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Serbia - Summary


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At the start of the twenty-first century, Serbia required substantial inputs to reconstruct its damaged educational system. Many schools were damaged in the violence of the 1990s and stood in major need of repair at the turn of the millennium. Educational equipment was in considerably short supply, and teaching materials sometimes were provided by international organizations such as UNICEF rather than by the state, due to Serbia's severe economic problems and the economic embargo on the country. The most needed reforms to be made in the educational system of Serbia—other than repairing basic infrastructure in Serbia and Kosovo—centered on democratizing education, both from a procedural and a management standpoint, and making learning a more active enterprise for students and teachers alike. Kosovo was receiving substantial support in this area by the year 2000 from the international community, but assistance to Serbia was slower to follow due to the political and economic constraints on the republic and the slow pace at which Serbian and Yugoslav officials complied with the demands of the International Criminal Tribunal. Curricula also needed to be revised to more accurately depict historical events and to reflect the multicultural, multilinguistic nature of Serbia and the rest of the Balkan peninsula. In June 2001 a large conference of international donors met in Brussels to discuss an international package of financial assistance to the former Yugoslavia, including Serbia and Kosovo. Much of the US$1.2 billion in funds pledged at the conference was designated for the educational sector to cover the salaries of educational personnel and to rebuild war-damaged schools and equip them with the materials needed to restart and improve educational programming. By 2001 Serbia seemed to be marking a new political direction for itself that would lead to social and economic improvements for the people of Serbia and Kosovo, including in the field of education. The possibilities for enhancing the educational system seemed promising as the government of Serbia prepared to develop a comprehensive educational reform package and to receive the necessary financial means to implement the desired reforms, including educational changes that would stimulate the Serbian economy and promote greater cooperation across Serbia and Kosovo, the other Balkan states, and beyond.

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University of Phoenix

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—Barbara Lakeberg Dridi

University of Phoenix

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