Future of Education

27 July 2022

Future of education was at the very heart of the final consultative meeting organized by the Ministry of Education with the support of the UN Team in the country, to summarize findings and recommendations of the national consultations on education in the future.

The meeting which gathered representatives of national institutions, civic sector and UN agencies was the opportunity to formulate guidelines and validate the results for the design of the Final Report on Consultations in Montenegro, as well as the Declaration of Commitment for the Transformation of Education in Montenegro, which will be presented at the Global Summit on the Transformation of Education in New York in September, which will be held under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General.

The State Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Milijana Vukotić Jelušić, pointed out that multiple crises we are facing leave a deep mark, first of all on education, and on society as a whole, and our efforts should be directed towards strengthening peaceful, fair and sustainable environment to enable preparation of children for life and work in a complex and dynamic everyday life.

“The recent Pre-Summit in Paris and the national consultations we conducted in Montenegro in order to prepare for the September Summit were an ideal opportunity to enrich our knowledge and hear the voice of all key participants in the educational process, primarily children, youth and teachers,” said Vukotić Jelušić.

Ana Zec, head of the UN Resident Coordination Office, informed participants about the key highlights of the preparation process for the Transforming Education Summit, as well as the activities implemented in Montenegro within the framework of national consultations.

“The main goal of the Global Summit is to bring together the leaders the UN member countries to jointly commit to education as a universal public good and to initiate global efforts that will have a transformational effect on the quality and accessibility of education,” said Zec.

“Transforming Education Summit which will be held in September under the auspices of the United Nations system, is a timely and global appeal to the governments of all countries of the world to initiate comprehensive education reforms and enable children to realize their full potential through education and grow into competent young people whose contribution the future of humanity depends on economic and social development,” said Sabina Žunić, acting UNICEF Representative in Montenegro.

Head of the UNESCO Office in Sarajevo Siniša Šešum emphasized the inclusiveness of the consultations process in Montenegro. 

"Through the process of consultations on the topic of education transformation in Montenegro an effort was made to emphasize the perspective on education transformation of those who are most directly involved in the education process: teachers, students, parents, and who were also the most knowledgeable - those who were on the frontline of defense of education from the generational crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic," said Siniša Šešum.

The National Coordinator and Head of the Directorate for Programming and Implementation of EU Funds in the Ministry of Education, Marko Vukašinović, presented the process which preceded main consultative meeting, including national consultations, regional consultations, the pre-Summit in Paris.

“This process led to the Statement of commitment for the transformation of education in Montenegro, which will be presented at the Global Summit on the transformation of education in New York. Key expected outcomes of the Summit are: National and international commitment to the transformation of education, greater public engagement and support for the transformation of education and the summary of the UN Secretary-General, as well as a call to action, which will consolidate the knowledge gained at the Summit and during its preparations,” said Vukašinović.

Participants were presented with key findings and recommendations of the consultation. Representatives of the Association of Psychologists of Montenegro Tamara Milić and Zorica Minić presented views and findings in accordance with the global structure of the thematic areas of the consultative process, including: recovery from Covid-19, the transformation of education, goals, benchmarks, reforms, and financing of education.

Some of the key recommendations include: the necessity of making efforts to compensate for what has been lost during COVID-19 pandemic, re-establishing work habits and motivation, returning duration of the class to 45 minutes, increasing focus on practical knowledge, personal growth and development, improving competences, responsibility, initial and professional training of teachers, introducing extracurricular activities and activities during the holidays.