Financing higher education and higher education institutions

Funding of higher education is regulated by:
  • the provisions of the Scientific Activity and Higher Education Act (OG 131/17), and regulations that plan and allocate budgetary resources from the state budget (public funding);
  • based on special decisions of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on programme funding of the higher education system, with the agreement of contractual parties, a part of activities of higher education institutions may also be funded under special contracts between the Ministry and public higher education institutions (programme funding).

The funding of public higher education institutions model relies primarily on public funding from the state budget, since public higher education institutions are, mostly, budget beneficiaries, but the system of financing based on programme contracts is increasingly developing.

Collective Agreement for Science and Higher Education and Appendix I. to theCollective Agreement for Science and Higher Education (OG 9/2019) define employment rights and obligations and based on work of civil servants and employees in public services that the Act on Salaries in Public Services applies to. Collective Agreements are concluded between the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Independent Syndicate for Science and Higher Education.