Declaration
We, the Federal Minister of Education, the Deputy Federal Minister of
Education and the Minister of Education of the Republika Srpska, gathered for a
meeting of the Conference of Ministers of Education of Bosnia and Herzegovina
convened by OHR and the Council of Europe, and co-chaired by the Senior Deputy
High Representative, Ambassador Dr Matei Hoffmann, and Mr.Gabriele Mazza,Council
of Europe,on 10 May 2000 at OHR, Sarajevo, declare our commitment to the
fundamental reform of the existing parallel education systems of Bosnia and
Herzegovina as a matter of high priority, as requested by the Council of Europe
within the process of accession of BiH, as well as by the International
Community as a whole. We unanimously adopt the following principles:
- The highest quality of education based on genuine European standards and
norms should be sought for all children and young people of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, the single most valuable resource that the country has in order
to shape its future;
- Education must no longer be used to divide and fragment the communities of
Bosnia and Herzegovina; on the contrary, it should be used to bring them
together and live in tolerance with one another. Any existing forms of
segregation must be removed from the parallel education systems in the
Federation and Republika Srpska, and co-ordination assured in order to
facilitate the return of refugee families throughout the whole of Bosnia and
Herzegovina;
- While each constituent people of Bosnia and Herzegovina is entitled to
preserve and develop its own cultural and linguistic heritage, common and
shared elements which facilitate intercultural understanding and communication
should be stressed and reflected in all curricula and relevant textbooks.
Measures to be taken throughout the country include the teaching of both
Cyrillic and Latinic alphabets, the teaching of the shared literary and
cultural heritage of the three communities, and teaching about all major
religions practised in BiH;
- Curricula and textbooks for the national subjects must use Bosnia and
Herzegovina as their country of reference. The names of the two entities, the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska will also be
taught and used in textbooks where appropriate;
- All certificates and diplomas must be recognised and accepted throughout
the country in order to facilitate the mobility of pupils, students ,
teachers, teacher trainers and other educators;
- Sustained and coordinated efforts to reform and renew the different
education systems should immediately address the pervasive overload of
subjects in all curricula.
Fahrudin Rizvanbegovic
Minister of Education, Science, Culture and
Sports
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Nenad Suzic
Minister of Education
Republika Srpska
Ivo Miro Jovic
Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and
Sports
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
OHR Human Rights/ Rule of Law Department, 10 May 2000,
Sarajevo
|
