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Round Table in Belgrad
On 14 February 2012, despite masses of snow which resulted in the declaration of a state of emergency in Serbia, the “5th Round Table” on topical subjects related to developments in education in Europe took place in Belgrade. The approx. 30 participants included representatives of the National Education Council of Serbia, the National Vocational Education Council of Serbia and the Serbian Ministry of Education and Science as well as educational institutions associated with the Ministry. The series of round table discussions, organised by KulturKontakt Austria in cooperation with the National Education Council of Serbia, has been in progress since the autumn of 2010.
The subject of the latest round table was “Financing Education”. In their introductory remarks, State Secretary Tünde Kovač Cerović and National Education Council President Desanka Radunović emphasised the relevance of the subject for Serbia’s education system. Starting in 2014, public financial support for schools in Serbia will depend on the number of registered pupils. It is feared that particularly in rural regions the quality of the education system will suffer as a result of this new development.
The experts Lucie Brumovska of the Czech Republic and Rene Groeneveld of the Netherlands presented the approaches taken to financing education in their respective countries, and the participants were also able to engage in an exchange of experiences relating to the subject. The examples described by the two guest speakers illustrated the fact that all the countries of Europe are facing similar challenges as far as education policy is concerned, but also proved that the challenges can certainly be mastered without impacting significantly on the quality of the education system.
