Civil society in BiH speaks out when schools try to segregate

"Yes, we have," answered the group of young pupils, staring in confusion at the foreigner who had come to visit their school.

Probably most of them were thinking: "What are all these grown-ups in nice suits and big white cars doing here with the school director? Why are our parents so worried, and why are there police cars in front of our school?"

Schools divided along ethnic lines

The people best placed to answer the children's questions would have been the officials of the municipality of Prozor/Rama. Just as the new school year was starting, they took the decision to divide their schools along ethnic lines.

This meant that, instead of the administrative and legal unification of two schools under one roof that previously existed in Fra Marko Marulic primary school, a new school was established named after Alija Isakovic, where lectures would be attended only by pupils of Bosniac nationality.

This decision was not only contrary to the spirit of the Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education, it also broke promises made by all the BiH Ministers of Education to the Peace Implementation Council in 2002 and breached the country's Council of Europe commitment to end segregation in schools following its accession in 2002.

Understanding the situation better

Concerned about the situation in Prozor/Rama and wanting to better understand all sides of the issue, Ambassador Davidson visited the municipality soon after the crisis erupted.

He talked to representatives of the two schools, including parents and students, as well as representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and from the municipality.

"Fra Marko Marulic primary school used to have a branch in Scipe (a village in Prozor/Rama municipality) where lectures were held for Bosniac children, so in fact there was a previously-existing division," explains Husein Sljivo, a member of the Prozor/Rama-based youth organization Fenix.

"However, I believe that the new school is not a good solution. The two schools should be administratively unified and the 'new/old' school should be given a new, neutral name, without any nationalistic element," he adds.

The President of Fenix, Mario Fofic, concurs: "Politicians must stop manipulating parents by constantly emphasizing that education is one way of protecting national interests. This is very dangerous and can cause constant tension and serious divisions."

Multi-ethnic youth organization

Their organization has already done a lot of work in this direction. Established in 1999 when there was a high number of returnees to the area, Fenix aims to promote and encourage multi-ethnic groups of young people to work together and become more active in their community. They currently have 20 active multi-ethnic members.

The president of Fra Marko Marulic primary school's council of parents, Mijo Peran, shares the same opinion as the members of Fenix. He also emphasizes the economic aspects of the issue:

"I believe that the administrators must cancel this decision, because it just causes divisions. The parents are for unification. We want to create better material conditions for all children, but the establishment of the new school will just bring additional costs," he pointed out.

Representatives of the council of parents have started a petition calling for the reversal of the municipality's decision to establish the new school, which has already been signed by 250 parents. The parents' group has also organized protests in front of the Prozor/Rama municipal building.

Decision to be reconsidered

It appears that all these actions have been effective. During their conversation with Ambassador Davidson, representatives of the governing parties in Prozor/Rama (the HDZ and the SDA) admitted that their decision was hasty, and have promised to reconsider it during upcoming sessions of the municipal council.

A better solution will be sought by the municipality, using the example of Mostar gymnasium as a possible model. All concerned groups will continue to follow the issue closely.

The story is not yet over, but Prozor/Rama has shown that civil society - represented by student, teacher and parent groups - is ready to take active steps to ensure that BiH adheres to and fulfils its international commitments in the field of education.