SARAJEVO, Dec 10 (Hina) - The decision on revising textbooks which are in use in Bosnia-Herzegovina was necessary so that contents which could insult any of the three ethnic communities in the country could be removed, spokeswoman for
the Office of the High Representative (OHR) Alexandra Stiglmayer told Hina on Friday. She added that the decision had been conducted with participation and consent of the highest education ministry officials from the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. The decision on this process, which included textbooks from six courses in social sciences, had been made in April 1998 and should have been implemented by the end of that year. Due to frequent cases of obstruction, the process required direct intervention and arbitration of OHR representatives and UNESCO experts so that the revision was completed only last summer. According to Stiglmayer, the removal of insulting
SARAJEVO, Dec 10 (Hina) - The decision on revising textbooks which
are in use in Bosnia-Herzegovina was necessary so that contents
which could insult any of the three ethnic communities in the
country could be removed, spokeswoman for the Office of the High
Representative (OHR) Alexandra Stiglmayer told Hina on Friday.
She added that the decision had been conducted with participation
and consent of the highest education ministry officials from the
Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska.
The decision on this process, which included textbooks from six
courses in social sciences, had been made in April 1998 and should
have been implemented by the end of that year. Due to frequent cases
of obstruction, the process required direct intervention and
arbitration of OHR representatives and UNESCO experts so that the
revision was completed only last summer.
According to Stiglmayer, the removal of insulting or unacceptable
school contents is a precondition for Bosnia-Herzegovina's joining
the Council of Europe.
The original idea was for representatives of the country's three
peoples to identify what they consider unacceptable in textbooks
which are being used in programmes of the two other ethnic
communities, however, there was no full agreement on that matter
either.
Stiglmayer confirmed that representatives of all sides presented
numerous objections regarding the way some sections of textbooks
had been crossed out or blackened.
The Croat side objected most to the exclusion of the anthem "Lijepa
nasa" (Our Beautiful Homeland) from the obligatory curriculum.
Stiglmayer said the explanation for this act was clear as "Lijepa
nasa" was the national anthem of the Republic of Croatia.
She said independent analyses had shown that textbooks which were
used in Bosnia-Herzegovina contained little effort to encourage
children toward reconciliation and coexistence, but the basic
principles of the school system were not something one could be
proud of either.
Classes and the school system as a whole, and not only textbooks,
have to be reformed, the OHR believes.
Stiglmayer said what operated in Bosnia-Herzegovina was the old
communist education system which was oriented toward the
accumulation of knowledge rather than toward developing critical
thinking.
The reform of the school system is a priority task which High
Representative Wolfgang Petritsch intends to deal with in the
coming period despite the strong opposition of local authorities,
Stiglmayer said.
(hina) rml