Education is important - Campaign Starts

The Delegation of the European Union to Serbia has launched a national promotional campaign under the slogan “Obrazovanje je važno” – (Education is important) about the EU’s support to the education sector in Serbia in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development. The campaign is intended for students and parents, teachers, professors, students and citizens of Serbia.

The campaign was officially announced by Ambassador Sem Fabrizi, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, and Branko Ruzic, Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development, as guests on the morning programme of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS).

"EU support to the reforms we implement in education is very important and in the future, we expect excellent cooperation. It is very important that education is among the priorities of this Government. EU is the largest donor to Serbia and we enjoy the support in one of the most important task in the period ahead – making of the Strategy for the development of education until 2027", said Branko Ružić, the First Vice-President of Serbian Government and Minister for Education, science and technical development.

The EU- Serbia cooperation in the education sector is an outstanding example of what we could achieve by working closely together. As Serbia’s largest partner in modernising the education system, since 2003, the EU has donated about EUR 100 million to reform and improve the education sector at all levels. From pre-school and primary education, through secondary vocational and higher and adult education – the EU is the most important partner of Serbia when it comes to introducing better standards, more advanced teaching and learning programmes, improvement of professional development of teachers and financing of new school equipment.

“The words of the great European philosopher Erasmus – the main hope of a nation lies in the proper education of its youth – are as important as ever. Our tomorrow depends on today’s investment in the new generations. This is the objective of EU’s action in the education sector in Serbia. To date, more than 40,000 Serbian teachers have gained new skills and knowledge through professional trainings. 175 secondary vocational schools all over the Country have been modernised and national modern curricula have been developed for new educational profiles, in line with the needs of the labour market. More than 300 primary and secondary schools have been renovated, equipped and modernised with EU funds”, Ambassador Fabrizi said.

“Numerous preschool institutions are equipped with pedagogical toys, furniture and teaching equipment, and 27 faculties and research centres as well as numerous laboratories have received modern equipment, which contributes to better quality teaching. Tens of thousands of young Serbian researchers now work with state-of-the-art teaching and research equipment that meets EU standards. About 10,000 students, professors and teachers have had the opportunity to participate in the mobility programmes to improve their skills directly at European educational institutions all over the EU, and since 2019, Serbia has been participating in the Erasmus + programme – as the same level of EU Members. These facts and figures – I believe – give the idea of the magnitude and the results achieved so far. “Education is important”. This is the best way to support Serbia’”, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia concludes.

The EU is helping Serbia to introduce a system of final and state matura exams in secondary education from 2022. The introduction of a single exam at the national level increases the quality of education, as it provides feedback on the quality of secondary education and directs further investment. It also increases the fairness of the education system, as it creates equal opportunities for objective testing of students’ knowledge and competencies, as well as a more equal approach to faculties and the continuation of academic careers.

About EUR 2mil were donated during the COVID-19 pandemic to adapt the education system to the needs of distance learning thus providing access to education for every student. Through further development of the technical capacity of the distance-learning platform and support for the development of its content, it will soon be possible to establish school education libraries in 30 schools across Serbia with a significant number of Roma and deprived students, who are hit hardest by the pandemic.

Education is Important campaign foresees to show feature sketches about everyday situations that make schooling important. Well known actors appear in the roles of professors – Ivan Bosiljčić, Kalina Kovačević, Bojana Stefanović, and the role of one of the students was played by the popular YouTuber Andrija Jović (Andrija Jo). The sketches will be broadcast in the breaks between online classes on RTS within the programme “My School”, and on Radio-Television Vojvodina they will also be broadcast in the languages ​​of national minorities.

There are numerous billboards throughout Serbia with examples of support for the results of EU assistance. The Education is important campaign will last for the next month.

More information on the camnpaign on www.euzatebe.rs/obrazovanje as well as on social media accounts of EU u Srbiji.