Ćamil Duraković, the Vice-President of the Republika Srpska (RS) entity, submitted an initiative to the Ministry of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska and to the National Assembly of Republika Srpska for amendments and supplements to the entity Law on Primary Education and Upbringing. The initiative aims to resolve long-standing systemic issues children, parents, and teachers from the Bosniak and Croat peoples face within the educational system of this entity.
Duraković stated that the applicable legal framework and current practice do not guarantee the right to the mother tongue in its full capacity. They also fail to ensure proportional ethnic representation among employees in educational institutions.
The initiative provides for ten concrete solutions, as he explained. Solutions include the recognition of the Bosnian and Croatian languages in pedagogical documentation, by introducing a guarantee for studying the subject “Mother Tongue with Elements of National Culture and History,” and by establishing a special textbook commission for non-majority communities. Furthermore, it proposes affirmative action measures when hiring teaching staff, as well as the depoliticization and secularization of school spaces to make schools truly inclusive and safe for all children.
“With these amendments and supplements, we are proposing concrete solutions to ensure that schools are truly inclusive and safe for all children and to finally put an end to discriminatory practices in the educational system. The introduction of the subject ‘Mother Tongue with Elements of National Culture and History’ would enable Bosniaks and Croats to have an additional school subject specifically focused on our languages and literature, while also providing a framework for studying the history of the region and our country from the Middle Ages to modern days. In this way, we would overcome the long-standing problem of a lack of consensus on teaching history, combine that part with the language and literature subject, and reduce the separation of children to a minimum—limiting it to just one subject across the entire entity throughout their education. This solution is utilized in several countries in the region, and I believe we are offering a good opportunity for the Ministry of Education and Culture of RS to make a step forward,” Duraković assessed.
As he specified, the proposed amendments also bring stricter sanctions for violating students’ rights, and obstructing the exercise of the right to language is now explicitly defined as a serious breach of official duty. Additionally, an obligation for proportional ethnic representation in school boards and parent councils is envisioned, guaranteeing the institutional participation of parents from non-majority communities in decision-making and preventing outvoting on sensitive issues of identity and culture. A mechanism for control and transparency is also established through the obligation of the line ministry to maintain special records and submit an annual report on the state of inclusive education.
“I am convinced that the adoption of these amendments would represent a civilizational step forward that will significantly contribute to building trust, sustainable return, and stability in Republika Srpska, as well as fulfilling obligations under international conventions on the rights of the child. This is not empty rhetoric; I have spent several months working with leading legal experts. We have offered a non-populist, highly precise, and advanced solution to finally resolve this issue for the Bosniak and Croat communities in RS,” Duraković stated.
The initiative has been forwarded to the members of parliament for consideration and the initiation of the regular legislative procedure. The constitutional basis for enacting this law is contained within the Constitution of Republika Srpska, which guarantees the equality of all constituent peoples, as well as in the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education in BiH.
“I call upon all members of parliament to thoroughly consider this proposal and to contact me so that we can hold joint consultations, as this issue transcends daily politics and concerns the fundamental human rights of our youngest,” Duraković concluded.
