As a result of births since independence peaking at 2010, the group of six-year-olds entering primary school today numbers a record 22,293.

Given that the number of first-graders has been constantly rising in Slovenia in recent years, the number of primary school children has also been on the increase. This year, it will rise by over 5,000 compared to 2015.

In secondary schools, the situation is somewhat different, as the number of all students will be virtually the same as last year. A total of 18,811 students will start secondary education this year, which is 498 fewer than last year.

Slovenian primary school children will this year be joined by refugee children in somewhat larger numbers than in the past. Some 40 refugee children will be enrolled in primary schools and another 20 will take primary school courses for adults.

Data for secondary schools are not available yet.

Refugee children are being gradually included in the Slovenian school system and a special website has been set up by the Education Ministry to assist school managements, teachers and parents and inform the public on the process.

A novelty for primary school children this year will be obligatory English classes starting in the second grade in all Slovenian schools. Two years ago, English was introduced in the second grade at 61 schools and this was extended to another 90 schools last year. This year, the remaining 302 schools will also join in.

Teachers can also look forward to pay raises, as the public sector pay rise freeze introduced in 2013 as an austerity measure will be lifted.

The new school year also marks the closing of five branch schools, while the number of private primary and secondary schools remains at five and six, respectively.

Private schools are still waiting for the government to implement a 2015 Constitutional Court decision on the state's full funding of private schools which teach the national curriculum. The Education Ministry has drawn up a draft bill enacting it, but has not forwarded it to the government yet.

SVIZ, the trade union of teachers, is meanwhile warning of cuts in education funding. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the funding of primary and secondary education was cut by 4% in 2005-2012 compared to the OECD average, where the funding increased by 14% in the same period.

Government data too shows that the share of funds in the national budget for education dropped from 18.8% to 14.9% between 2008 and 2015. The funding was thus cut by over 100 million euros, unionist Branimir Štrukelj has said.

In a special message at the start of the new school year, President Borut Pahor addressed children along with a primary schoolgirl on Wednesday, wishing them a happy, playful, successful and safe school year.