Around 60 percent of Grade 4 students in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) either meet only the low benchmark or fail to meet even the low benchmark for mathematics and science achievement. This means that many students, particularly the most vulnerable, are not developing the skills needed for the economy for which BiH is striving. Therefore, strengthening the quality of education is an imperative for social and economic development in BiH.
In support of this objective, the World Bank conducted a two-stage functional review of the pre-university education sector in BiH. The review provides the BiH authorities with data, analysis and policy recommendations to improve the delivery of education services with a focus on efficiency, access, and quality.
Phase I of the review, completed in October 2019, focused on financial resources and efficiency of service delivery.
Phase II of the review focused on the quality and effectiveness of the education workforce. Phase II considered key school-level elements for learning—prepared learners, learning-focused inputs, effective teaching, and skilled management and governance—and offered recommendations in the areas of personnel management and teacher careers, teacher skills and practices, school leadership, autonomy and accountability, and system management. Additionally, the onset of COVID-19 and the necessity for school closures and remote learning modalities have posed significant challenges to the education sector in BiH and across the world. These challenges add to the urgency for action and underscore the need to put education front and center in the agenda for recovery both in the short-term and the medium-term.