Delegates in the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina can demonstrate their commitment to a better future for this country by adopting the state-level Framework Law on Higher Education on Monday.

Adoption of this law will mean that Bosnia and Herzegovina is no longer the only signatory of the Bologna Process without a state law on higher education.

The state-level Framework Law on Higher Education is both a European Partnership requirement and a Council of Europe post-accession obligation. Its adoption would create a legislative framework for reforming higher education in line with the principles of both the Bologna Process and the requirements of the Lisbon Recognition Convention throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, while respecting both current constitutional arrangements and political realities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Law sets common standards aimed at improving the quality of education that students receive; enabling the mobility of students; and facilitating the recognition of domestic higher education diplomas and degrees within the European Higher Education Area, increasing educational and employment opportunities for all graduates.

Further delays in enacting this Law would both harm the interests of BiH’s students and universities and undermine Bosnia and Herzegovina’s efforts to make progress in the Stabilisation and Association Process.

This Law is the starting point for reform of higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Continuing commitment by government and higher-education authorities to its full implementation will also be necessary for students to reap the benefits.

Notes to Editors

The Bologna Process aims to create a European Higher Education Area by 2010, in which students can choose from a wide and transparent range of high quality courses and benefit from smooth recognition procedure.

It emerged from the Bologna Declaration of June 1999 that put in motion a series of reforms needed to make European higher education more compatible and competitive.

The Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European or Lisbon Recognition Convention was developed by the Council of Europe and UNESCO and adopted by national representatives meeting in Lisbon in April 1997. It aims to ensure that holders of a qualification from one European country have that qualification recognised in another.