National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia / Activities / Activity details
23 February 2018 SEECP PA General Committee on Social Development, Education, Research and Science meeting in Podgorica
Monday, 26 February 2018
SEECP PA General Committee on Social Development, Education, Research and Science Meeting in Podgorica
MP Marko Parezanovic, substitute member of the National Assembly’s standing delegation to the South East Europe Cooperation Process Parliamentary Assembly (SEECP PA), took part in the meeting of the SEECP PA General Committee on Social Development, Education, Research and Science on 23-24 February 2018 in Podgorica, Montenegro. The topic of the meeting was “Education in South East Europe: State-of-Play and Prospects”.
The meeting was chaired by Montenegrin MP and General Committee Chair Radule Novovic and attended by representatives of the parliaments of Turkey, Greece, Romania, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Croatia, as well as representatives of Pristina. In his address, Montenegrin Education Minister Damir Sehovic presented the results of the education reforms in Montenegro. On the behalf of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) stationed in Sarajevo, Mimika Dobrosi spoke about the current situation in the region, qualified workforce, early dropping out of elementary education and international recognition of academic qualifications.
Marko Parezanovic said that Serbia is determined to intensify any and all regional cooperation which would contribute to the region’s stability, its European integration and international affirmation. Despite the fact that the EU does not have educational laws and directives, this area is just as important for the EU as it is for countries in the region because high quality education is directly tied into economic development and social cohesion. Parezanovic presented the set of education laws the National Assembly had passed in late 2017. He stressed that the Republic of Serbia is at the forefront of educational reform as evidenced by both data and research. This is especially noticeable in the numbers highly qualified people among the employed where Serbia is in a definite lead in the region, whereas the numbers of people dropping out of the education system early put Serbia at the bottom of the list. Serbia is the only country in the region to have passed a law on dual education, and other countries are starting to follow suit. The series of reforms to the education sector concern strengthening cooperation between high-education institutions and the economy. Marko Parezanovic mentioned as example the establishment of employers’ councils at higher-education institutions, enabling teachers and students to establish start-up companies, as well as introducing economy experts into the education process. Making computer science a compulsory subject in response to the need to make children computer literate from the earliest age is another good example.
The MPs from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Pristina complained that the unstable political situation has led to a much worse situation in the field of education which opens up the opportunity to enhance cooperation and ensure a uniform development in the region. The MPs mentioned non-functionality of the knowledge gained and the fact that arts dominate over sciences as one of the biggest problems in the region.
At the end of the meeting the participants adopted a Resolution and Report to be presented at the SEECP PA Plenary on 14 April in Ljubljana, to be attended by the heads of parliament of SEECP participating states. In the course of the adoption of the abovementioned documents the representatives of Pristina walked out of the meeting because they did not agree with the amendments submitted by the Serbian delegation as regards the status neutral formulation of Pristina’s participation which were acceptable to all the other participants. In the continuation of the meeting the Serbian delegation’s amendments were accepted and the documents were adopted.
Marko Parezanovic said that Serbia is determined to intensify any and all regional cooperation which would contribute to the region’s stability, its European integration and international affirmation. Despite the fact that the EU does not have educational laws and directives, this area is just as important for the EU as it is for countries in the region because high quality education is directly tied into economic development and social cohesion. Parezanovic presented the set of education laws the National Assembly had passed in late 2017. He stressed that the Republic of Serbia is at the forefront of educational reform as evidenced by both data and research. This is especially noticeable in the numbers highly qualified people among the employed where Serbia is in a definite lead in the region, whereas the numbers of people dropping out of the education system early put Serbia at the bottom of the list. Serbia is the only country in the region to have passed a law on dual education, and other countries are starting to follow suit. The series of reforms to the education sector concern strengthening cooperation between high-education institutions and the economy. Marko Parezanovic mentioned as example the establishment of employers’ councils at higher-education institutions, enabling teachers and students to establish start-up companies, as well as introducing economy experts into the education process. Making computer science a compulsory subject in response to the need to make children computer literate from the earliest age is another good example.
The MPs from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Pristina complained that the unstable political situation has led to a much worse situation in the field of education which opens up the opportunity to enhance cooperation and ensure a uniform development in the region. The MPs mentioned non-functionality of the knowledge gained and the fact that arts dominate over sciences as one of the biggest problems in the region.
At the end of the meeting the participants adopted a Resolution and Report to be presented at the SEECP PA Plenary on 14 April in Ljubljana, to be attended by the heads of parliament of SEECP participating states. In the course of the adoption of the abovementioned documents the representatives of Pristina walked out of the meeting because they did not agree with the amendments submitted by the Serbian delegation as regards the status neutral formulation of Pristina’s participation which were acceptable to all the other participants. In the continuation of the meeting the Serbian delegation’s amendments were accepted and the documents were adopted.
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