What is school like in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Classroom
Most primary schools are approximately thirty to forty years old; there are also unintentional buildings turned into schools. The number of students depends if the school is a combination of elementary (primary) and secondary (high school) education. For strictly elementary school, the approximate number of children will be 25-30 in each class and classroom, 3-4 classes per grade. Considering the fact that primary education lasts for nine years, it would end up in approximately 800 – 1,100 pupils per school. For the school that encompasses both elementary and high school education, the number will increase by approximately 300 - 500 additional students in higher grades.
A typical classroom is equipped with wooden desks and chairs (two children occupying one desk); a plain blackboard is still in use in almost every school, be it elementary or higher, along with chalk and a plain sponge for cleaning. Several newer schools will have modern plastic boards, which allow teachers and pupils to use markers and similar writing materials. Most schools have computer equipment, out-of-date but sufficient for beginners, including a World Wide Web connection for educational purposes only. Children usually share a computer – two per one PC unit. Some schools have TV sets or CD players in each classroom, though not as a rule. Classrooms will not be equipped with any kind of toys or puzzles. Children start their first grade at the age of six (“Nine Years Obligatory Education” as opposed to the former eight years); the first grader’s classes are serious from the very beginning. Almost every classroom is shared by younger children in one shift and older in another.
Learning
Though obligatory, primary education is neither free nor cheap. Parents must buy books each year. The number of books will present problems most of the time due to heavy backpacks. The approximate weight of books for a fifth grader will be over 10 kilos, which is considered at least approximately 1/3 of an average kid’s weight at that age.
Almost every school lacks space in general. With more classrooms, younger and older children would not have to share and classrooms that are more specialized could be built with different equipment. The locker system is what all schools lack the most, since children would not have to carry their books and exercise equipment on a daily basis. Schools in the area have under-equipped and out-to-date libraries, which mostly depend on donors. Children will get a list of books (fiction, poetry) to read and analyze once per month.
Parents often search for books in public libraries, since children under 14 are not allowed to be members. Along with the locker system, the lack of free books would certainly be one of the main deficiencies, though the lack of space and fire escape is far more serious – not all schools have a fire escape.
Most schools have small cantinas offering low-price and low-quality sandwiches and soda drinks. Children will mostly carry their own food from home, such as homemade sandwiches, energy bars, and water.
Primary graders have three to four 45 minutes classes each, with five minutes breaks between. During the first five grades, children will have one teacher for all classes. The curriculum in the first five grades consists of native language, math, nature, environment, society, physical exercise, arts, and English in some schools. In sixth grade classes change to foreign language (or additional foreign language if English was introduced in the second grade), math, geography, biology, science (physics and chemistry), basic computer science, physical exercise, and arts (music, painting, designing, etc). With a variety of religions present, most schools introduce classes such as ethics, basics of democracy, and history of religions.
Regardless of the number of classes a kid has per day, there will be only one 15 minutes recess for both primary and secondary graders, allowing them to eat whatever they brought from home or whatever they buy in school.
Some schools introduce obligatory English language in second grade (two classes per week) and additional foreign language (German or French) in the fifth, though it is more common to have a second (primarily English, German and French) language in the fifth grade. English is required to be taught by persons with a University graduate equivalent degree, i.e. a professor rather than a teacher with 2 years of University education.
Secondary (high school) education is not obligatory. Almost all children move from primary to secondary education, though every third child finishes all nine years, which ends up in the lowest rate of University entrances within the entire region, with every fourth high school student entering University.
As for discipline, the matter varies from school to school. It primarily depends on the internal school’s regulations, where disciplinary measures are harsh but provides results. Children in all schools will get penalties for incessant talking during classes, and forgetting homework or books. As for severe violations, children may be expelled from school. Though the headmaster is the ruling figure in a school, the teacher and a pedagogue will deal with discipline issues first, talk to kids and parents and then transfer the problem to the headmaster. Children do not wear uniforms to school.
To School
Depending on the area, transportation to school will vary accordingly. In bigger cities and urban areas of towns, parents will drive their children to school in their own vehicles whenever possible. However, not every family possesses a car and not all parents have time to drive kids to school. In such cases, they will use public transport. Children from town suburban areas will use organized school transportation, which will be the bus. The transportation prices are set up at the beginning of each school year and paid in advance. In some cases, parents with more than one child attending the same school will have to pay only one price for two or more kids.