Within the overall support of the European Union to improve the higher education system in BiH, the Project “Institutional capacity building for recognition of qualifications in higher education” was launched yesterday in Mostar. The major goal of the Project is to improve the system for recognition of foreign qualifications in higher education and to allow participation of holders of such qualifications in the labour market in BiH. The project activities will also aim at regulating the pertinence of pre-Bologna and Bologna qualifications acquired in BiH.
A team of experts from Croatia, France and Latvia, and the Centre for Information and Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education in BiH will work together on the implementation of the Bologna process and harmonisation of the relevant legislation.
Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to BiH Khaldoun Sinno noted that this EU funded project seeks to help Bosnia and Herzegovina improve the recognition of foreign qualifications in higher education. “This Project addresses one of the fundamental values of the European Union, and this is freedom of movement, which, among other things, implies that you are in a position to go where ever you choose to go with your diploma,” Khaldun Sinno said.
“We need professional, competent and responsible persons with a passion and desire to address problems in the education. We need to make room for them to make this happen, rather than open private faculties with no competencies or required conditions. Those who want to work should be provided with support,” Damir Ljubić, the CIP Director said.
Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia Ivan Del Vechio noted that the reform of the education was a “mother of all reforms” and added “this means establishment of a single institutional system in the country, an efficient system for recognition of qualifications of highly educated persons worldwide, which again requires a reform of all the institutions – structural reform”.
Ambassador of France Guillaume Rousson noted that the major goal of the Project is recognition of qualifications in higher education, which at the same time means that the quality of teaching should be improved.
The Project worth EUR 600,000.00 includes development of a statistical database and model document for professional recognition of foreign qualifications in higher education, which will help the responsible education authorities in their efforts to harmonise their own regulations and to bring such regulations in line with the Lisbon Recognition Convention, which BiH signed and ratified in 2003.
During the Project implementation, the partner Member States will carry out a detailed analysis of performance of the Centre for Information and Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education in BiH and provide a proposal for improvement. Furthermore, employees from different institutions in education and labour sector will receive appropriate training.
