YOUTH 2020 - The position of young people in Slovenia

84 This share has been declining slightly in recent years, reaching a peak in 2014, when almost 49% of the 20-24 age group was enrolled in tertiary education. However, despite this decline, tertiary enrolment remains very high. What are the reasons for this? Increasing access to higher ed- ucation was an essential objective in the Resolution on the National Pro- gramme for Higher Education 2011-2020 (ReNŠVŠ), adopted by the Na- tional Assembly in 2011. According to this Resolution, by 2020, the participation rate of the 19-24 demographic in tertiary education should have already been 75%. While the age range used in the ReNŠVŠ does not perfectly match the Eurostat age categories, it is safe to conclude that Slovenia did not reach these targets in 2020. More broadly, the rea- sons for high participation in tertiary education can also be traced to the role of higher education as a social corrective, which is linked to the relatively challenging labour market situation that young people are facing, the possibility of student work, and the free-of-charge nature of studies, etc. The share of 20-24-year-olds enrolled in tertiary education in Slovenia is the highest among the EU-28. Unfortunately, tertiary enrolment rates are not directly related to a country’s economic and technological development level. The data in the Figure above show, for example, that the share of Slovenian students en- rolled in tertiary education is (almost) 100% higher than the share of students in Sweden, Switzerland, or Austria – countries with a much higher GDP than Slovenia (OECD, 2021). Despite the high enrolment rates, some research suggests that the supply of skills is not sufficiently aligned with the needs of the economy and society (OECD, 2016). 2.2.2  SCHOOL WELL-BEING (SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTION OF SCHOOLING) School climate and the related issue of providing a safe and supportive learning environment are essential indicators of students’ overall well-being in the educational process (Japelj Pavešić et al., 2012; OECD,