The Tuzla Canton is the first in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to adopt a rulebook on marking significant dates in primary and secondary schools, with a special emphasis on the period of medieval Bosnia.
The commission that worked on the creation of this document was guided by the fact that for several decades schools have not systematically marked significant dates from the past of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Therefore, the document created included, among other things, the celebration of the day of independence, statehood, mother tongue, and the coronation of the first Bosnian king, Tvrtko.
“With this rulebook, it is possible to mark some events related to those local communities in a special way in local areas. Thus, with this rulebook, we influence the establishment of a systematic and legal basis for marking important dates that will help build a better feeling of the young generations towards the state and our past,” said university professor and member of the commission for creating the rule book Izet Sabotic.
Among important dates, the rulebook also covers May 28, i.e. the day when Sultan Fatih II Mehmed delivered the Ahdnama to the Bosnian Franciscans, and February 20 – the day when the First Bosnian Constitution was adopted.
“This is a very complex topic. At the state level, there are some solutions related to national holidays, but there are no important holidays related to medieval Bosnia. So this commission gave an answer to that as well. In addition to the day when the Charter of Kulin Ban was signed, another date from the period of medieval Bosnia is very popular. It is October 26, 1377, when King Tvrtko was crowned king of Bosnia. That date will be celebrated in all schools from this October, and the central manifestation will be especially highlighted,” the Minister of Education and sciences of Tuzla Canton Ahmed Omerovic, points out.
Highlighting that BiH society lost awareness of medieval Bosnia, Omerovic reminds that our country was a kingdom, while its kings were rulers with a certain integrity in the world.
“Among them, Tvrtko I Kotromanic, whose monument we have in Tuzla, was especially prominent. But, starting this October, students will creatively remember the coronation of our king, medieval Bosnia and all the important facts of that period,” says Omerovic.
Tvrtko I Kotromanic is the most important medieval Bosnian ruler, and during his reign from 1353 to 1391, the Bosnian state had the largest territorial extent.
He was in power for less than 38 years, and that era is also known as the period of the greatest rise of medieval Bosnia, in which the economy especially developed.
He was a member of the Kotromanic dynasty that ruled the medieval Bosnian state, and he came to power as a 15-year-old in 1353, succeeding Stjepan II Kotromanic.
The continuity of the rule of this dynasty was preserved until the political collapse of the medieval Bosnian state, and the importance of Tvrtko I Kotromanic is reflected in the expansion of the state territory, internal politics that led to an enormous strengthening of the economy, but also the creation of new cities.
University professor Midhat Causevic believes that the rulebook on marking important dates in primary and secondary schools, TC, shows respect for what is state-building awareness in a systemic way.
“A document like this is surely the way to develop state-building awareness among students, that is, among all those future generations who will be educated in the Tuzla Canton. After the addition to the history textbook for the period from 1992 to 1995, the decision on singing the national anthem at the beginning of the school year and the act on the appearance and proper placement of the flag and coat of arms, with this rulebook we round off a whole,” adds Causevic.
Application of the rulebook will be mandatory in all primary and secondary schools in the Tuzla Canton because, as emphasized, it highlights and nurtures the identity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Also, the relevant ministry will issue an order to schools that they must use the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina in its full name, and not in its abbreviation.
