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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
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