Doc. 8385

23 April 1999

Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Information report

Committee on Culture and Education

Rapporteur: Mr René Kollwelter, Luxembourg, Socialist Group

I.       Introduction

II.       The political situation

III.       The development of education in Bosnia and Herzegovina

IV.       Current situation

V.       Conclusions and recommendations

Appendix: Programme of the visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina

I. Introduction

Bosnia and Herzegovina applied for Council of Europe membership on 10 April 1995 and in January 1999 the Committee of Ministers decided to request the Parliamentary Assembly's opinion on the application. Responsibility for issuing the opinion lies with the Political Affairs and Legal Affairs committees.

      However, education is considered to be one of the most critical factors in the process of restoring democratic stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and facilitating the return of displaced persons. When he visited the Council of Europe in January 1999 Mr Westendorp, the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, drew attention to the importance of the education system for any democratic transition and raised such problems as the ethnic segregation of children, language issues, ethnic stereotypes in school textbooks and the difficulties of developing a common curriculum. These problems cannot be separated from the accession process, which is why the Committee on Culture and Education has decided to present this report.

      To help prepare the report the secretary of the committee, Mr Joćn Ary, and I visited Bosnia and Herzegovina from 8 to 11 March 1999, and met ministers of education, officials of educational institutions, university rectors, student representatives and representatives of international organisations and NGOs (see the appended programme). Unfortunately the visit to Banja Luka had to be cancelled owing to the dismissal of President Poplasen by Mr Westendorp and the announcement of the Brcko arbitration.

II. The political situation

Under the November 1995 Dayton agreements, the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is composed of two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. The Federation comprises ten cantons, five with a large Bosnian majority, three with a large Croat majority and two with a significant Croat minority. The line separating the two entities corresponds to the line separating the Bosnians and Croats on one side from the Serbs on the other. This separation is the result of the war (and its attendant "ethnic cleansing") and does not correspond to the previous demographic situation.

      The Dayton agreements provide for the return of displaced persons to their places of origin, but more than three years later the situation regarding ethnic segregation has not changed much and there has been a widespread failure to achieve such a return. It is clear to me that no one wishes to settle in an often hostile environment, where there is no guarantee of employment and, moreover, the children would have to move to a new education system.

      The general opinion on the spot is that Bosnia and Herzegovina operates as an international protectorate, with SFOR, the United Nations stabilisation force, responsible for all military matters and the Office of the High Representative for all the rest. From what I could see, this is a fairly accurate picture of the situation. Consequently, local political representatives are devalued in the eyes of the population, which in any case seemed to have very little interest in politics. Civil society is almost non-existent, apart from a throng of international organisations and NGOs of all sorts.

      This significant and continuing international presence in all areas of public life leads to the authorities' abdicating their responsibilities and many fundamental decisions are left to the Office of the High Representative, who is seen locally as the "personification" of the international community. Few Bosnians are prepared to co-operate for no direct return in projects aimed at achieving greater co-operation, co-ordination and effectiveness. A dependency culture has rapidly become rooted in the country's society and there is no sign of support for improving institutions and public services.

III. The development of education in Bosnia and Herzegovina

In the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia education was the responsibility of each of the republics and co-ordination at federal level was primarily concerned with ideology. However, between 1945 and 1990 the education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina was not significantly different from that in the other republics of former Yugoslavia, in terms of ideology, general structure and course content and form. Within the Socialist Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina there was a single education system for all the inhabitants, be they Serb, Croat or Bosnian. Teaching was in the Serbo-Croat language. Pupils were taught both alphabets, Cyrillic and Latin, but the former was in decline.

      The war from 1992 to 1995 that opposed the paramilitary forces of the Bosnian Serbs (greatly assisted by the federal Yugoslav army), the army of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croat Council of Bosnia (HVO, supported by Croatia) completely dismantled the education system: no financial support was available, many schools were damaged or destroyed, others were used to shelter displaced persons or requisitioned by the military, thousands of school books and complete libraries were set on fire, populations were displaced and many teachers and pupils were killed, so that by mid-1992 it was already no longer possible to speak of an education system in the country.

      The country's division along ethnic lines has been accompanied by a process of linguistic separation. Whereas before the war all the inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina spoke a form of Serbo-Croat, the Croats now claim to speak the "Croat language", the Serbs the "Serb language" and the Muslims of Bosnia the "Bosnian language". Although the last named has remained very close to the language spoken in the country before the war a certain number of words invented or rediscovered by the linguists of Zagreb have been introduced into the "Croat language". Despite the apparent complexity of these linguistic developments, the three versions remain mutually comprehensible, making it all the more ridiculous that, as I was informed in Sarajevo, interpreters are used at certain official meetings.

      Since 1992, therefore, three systems have gradually become established in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the area controlled by the Serbs, corresponding to the present-day Republika Srpska, the system is imported from Serbia and uses school books from Belgrade, the Cyrillic alphabet and the "Serb language". In the area controlled by the HVO forces, which now corresponds to the three Croat majority cantons and certain parts of two others, the Croatian system has been imported, using school books from Zagreb, the Latin alphabet and the "Croat language". Finally, the Bosnian system, which uses the "Bosnian language", was developed in Sarajevo with school books produced in difficult conditions during the siege of that city.

Current situation

a. General background

The Washington (March 1994), Vienna (May 1994) and Dayton (November 1995) agreements made education (including higher education) the responsibility of the cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the entity as a whole in the Republika Srpska. As a result, there are now twelve ministers of education in the country, with their respective ministries: one for each of the cantons in the Federation, one for the Republika Srpska and one for the Federation itself (but whose role is not clearly defined). Education is so decentralised that there are grounds for fearing the advent of not three but eleven different systems.

      Turning to higher education, several of the persons we spoke to referred to a system that would be the old central European one, very cumbersome and obsolete, with three different nationalist approaches. The student representatives whom I met seemed more concerned with acquiring a degree or qualifications that would enable them to find work abroad than with contributing to the reform of their institutions.

b. The Sarajevo Return Commission

Following the declaration of the Sarajevo return conference held in Bonn on 3 February 1998, the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina established a Sarajevo return commission. Its main objective was to create the necessary conditions for a peaceful return of refugees to the canton of Sarajevo. One of the commission's main raisons d'źtre was to promote and protect education rights. A steering group for education in Sarajevo was formed to supervise the work of the Sarajevo cantonal authorities and deal with the most pressing educational policy issues as a matter of priority.

      The steering group, co-chaired by the Council of Europe and the Office of the High Representative, has about twenty members and observers: officials of the cantonal education ministry, academics, school heads, teachers, parents and representatives of other international organisations, including UNESCO, and NGOs. The group, on which all three communities are represented, met once a month and work continued uninterrupted in sub-groups.

      Four priorities were set and the sub-groups focussed on the following areas:

1.       an examination of school text books, with a view to eliminating undesirable ethnic aspects, which occur very frequently in books produced during and after the war;

2.       the allocation of education resources, to make sure that no ethnic group is discriminated against;

3.       the development of education projects aimed at restoring confidence between the different communities;

4.       discrimination, the main task being to establish a transparent and effective appeals procedure in cases of discrimination in the education system.

      An attempt was made to review all the text books concerned with history, geography, "knowledge of society", fine arts and literature used in the canton's secondary schools. Subject matter was identified whose ethnic stereotypes or biased viewpoint might cause offence to members of certain communities and a series of recommendations was drawn up. These recommendations, which had been accepted by the members of the sub-group and the steering group, included the withdrawal of textbooks that raised problems and their replacement by more suitable material. They were the subject of an interim report to the cantonal authorities in June 1998.

      No action was taken by the authorities until October, when a press campaign was launched against the international community, which was accused of seeking to erase Bosnia's history, teach their children lies and prepare the ground for a fresh genocide. The newspapers claimed that the sub-group's members had sent schools instructions, requiring, among other things, that the word "crime" in school textbooks be replaced by "error".

      The press campaign, which lasted three months, was so virulent that the cantonal government decided to reject all the recommendations. The sub-group has disintegrated, the steering group has been unable to meet since, the Sarajevo Declaration has lost credibility and the work of international organisations on the spot has suffered greatly.

      The Sarajevo authorities tried to minimise the affair during my meetings with them. However, when one considers that the education steering group should play a key role and offer the rest of the country positive examples of policies and good practice, there are reasons to fear that this setback in the Sarajevo process will have serious repercussions for both the country itself and those outside Bosnia and Herzegovina who might be prepared to return.

c. Council of Europe action

Since the signing of the Dayton agreements, the Council of Europe has become increasingly active in Bosnia and Herzegovina in all areas relating to education policy and has played a key part in co-ordinating the international organisations working in the country, particularly through the education steering group.

      A certain number of pilot projects to encourage democratic and intercultural practices in the education sector have also been established, with guaranteed funding.

      An information campaign has been launched, with leaflets being distributed to all the schools in the canton of Sarajevo, to combat discrimination in the education system.

      Meetings have taken place between the education ministers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska under the co-chairmanship of the Office of the High Representative and the Council of Europe, with a view to resolving the common problems relating to education, such as the revision of school textbooks, participation of the three communities at national level and curriculum reforms. For the time being, these meetings appear to have produced relatively few practical results.

      For the third year running, a series of residential seminars on human rights and education for citizenship was held in October 1998 and attended by some 250 teachers from across the country. The preparation of these seminars brought together teacher trainers from all the country's ethnic groups, who will play a key role in the future projects, as well as representatives of the federal and cantonal ministries and officials of education institutions. So far, about 1 500 teachers in Bosnia and Herzegovina have benefited from the programme.

      A joint Council of Europe/UNESCO initiative, with the full backing of the Office of the High Representative, has taken the first steps towards the establishment of a consultative council on higher education, which would act as an inter-entity institution with a key role in issues with which the authorities are concerned.

      Drawing up coherent education policies has been made difficult by the complexity of the education systems and the lack of clarity in the decision making process. Precise information on the current situation is essential and the Council of Europe and the World Bank are co-operating on a large-scale project to encourage the reform of the management and financing arrangements in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project will cover all the education sectors (primary, secondary and higher) at a cost of about 300 000 dollars.

d. History teaching

A number of critical issues have emerged concerning history teaching, whose potential impact on Bosnian society is enormous. The most acute problems relate to the recent conflict, but all history teaching concerning the Balkans raises issues. The most difficult areas concern the competing versions of the "truth" and of the responsibility for historic events, with the obvious danger that history teaching will be used as a tool of nationalist propaganda.

Certain proposals have been drawn up to deal with the problem. The Council of Europe co-chairman of the education steering group has proposed a fixed-term moratorium on the teaching of recent history to enable local historians from all ethnic groups to work with international historians on a universally accepted version (or versions) of recent events which can be used in schools, and this idea is currently being developed by the Office of the High Representative. In the meantime, an internationally recognised historian has been asked to produce a three to four page text on the recent conflict. It will be adapted to satisfy the different levels of complexity required for its use in primary and secondary schools and will then be examined by the relevant authorities, who include representatives of all the main ethnic groups. These measures should be applied at national level.

e. School syllabuses

In the Federation, where responsibility for education has been delegated to the cantons, a number of syllabuses have been drawn up. There is an urgent need for co-ordination between the cantons to safeguard the education rights of all the communities. School results must be standardised and recognised not just in one canton but throughout the country, to enable pupils to move between schools in different cantons and other countries without encountering any obstacles. Apart from the question of official recognition, syllabuses and examinations must be seen to be basically the same throughout the country. If the current situation persists, fears concerning their children's education may prevent displaced persons from taking the difficult decision to return to their country. The problems of access to higher education will become equally acute if there is no improvement in cantonal co-operation.

      Those responsible for drawing up syllabuses have been working on proposals to develop a basic curriculum to which could be added aspects relating to specific ethnic groups, such as music and the arts. A first meeting took place in August 1998 and work is continuing. Co-ordination between the two entities, the Federation and Republika Srpska, and the drawing up of syllabuses acceptable to all ethnic groups are high priority topics for discussion at the monthly meetings of the entities' education ministers.

      Those whom I met all agreed on the need for a basic curriculum (according to Mr Rizvanbegovic, the minister of the Federation, there is no justification for three maths textbooks). However, they do not agree about its content.

f. Linguistic issues

Some of the representatives of the education authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina consider that the new linguistic situation – with three "languages" – calls for distinct education systems, on the grounds that the various needs cannot be reconciled in a single system. The production of new textbooks for Bosnia, which is essential for the country's development, therefore raises certain serious problems. Arguments based on linguistic rights are used to justify segregation in schools and the drawing up of distinct syllabuses for each ethnic group. Accepting linguistically distinct versions of textbooks, as the representatives of the different education authorities demand, would therefore be a further step on the path towards accepting the segregation of children according to language and ethnic background.

      The political stakes posed by the language issue for the public authorities should not be underestimated since the outcome could determine the viability of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a coherent state. So far there have been no independent assessments of the country's linguistic development and in the current climate the national authorities are unlikely to request such an exercise.

IV. Conclusions and recommendations

The main challenges that the country faces – smoothing the return of displaced persons and guaranteeing democratic stability – are closely dependent on positive changes in the education system. The country's linguistic segregation calls for urgent attention, since the "ghettoisation" of pupils according to their linguistic and/or ethnic backgrounds would cast doubts on its long-term viability as a multi-ethnic state.

Achieving the transition to a more integrated education system is an immensely difficult task which necessitates complex planning, in stages, and the re-establishment of confidence between the different communities. In the existing post-war context, where most of the country's regions continue to be divided along ethnic lines, hardly any issues have a higher priority.

      As I said at the start of this report, these questions cannot be separated from the process of Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly has to examine them closely.

      A number of practical recommendations can be made:

APPENDIX

PROGRAMME

FACT FINDING MISSION TO BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

MR. RENE KOLLWELTER, RAPPORTEUR ON EDUCATION

OF THE COMMITTEE ON CULTURE AND EDUCATION

OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

8 - 11 March 1999

Monday 8 March 1999

ca. 14.45       Arrival of Rapporteur René Kollwelter and Joćo Ary in Banja Luka via Vienna to be met at the airport by Adnan Huskic

15.30       Vice Rector of Banja Luka University, Mr. Radoslav Grujic or Mr. Rajko Gnjato and representatives of student organisations

17.00       Republika Srpska Assistant Minister of Education, Mr. Petar Djakovic and Mr. Dragoljub Krneta, Director of RS Pedagogical Institute, Ministry of Education, Government Building tel: 00 381 78 18 895 or 897

p.m.       Arrival in Sarajevo of Rapporteur Kollwelter and Joćo Ary, Secretary to the Committee on Culture and Education

17.00       Dusanka Ivankovic, teacher, member of textbook review working group of Sarajevo Education Working Group (now defunct)

      Council of Europe Office

Tuesday 9 March 1999

08.30       Departure for Mostar with Adnan Huskic, accompanied by Heike Alefsen, CoE Representative

11.00        Pero Marijanovic, Assistant for Science to Simun Musa, Federation Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Sport

12.00       Prof. Dr. Dane Kordic, Vice Rector of West Mostar University, and West Mostar student representatives Josip Blazevic and Zelimir Markic, and Mustafa Selimovic, Rector, and Nurudin Bijedic, Vice Rector of "Dzemal Bijedic" (East Mostar) University, and Adis Bubalo, Chief of the Office of Students Union of "Dzemal Bijedic" University

13.30       Vlado Majstorovic and Nijaz Slipicevic, Herzegovina-Neretva Minister of Education and Deputy

15.30       Sabaha Bijedic and Radoslav Tomic, Directors of East and West Mostar Pedagogical Institutes

17.30       Return to Sarajevo

Wednesday 10 March 1999

09.00       Gavrilo Grahovac, Serb Civic Council

      Council of Europe Office

10.00       Deena Hurwitz / Sevima Sali, International Human Rights Law Group

      Marsala Tita 8, tel. 205 319

11.00       Safet Halilovic, Sarajevo Canton Minister of Education, and Deputy

12.30       Lunch with Amila Terzimehic, CoE Education Coordinator

14.00       Srebren Dizdar, Chair of Advisory Board, World University Service, and Dino Mujkic, Acting Head of WUS BIH office

      WUS office, Obala kulina bana 7 (University building), 200 070

      

15.30       Ian Martin, Deputy High Representative for Human Rights

      Office of the High Representative, Marsala Tita 28, tel. 447 275

18.00       Colin Kaiser, UNESCO Representative

      UNESCO office, Bistrik 7, tel. 670 728

20.00       Dinner

Thursday 11 March 1999

8.15       Jim Stevens, World Bank

      Hotel Dardanija, Radiceva 19, tel. 213 613

09.00       Fahrudin Rizvanbegovic, Federation Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Sport, and Assistant Ismet Krnic, responsible for textbook review

      Federation Ministry, Obala Maka Dizdara 2, tel. 663 691

11.30       Nusret Voloder, Director of Pedagogical Institute

12.30       Nedzad Mulabegovic, Rector of Sarajevo University and student representatives

14.00       Departure for airport

Reporting committee: Committee on Culture and Education

Reference to committee: Resolution 1066 (1995)

Approved by the committee on 19 April 1999

Secretaries to the committee: Mr Ary, Mrs Theophilova-Permaul, Ms Kostenko