It is very much evident how dependent our world and work is becoming on data, especially on genuine well collected data. As this is becoming the new “power” to justify decisions or produce valuable feedback for profitable or non-profitable purposes, this consideration makes the situation in the Balkan region even more complex.
The Balkan’s complexity in ethnicity, language and religion has been translated throughout the years by a variety of circumstances. As the OECD has reported, it is argued that as there is no majority ethnic group in South East Europe as a whole; all are, in some sense, minorities, and should be regarded as such. On the other hand, in long term policy and strategy, it is important to “think synoptically about the Southern Balkans as a whole”.
It is remarkable to see how the Balkan countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia are developing their collaborations through international conventions and goals on education, putting aside the stigma of nationalism that have had an adverse effect on the image of these countries. This study uses a mixed approach using a “birds eye view” of trends and developments in education in each country and regional collaboration and initiatives.
The international institutions presence in these countries is seen as having a positive influence on education, at country and region level. The European Union (EU) is the main actor and goal for these 8 countries, by setting the standard to aim for, whatever the actual situation and pace of progress. Nevertheless, the major feedback, for all the countries in this study, is “Education remains a high risk sector for corruption and political influence, especially in higher education.”
The political and geographical changes that took place in the region in the 1990s were very similar to a “wave” that involved all 8 Balkan countries profiled in this research. The development of the national education systems of the Western Balkan countries since the break-up of Yugoslavia has been impacted by war and ethnic conflict, by the process of nation-building, democratisation and by European integration. These developments have been accompanied by a steep reduction in government funding and the partial disintegration of education systems following the war, integration into the Bologna process and the European higher education area, and by structural reforms in the public sector which affected education.
Conclusion and recommendations include:
“Education remains a high risk sector for corruption and political influence, especially in higher education.”
Regional development and cross-border cooperation in the Western Balkans is one of the key areas of intervention by multilateral international institutions such as the EU, the WB, UNDP, Council of Europe, and EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development). Being in such a focus can be very positive for all the Balkan countries in developing skills, strategies and steps towards the EU.
Nevertheless, education, especially cross-border cooperation between Balkan countries have only been partially successful. The centralization of education is a policy found in all 8 Balkan countries listed in this analysis and reflects the insecure atmosphere perceived by the Balkan population (for more, see Balkan Barometer 2017). Namely:
Infrastructure remains poor in all 8 countries, even though there is huge attention on developing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on national level by different strategies and increased financing.
Human resources continue to struggle with many problems with the status of “education worker” as low wages, low level of autonomy within their work, lack of personal development etc.
Curricula is constantly changing with the changing of ministers.
Funding in all the 8 countries remains very low, despite the aspiration to reach EU levels.
Constant dropout due to poverty, infrastructure and local reasons is an important factor in all of the 8 countries. Identifying the extent of ESL in the Western Balkans is a challenge due to the lack of reliable data, a problem which is explicitly noted in some of the strategic documents (e.g. BiH 2010, SRB 2020). For example, the Strategy for the development of education in Serbia until 2020 notes that “we do not have systematic research on drop-out in Serbia, which categories of pupils are most affected, what is the regional profile of drop-out, what are the main reasons”.
Even though these 8 countries are neighbours, it is perceived as they are very separate from each other. Six of them aspire to be part of EU but, without any vision of “what’s next”, policymakers often forget the fact that even if they join the EU nothing will change in terms of neighbourhood. They will still be neighbours within the Balkan family.
This lack of vision towards collaboration in terms of policymaking at the executive level is setting these countries back on the path to become EU Members.
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