The Steering Committee (SC) of the Education for Employment in Bosnia and Herzegovina project met for the ninth time in Sarajevo on November 14, 2022.
After the adoption of the proposed Agenda and the minutes from the previous meeting, the Project SC acknowledged the overview of the implementation of the conclusions reached at earlier sessions. It was agreed that the current materials should be updated to reflect the changes, comments, and recommendations made by the SC members during discussion.
The project work report for the period October-November 2022 sparked a productive conversation among SC members and project team representatives and . It was made clear that only in the event of a six-month extension of the project the activities of project Component 4 – Human Resources Development in the Education Sector, would be implemented. These activities comprise the teacher training in External Exams Preparation and Implementation, as well as the implementation of external assessment at the end of the first grade of high school in pilot schools. However, it was suggested that Component 4 should begin with the aforementioned trainings, which would continue in the case of project extension. Regular external examination of students’ achievements is a standard procedure for monitoring educational outcomes in well-developed education systems throughout the EU and worldwide. These tests allow policymakers to monitor the state of education and develop plans based on valid, reliable, and objective data. The project work report was returned to the project team for correction, with the instruction that the amended version should be included in the subsequent Quarterly Report.
The upcoming certificate distribution to 65 professors from eight public universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who successfully completed the training on “Implementation of occupational/qualification standards in teacher education study programs” was also discussed. It was underlined that the awarding of the indicated certificates must have a legal foundation. If one does not exist, participants should be given completion of training confirmation, which will allow them to convey the acquired knowledge and skills to their university colleagues. The purpose of this training was for current university teachers to gain knowledge and skills necessary to independently create study programs based on learning outcomes.
The project team updated the participants on the status of the five study tours planned for the members of the project working groups and the Steering Committee. Draft itineraries for Slovenia and the Netherlands have already been created, and the Project is now working on the itinerary for the study tours to Malta and Germany. It was stressed that the study tours would only take place if the project was extended. In order to make final decisions on this activity, in the following period the project team should update the study visits proposal with the relevant information and dates, and present it to the Steering Committee.
In order to overcome the high unemployment rate and a huge mismatch of the education and training systems with the demands of the labour market, the EU funded project “Education for Employment, BiH” aims to produce human resources in line with the labour market needs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project assists BiH authorities in improving capacity and structure for planning the educational process and quality of educational outcomes.
