The number of students enrolled in universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina is lower by about 35 thousand compared to the period ten years ago, according to data from the BiH Statistics Agency.
While some local communities try to motivate young people with scholarships, and colleges by connecting them with employers, young people are less and less interested in higher education and turn to professions that allow them to leave the country quickly and easily.
Although her peers leave the country every day, Tamara Šućur, a young psychologist, chose another path. He is currently doing an internship and hopes for permanent employment.
“I chose to stay here because I hope that something will change, that there will be less recruitment through connections, party recruitment and that people who really know their job will be able to be in positions for that job,” says Tamara.
However, Tamara is one of the exceptions that proves the rule. Young people are leaving the country earlier and earlier, and this is supported by the fact that fewer and fewer students are enrolled in universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The first problem is that young people leave us early, they get an education there and then leave, and an even worse option is that we educate young people, train them and they go abroad as a finished product, and the countries that did not invest anything benefit from them,” says the university’s Professor Drago Vuković.
Some local communities try to motivate young people through scholarships. In Bijeljina, record funds were allocated for scholarships this year, and all those who applied and met the conditions received a scholarship.
“We are signing a record 218 decisions for 218 students, scholarships ranging from 275 to 325 BAM. Only the city of Zagreb is ahead of the city of Bijeljina in terms of the amount of scholarships, followed by Belgrade, Podgorica, Sarajevo, Banjaluka”, emphasizes the mayor of Bijeljina, Ljubiša Petrović.
Nevertheless, the departure of young people and the decrease in the number of students is a systemic problem that requires a systemic solution. Although the faculties try to deal with it in their own way, it is a drop in the ocean.
“We need to offer students high-quality plans and programs, high-quality and numerous extracurricular activities, we need to connect them with future potential employers to help them find employment,” says Goran Marković, dean of the Faculty of Law at UIS.
“When we have a reduced population, then we have to focus on quality, to have better education, better knowledge of students, I’m not sure that this is taken into account,” says demographer and university professor Stevo Pašalić.
Measures that would stimulate young people to enroll in studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina are more necessary than ever because there are fewer and fewer students. Certain higher education institutions are already threatened with closure due to lack of students – if there is no reaction, what awaits us in the future?
