WORLD BANK WITHDRAWS USD12 MLN LOAN FOR BOSNIA'S EDUCATION SYSTEM REFORM

SARAJEVO, May 11 (Hina) - The World Bank has decided to withdraw its offer of a US12 million loan for the reform Bosnia-Herzegovina's education system, the head of the bank's office in Sarajevo, Dirk Reinermann, told reporters on Tuesday.#L# Reinermann said the decision was the direct result of the fact that Bosnia's parliament had refused to endorse a new law on higher education. The government-sponsored law was endorsed by the parliament's lower house, but the upper house rejected it at the request of Croat deputies, who referred to the need of protecting vital national interests. According to the Croat deputies, primarily those from Bosnia's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BH) party, there are no mechanisms protecting the Croatian culture and language in the Croat-Bosniak entity because Bosniaks outnumber Croats, nor a way to implement constitutional rights in practice. HDZ BH advocated that higher education be arranged and funded on the state level, which Bosnian Serb entity authorities resolutely rejected in the wish to retain entity autonomy in this field. As a result, the World Bank labelled the Croat and Serb sides equally responsibly for obstructing the reform of the education system. The decision to withdraw the loan is all the more damaging given that the funds will no longer be available since on July 1 Bosnia loses the status of a post-conflict country and the right to assistance under favourable terms. The spokeswoman of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe mission to Bosnia, Zinaida Delic, said the rejection of the education reform was the result of the cantons' inability to finance higher education in the past by themselves. She said the failure to adopt the law on higher education would delay the implementation of the Bologna Declaration in Bosnia, which would keep diplomas from its universities from being recognised in Europe. (Hina) ha