships for students in teaching professions in short supply, and 5,261 student loans. 1.6 billion RSD have been allocated for these purposes.

The Parliament Speaker said that around 17,100 students are accommodated in student centres, and 3.8 billion RSD are allocated annually for their food and accommodation. She also said that the construction of additional capacities for student dormitories in Belgrade and Nis has been initiated. The capacity of the student dormitory in Nis is 400 places, and the total value of the works is 950 million RSD. Additional accommodation capacities within the student city in Belgrade amount to 1,000 places, and the start of works is expected in the first quarter of 2027. The estimated value of the construction is 38 million EUR, while the construction period is two years.