Serbia plans bigger education investment

08/01/2009

Most schools in Serbia were built between the two world wars, and have seen no improvements since then. The government is promising more funds to tackle the problem.

By Bojana Milovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade -- 08/01/09

Currently, the percentage of the budget that Serbia devotes to education is one of the lowest in Europe. [Getty Images]

Serbia's dilapidated schools may finally receive an upgrade if authorities make good on plans to pump more money into the education system. Education Minister Zarko Obradovic says he wants to increase investment in education to 6% of GDP by the end of his term, in 2012.

"Investing in education equals investing in the future. Only if we increase budget funds for education will we accelerate Serbia's development and create better living conditions for all citizens," Obradovic said.

Data from the Serbian president's office show the majority of the 1,851 elementary and high schools in the country were built between the two world wars. They have seen no modernisation or renovation since. One in four schools is over 60 years old, and the equipment is around 42 years old on average. There is no heating in 25% of the schools, while just 30% have a library.

More than half of all Serbian schools do not meet the legal norms for gyms and their equipment, according to the youth and sports ministry.

Currently, the percentage of the budget that Serbia devotes to education is one of the lowest in Europe. The 2008 budget envisioned spending 3.6% of the overall GDP on education. That amount will fall to 3% in 2009 because the global economic crisis forced cutbacks in all areas of the budget. In comparison, Bosnia and Herzegovina invests 3.8% of its GDP in education, while Croatia spends about 5%.

But there is good news, too. Academics and working conditions have been gradually improving. By mid-2009, all of the schools in the country will have internet access under a contract signed last month by the education ministry and Telekom Srbija.

"High-speed internet will increase and accelerate the exchange of information in education and raise information literacy to a higher level," Obradovic said after the signing.

Statistics show that 41% of Serbian households have a computer and 33% have internet access. About 52% of the population use a computer, two million of whom access the internet on a regular basis.

Obradovic also signed an agreement late last month with French Ambassador to Belgrade Jean-Francois Terral on providing French language classes in Serbian schools. French as a first foreign language is currently taught in 50 primary schools and as a second foreign language in 600 schools.