President Milanović Meets with Leadership of Faculty of Educational and Rehabilitation Sciences for its 60th Anniversary
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović met with the dean and the vice deans of the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Educational and Rehabilitation Sciences on the occasion of its 60th anniversary.
Present at the meeting were the Dean Ante Bilić Prcić, the Vice Dean for Study Programmes and Students Luka Bonetti, the Vice Dean for Science and International Cooperation Tihana Novak, the Vice Dean for Management Damir Miholić, the Head of the Teaching and Clinical Centre Sanja Šimleša and the Faculty’s Secretary Ana Hećimović. They presented the Zagreb Faculty of Educational and Rehabilitation Sciences to President Milanović emphasizing that it is the only higher education institution in the Republic of Croatia that creates and offers well established university-level programmes in speech-language pathology, educational rehabilitation and social pedagogy in addition to developing and advancing high-quality research as well as clinical best practices in these areas.
Furthermore, they acquainted him with the Faculty’s origins dating back to 1961 when a proposal was made to found an institution of higher learning for defectology, which began work in the following school year as the first and only educational institution of this type in Croatia and in the former Yugoslavia. Speaking about the Faculty’s constant changes and modernization, they highlighted their students for whom they said they are an asset to society’s vulnerable groups and that with the education and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities they enhance public awareness.
There are 1,100 students enrolled at the Faculty of Educational and Rehabilitation Sciences; 955 are undergraduates and 155 are enrolled in postgraduate, specialized and doctoral studies. It was noted that approximately 150 students annually complete their studies, deeming this insufficient based on the needs. They added that the majority of students manage to obtain employment in their field before the end of their studies, and that with the excellent education they receive at the Faculty, it greatly contributes to its reputation as currently one of the most desirable studies.
This year’s 60th anniversary celebration of the Faculty was held on 14 April under the patronage of the President of the Republic, for which they thanked President Milanović.
Attending the meeting with President Milanović was the Adviser to the President of the Republic for Education Jadranka Žarković.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Ana Marija Katić