News archive - Improving Statistical Systems for education in Bosnia and Herzegovina
UNESCO provided technical support to a cooperative endeavour between the Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Institute of Statistics and the Republika Srpska Institute of Statistics to improve the quality of education statistics in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In particular, the Antenna in Sarajevo of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe aided statistical institutions and education authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to create more reliable and quality statistical data, thus advancing policy planning and budget allocation across the education sector.
Education, a priority area for Bosnia and Herzegovina
Education is a critical area for the country, where significant and complex reforms are required to create human capital in the 21st century. One of the preconditions for the reforms is achieving reliable and accurate data for adequate policy planning and budgeting.
To address this gap, an improved statistical reporting system for the education sector is required, one which will allow the assessment of education’s contribution to sustainable development and provide policy recommendations for increasing investment and intervention in the sector.
A potential solution was identified, specifically, to provide technical assistance for all levels of government and statistical institutions - state or private - combined with capacity-building training activities for educational institutions. Both of which, when carried out, would build on the achievements of UNESCO in this field.
Statistical systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina improved
Funded by the Joint Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Fund, the overarching programme titled “Towards the SDG Financing Ecosystem in Bosnia and Herzegovina” started on 1 September 2020. The programme is divided into a number of projects, with UNESCO specifically handling “Improving Statistical Systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, through its Antenna in Sarajevo.
The current statistical system in Bosnia and Herzegovina reflects the complex institutional structure of the state, consisting of 3 statistical institutions, one at State level (BHAS) and two at Entity level: Federal Institute of Statistics (FIS) and Republika Srpska Institute of Statistics (RSIS). For the progress of the project, representatives of each statistical institution, all ministries of education and representatives of education institutions (universities, secondary, primary and preschools) participated in the inclusive two-year process. UNESCO provided support to the efforts of these institutions, which, under the project, aimed to establish a specific education-related statistical system by revising statistical reporting forms across all levels in the field of education and by developing web applications for data collection and processing.
Specifically, UNESCO, in joint effort with these institutions, carried out a review of the current statistical framework at various governing levels and proposed necessary adjustments to enable Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capacity in collecting reliable, objective and accurate data to be reported to various stakeholders. Additionally, capacity-building activities for representatives of the statistical institutions were hosted, covering data collection and processing using SPSS, and the designing of applications and data management.
"As part of the project, during the pandemic, over 30 meetings were held in various locations across Bosnia and Herzegovina with a view to revising education statistics, among representatives of statistic agencies, the Ministries of Education and school institutions. "- Sinisa Sesum, Head of UNESCO Antenna in Sarajevo
Statistical data ecosystems in the field of education
The capacities of statistical and educational institutions have been strengthened at all levels of government. Likewise, the reporting forms for all levels of education have been revised, as per the needs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in line with domestic and international requirements (EUROSTAT, OECD, UNESCO UIS, and UNSDG among others).
The support given to both the statistical institutions and educational authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina has allowed the creation of more reliable and quality statistical information, thus advancing policy planning and budget allocation across the education sector. Henceforth, pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher education institutions will report their activities using the developed digital platforms based on internationally comparable indicators.
The development of these Information Management Systems (IMS) for statistical and administrative reporting on education supports not only informed policy planning and budget allocation for the education sector, but also the achievement of the education goal SDG4 and its targets, as prioritised by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
"All this with the ultimate goal of having better policies and programmes for our education system. Putting together revised forms, the content of the form itself and a more modern way of collecting data ensures better indicators, serving for better policies and a better education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina for all." - Gorana Knezevic Head of Department, Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Social Sciences
Entry created by Admin WBC-RTI.info on August 4, 2022
Modified on August 4, 2022
