Newsroom
Over 33,000 returnee children enrolled in schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina return area
SARAJEVO 20 November 2003
SARAJEVO, 20 November 2003 - A statistical report on the implementation of the Interim Agreement on Returnee Children, presented today at a meeting in Banja Luka, showed that this school year over 400 school-age returnee children enrolled in schools in their area of return and over 150 returnee teachers were hired.
The total number of returnee children enrolled in schools in the area of return is now over 33,000 and the number of teachers is almost 1,800. The number of multi-ethnic school boards increased slightly, and the bussing of children outside of their catchment area decreased significantly in Una Sana, Posavina, Tuzla and Bosnia-Podrinje Cantons.
The meeting brought together Entity and Cantonal Ministers of Education and other education stakeholders to discuss the final steps in implementing the Interim Agreement on Accommodation of Special Needs and Rights of Returnee Children and education legislation.
"We now have comprehensive statistics on the number of returnee/minority students, teachers and school board members at country wide level", said Ambassador Robert M. Beecroft, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"This data enables education ministries, school authorities and citizens to see to what extent the Interim Agreement has been implemented. Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot afford to turn the Interim Agreement into yet another government document. This Agreement is about real people and real education, it is about the future of this country", he said.
Many of the required steps for the implementation of the Interim Agreement have been successfully met, like the removal of inappropriate content from textbooks for the national group of subjects, and the development of criteria and an implementation plan to assist school authorities in removing or replacing school names and symbols that could be viewed as inappropriate.
During the meeting it was also stressed that the Higher Education legislation needs to be put in place as soon as possible, as there is no time to waste. The importance of moving quickly on follow-up Primary and Secondary Education legislation was also highlighted.
"The State-level Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education is one of the key foundations of education reform. Harmonization of the Entity, Cantonal and Brcko District legislation with the Framework Law will allow us to begin building the house", said Ambassador Beecroft.
The total number of returnee children enrolled in schools in the area of return is now over 33,000 and the number of teachers is almost 1,800. The number of multi-ethnic school boards increased slightly, and the bussing of children outside of their catchment area decreased significantly in Una Sana, Posavina, Tuzla and Bosnia-Podrinje Cantons.
The meeting brought together Entity and Cantonal Ministers of Education and other education stakeholders to discuss the final steps in implementing the Interim Agreement on Accommodation of Special Needs and Rights of Returnee Children and education legislation.
"We now have comprehensive statistics on the number of returnee/minority students, teachers and school board members at country wide level", said Ambassador Robert M. Beecroft, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"This data enables education ministries, school authorities and citizens to see to what extent the Interim Agreement has been implemented. Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot afford to turn the Interim Agreement into yet another government document. This Agreement is about real people and real education, it is about the future of this country", he said.
Many of the required steps for the implementation of the Interim Agreement have been successfully met, like the removal of inappropriate content from textbooks for the national group of subjects, and the development of criteria and an implementation plan to assist school authorities in removing or replacing school names and symbols that could be viewed as inappropriate.
During the meeting it was also stressed that the Higher Education legislation needs to be put in place as soon as possible, as there is no time to waste. The importance of moving quickly on follow-up Primary and Secondary Education legislation was also highlighted.
"The State-level Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education is one of the key foundations of education reform. Harmonization of the Entity, Cantonal and Brcko District legislation with the Framework Law will allow us to begin building the house", said Ambassador Beecroft.