TI BiH sent an initiative to the RS Ministry of Education and Culture: Exclude policy from school management

Banja Luka, 29. June 2021 – Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BIH) sent an initiative to the Ministry of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska to amend the existing laws on primary and secondary education in order to reduce political influence on the election process and the work of school governing bodies.

TI BiH Center for Legal Aid in the Fight against Corruption receives an increasing number of complaints from teachers, parents and students who are dissatisfied with frequent changes in teaching staff, lack of competition in employment, nepotism and increasingly obvious examples of party employment in schools in Republika Srpska.

Due to these phenomena that negatively affect the quality of education and which recently led to protests from parents and even boycotts of teaching, TI BiH sent an initiative to the authorities with the aim of considering a different model of management in school institutions.

The initiative proposed a package of measures aimed at reducing the impact of policies in school management and establishing the principles of merits, quality and democratic control. Some of the measures include:

• Provide that the School Board as a heterogeneous and participatory governing body has a key role to play in the selection and appointment of primary and secondary school principals. Prior or subsequent approval may be required from the Minister, but the School Board must play a key role.
• Introduce as an obligation that candidates for the position of director must submit with the application for the competition a proposal of the work program for the term of office for which they are applying. Require candidates to submit a work program proposal to the School Board.
• Provide that the School Board must request an expert opinion on the quality of the work program of the candidate for the position of director from the Republic Pedagogical Institute.
• Exclude the Government from the decision-making process or the procedure for electing and appointing school principals.
• Limit the director’s term to a maximum of two consecutive terms, or anticipate that a maximum of two five-year terms are possible at all.
• The term of office should be five years as a form of guarantee of political neutrality.

The initiative was also sent to members of the Education Committee of the RS National Assembly, all parliamentary clubs and the RS Republic Pedagogical Institute, thus launching an advocacy campaign called “Politicians, get out of class!” With the aim of eliminating corruption risks in educational institutions.

Due to growing dissatisfaction with the quality of education, TI BiH expects the authorities to consider the proposed solutions and initiate procedures to amend the law in order to achieve a better model of school management in the Republika Srpska through a public debate that should include the academic community.

Press rls-29.06.2021