“Removing bias from textbooks and nurturing the development of
critical thinking with students may help meliorate wider problems of
divisions in schools and build a sense of a wider belonging to society,”
she said in an interview for SRNA.
Nina Suomalainen feels that one of the ways in which the OSCE
Mission is dealing with this issue is by reforming history classes
through a project called “history for the future.”
“Work of the Republika Srpska members of the History Subject Reform
Commission is very valuable, and the OSCE Mission hopes the
recommendations of the project teams will get support and approval from
the Republika Srpska Ministry of Education,” she said.
She adds that even though the OSCE Mission will continue to work
towards removing segregation and discrimination, it will need the active
participation of the educational authorities and the establishment of
greater cooperation.
Suomalainen feels this will be of benefit not just for students, but also for BiH society as a whole.
“The present educational sector in BiH reflects the complex
structure of government in the country. As you know, there is no united
approach to the creation and implementation of policies and/or the
interpretation of legislation. Though decentralisation may be of benefit
to citizens, by giving them influence in their local schools, it at the
same time carries with it numerous challenges” she warns.
She maintains that with the lack of transparency and appropriate
mechanisms for implementation, divisiveness may lead to exclusiveness
and inefficient use of resources.
She recollects that the OSCE Mission has been involved in
educational reform since 2002, saying that progress in this field has
quite certainly been made.
“There are many such examples: the drafting of common results and
standards is one of them, which allows pupils in BiH to be equal with
respect to what they are learning. Also, there are the activities
intended to make schools more inclusive, and we dealt with
discrimination in schools by mounting court action,” she said.
It is important to note, she adds, the establishment of
student/parent councils in schools. Finally, another area of progress is
represented by the introduction of alternative subjects in opposition
to religion in some places.
“In connection with our work in Republika Srpska, the Mission has
provided support to teams of the Educational Inspectorate in efforts to
reduce violations of the law on education, and has published a Financial
Guide for School Directors and a Training Guide for School Boards,” she
stressed.
A good example of cooperation is the pilot study done in the
Banjaluka city government on optimising the school network with the goal
of improving access to quality education for all pupils regardless of
geographic, social, ethnic or cultural provenance or sex.
“We must be aware of the importance of working with children and
youth. We value their opinion, and great ideas come from the networks,”
she stressed, adding that the Mission has good cooperation with
associations of Republika Srpska school directors.
The Mission supports the participation of school directors from
Republika Srpska in associations of directors of elementary and high
schools at the BiH level, and sees in them crucial partners in the
implementation of various projects, feeling it to be of vital interest
to build the capacities of school administrations in areas such as
finance, purchasing and financial review.
“There is still work to be done. I can stress three main areas:
ensuring compliance with the law and international obligations,
establishing standards at the BiH level so that children can apply
knowledge in the entire region and in Europe (in higher education, for
example), and increasing cooperation between the educational
authorities,” Nina Suomalainen has concluded.
(Srna/Frontal)
