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 nister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports deration of Bosnia and Herzegovina p>
Nenad Suzic nister of Education publika Srpska p>
Ivo Miro Jovic puty Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports deration of Bosnia and Herzegovina p>