OSCE in Bosnia and Herzegovina promotes quality education for every child

SARAJEVO, 10 December 2012 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the non-governmental organization Save the Children held a conference in Sarajevo today to highlight best practices, lessons learned and sustainable solutions for improving education sys-tems in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the introduction of the Index for Inclusion.

The Index for Inclusion is a methodology piloted in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2008 that enables schools to develop themselves in an inclusive manner. It is a self-assessment tool that serves to reduce barriers to learning and participation for all pupils on an equal footing.

“The Index for Inclusion helps foster a culture of tolerance and respect for diversity in communities, and create accessible schools, open to all children irrespective of their social, physical, cognitive, emotional or national characteristics,” said Trefor Williams, Director of the Human Dimension Department in the OSCE Mission to BiH. 

Implemented in more than 350 schools in BiH, the Index has so far proved particularly effective in the inclusion of children with special needs, engaging the entire school community in decision-making, and promoting communication and co-operation between schools within a municipality.

“There is still little impact on the inclusion of children from Roma, returnee or socially disadvantaged backgrounds, a situation which needs to be urgently addressed,” Williams stressed. “A true success is when a school and a community stop being a school and community for some, and become a school and community for all.”

Andrea Zeravcic, the Director of Save the Children, said: “In the efforts to ensure inclusion, special attention should be paid to groups of students who risk being marginalized, excluded, or underperforming. It also involves assuming responsibility for undertaking the necessary measures to achieve their inclusion, and requires broader social activism, adequate training of educational staff, and an increase in capacities of school management. We call upon all educational authorities to promote fair, inclusive and quality education, so that every child has the place he or she deserves.”

Leaflet: Inclusive Schools - Inclusive Communities can be downloaded at
http://www.oscebih.org/documents/osce_bih_doc_2012121013092490eng.pdf