Assessment of the implementation of Criteria on School Names and Symbols in BiH starts today

SARAJEVO, 2 March 2006 - The Co-ordination Board for the Implementation of the Interim Agreement on Specific Needs and Rights of Returnee Children begins the assessment of the implementation of Criteria on School Names and Symbols of primary and secondary schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina today.

During the period covering 2 - 21 March 2006, two groups consisting of the members of the Co-ordination Board for the Implementation of the Interim Agreement will visit over 20 primary and secondary schools.

The Implementation Plan of the Interim Agreement stipulates that "Ministries of Education shall undertake all possible efforts to remove symbols and objects, and to replace school names, which may be viewed as offensive by returnee students, constituent peoples and national minorities."

A set of criteria on school names and symbols was developed by a special commission which foresaw that the implementation of the Criteria should be carried out during the 2004/2005 school year. In the meantime some education ministries issued an instruction or a by-law on criteria for school names and symbols.

"It was important to adopt the Criteria to support the removal of inappropriate names and symbols from schools and create conditions that would encourage larger numbers of returnee children to attend local schools," says Azra Junuzovic, OSCE Mission Education Adviser for Access and Non Discrimination.

The Criteria define which names are appropriate and which symbols are acceptable within the school premises.

"Deadlines for implementation of the Criteria were set and the Ministries of Education were in charge of making sure that the Criteria reach each school and the corresponding founders. The OSCE was there to monitor the implementation and these visits are a good opportunity for the members of the Co-ordination Board to see how the implementation of the Criteria for School Names and Symbols has taken place in practice," concludes Junuzovic.

A detailed report about the visits will be presented to the public later.

For more information about the Coordination Board visit, please contact Mersiha Causevic-Podzic, Acting Spokesperson, at 061 144 318.