The city of Subotica sees education at the heart of both its problems and opportunities. The separation of children into three main monolingual school systems (Serbia, Hungarian and Croat) threatens to create another generation of ethnic division and misunderstanding. The system is defined and imposed by central government, and unfortunately the city only has limited discretionary powers, but within these limits Subotica is attempting to break down the sectarian divides.
For example it is encouraging all schools to adopt a common history curriculum to address the misunderstandings that have sometimes fuelled tension. It has supported the writing of a new history of Yugoslavia in which Serb, Croat and Bosnian historians have collaborated. The best example of good practice in education has been the inter-school quiz competition ‘How Well Do We Know Each Other?’ To win, school teams must answer questions on both general knowledge and about the cultures other than their own. It is sponsored by a large telecoms company and is screened on regional TV so it is widely known and is keenly competitive, with the four winning schools receiving large cash prizes and foreign excursions.
The Roma Educational Centre is also doing impressive work. It has become the interface between Roma parents, teachers and non-Roma parents to overcome mutual suspicion, establishing parents’ councils in schools in which Roma are represented. REC has also pressed for the training of Roma teachers and non-teaching assistance and for their employment in local schools and kindergartens. They have also raised money to help repair derelict parts of schools so that new, cross-cultural, facilities can be provided. In 2005 the city of Subotica formed a Team for the inclusion of Roma children in the school system consisting of experts, the members of the Roma Educational Centre and two Roma high school students. This team prepared the Strategy for the inclusion of Roma children in the school system.
