The Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) presented a newly adopted strategic document entitled “Improving the quality and relevance of vocational education and training in BiH – Based on the Conclusions from Riga (2021-2030)”, thus meeting one of the requirements which were mentioned in the analytical report which came with the opinion of the European Commission regarding the acquisition of BiH candidate status for the European Union (EU) membership.
This document was adopted by the Council of Ministers of BiH at the proposal of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and was created in cooperation with all relevant education authorities, as well as other relevant partners, with significant support from Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation (OeAD). It represents a framework for action for all competent education authorities until 2030.
Apart from the Minister of Civil Affairs of BiH, Ankica Gudeljevic, the presentation of the document was also attended by the Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to BiH, Ulrik Hartmann, and Ambassador Johann Sattler, Head of the Delegation of the EU to BiH.
“The fact that the document was finalized during the coronavirus pandemic, at a time when we were all focused primarily on health care, speaks of the commitment of all involved in this process,” told Gudeljevic, while pointing out that the adoption of this document is important for several reasons.
As she stated, with its adoption, BiH fulfilled one of the recommendations of the European Commission from the Analytical Report with the Opinion on the application of BiH for membership in the EU and made another important step on the path to European integration.
The mentioned document represents a framework for action by all competent education authorities until 2030 and is the basis for modernization, increasing the quality and relevance of vocational education and training, and finally and most importantly, its full integration into the European area of vocational education and training.
“From the Austrian point of view, we welcome the strategic document on the implementation of the so-called resolution from Riga in BiH since it focuses on vocational education as a development priority, ” said Hartmann, adding that for many years, vocational education for Austria has been an integral part of cooperation with BiH and the entire region.
Sattler supported the adoption of this important strategic document, expressing satisfaction with the fact that the Ministry of Civil Affairs has implemented this significant activity in the past period.
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