Quality Education for All - Bosnia and Herzegovina

Back Schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina take another step in becoming resource centers for democratic school culture

Ilda BESIC

Modified 2 Years ago.

Sarajevo , 28 August 2023

Schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina take another step in becoming resource centers for democratic school culture

The joint European Union/Council of Europe action “Quality education for all” continues to support schools across Bosnia and Herzegovina to become resource centers for democratic culture.

From 21 to 24 August the action organised parallel activities for students as well as members of school management and pedagogical institutions to further develop their understanding of the Reference Framework of the Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) and define ways in which they will be incorporated in the education system and the school environment. Students and members of management from 9 schools as well as representatives of 4 pedagogical institutions took part in the activities which were organised in the capital of Sarajevo.

The students took part in lectures and workshops expanding their knowledge on democratic culture. Most of the sessions focused on the methodology as well as practical aspects related to establishing clubs for critical thinking and values that, as Vedad Babanović, student of Primary school from Travnik, explains “encourage students to socialise and in this way gets them involved in extracurricular activities."

Marija Hrkać from the Gymnasium in Mostar added that “the creation of this club can help us express freely what we are interested in, to talk about what we like with people who will hear us out". During the Summer school students also had a chance to visit mountain Trebević where they learned about the history and geography of the Sarajevo region from guest lecturer and awarded teacher Vedran Zubić.

At the same time, members of school management and representatives of pedagogical institutions received an in-depth training where they had a chance to discuss the challenges related to the school environment and how the RFCDC can help improve democratic school culture. They presented and shared ideas which will be implemented in local school communities in the coming period and the training equipped them with tools for improving competences for democratic culture in their environments. “Through our activities, we will further develop competences and foster a democratic climate in the school environment”, stated Amna Avdić, director of the secondary school in Čelić.

The action “Quality education for all” is part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.

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At a glance

The action "Quality Education for All" aims to assist relevant authorities and partners in promoting inclusion and addressing discrimination within the education system, thereby enhancing the quality of education for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The action proposes a series of measures to further improve the quality of education by fostering a culture of democracy and inclusion in line with Council of Europe standards and tools, facilitate peer-to-peer exchange and capacity-building of school staff, and raise the public's awareness about the importance of quality education as a social value, a public good, and a basic human right.

Funding

This action is implemented within the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.

Duration

01 January 2023 - 31 December 2026

What are the goals and objectives of the action?

The primary objective of this initiative is to enhance the quality of education for all by promoting inclusion and addressing discrimination within the education system.

This will be achieved by:

Fostering a democratic culture within the formal education system and tackling discrimination through the application of European standards.
Supporting policymakers in further improving and aligning policies and practices with the EU acquis, as well as relevant European Union and Council of Europe standards.

Raising public awareness to ensure that democratic culture is recognised as a fundamental element of quality education.

Who benefits from the action?

Addressing discrimination and promoting inclusion in the formal education sector, along with efforts to raise the public awareness about the importance of fostering democratic culture through the education system, shall benefit the entire population of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Immediate beneficiaries of our actions include:

education ministries at entity and cantonal levels, as well as pedagogical institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina,

primary and secondary schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including teachers and school management, students, parents, and their communities.

How does the action work?

The action supports effective implementation of the Policy Recommendations with a Roadmap for Improving Inclusive Education adopted by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 2 September 2020.

It builds on the results achieved under the previous phase of the Horizontal Facility programme, and in particular the actions “Quality education in multi-ethnic societies” (2016 – 2019) and “Quality education for all” (2019 – 2022).

The completion of action objectives is envisioned through:

coordination and joint activities with relevant ministries and other stakeholders,
provision of expertise and capacity-building to equip schools with tools for improving competences for democratic culture,
supporting the establishment of resource centres to facilitate peer-to-peer mentoring among primary and secondary school teachers,
awareness-raising initiatives to promote education as a public good and a basic human right.

What do we expect to achieve?

Upon the completion of this action, we wish to see:

continued implementation of the Policy Roadmap and the inclusion of the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture into the education system,
improved competences of teachers and other school staff to implement Roadmap objectives and enable students to develop appropriate competences, self-confidence, and critical thinking to help them become responsible citizens,

enhanced awareness of the importance of quality education as a social value, a public good, and a basic human right.

What is the budget of the action?

The total budget of the action is 750 000 EUR.

The budget allocated to the overall Horizontal Facility programme amounts to ca. 41 Million EUR (85% funded by the European Union, 15% by the Council of Europe).

Reference documents:

ECRI Conclusions on Bosnia and Herzegovina (adopted on 10 December 2019 / published on 19 March 2020)

The “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” is a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe that enables the Western Balkans Beneficiaries and Türkiye to meet their reform agendas in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy and to comply with the European standards, which is also a priority for the EU enlargement process.