The state award "Oktoih" for the year 2012 was presented to the oldest secondary vocational school of its kind in Montenegro - the "Mirko Vešović" School of Economics in Podgorica.
Minister of Education Slavoljub Stijepović said at the ceremony on the occasion of the biggest Montenegrin recognition for education and upbringing that "Octoih" also shows that more than five centuries ago in Montenegro it was known which way to go and which are the leading values that the Montenegrin people should strive for.
"This is known even today. Today's generations of civil and democratic Montenegro want to be equally involved in the leading European and world cultural and national achievements," he said.
Stijepović added that Montenegro needs a more efficient education system that would enable children to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, competences, but also nurture and exalt a sense of belonging to the state of Montenegro. As he said, the Government and the Ministry are determined in their efforts to provide better quality education and that in the future they will invest in infrastructure in order to improve the standards of education - from pre-school institutions to the University.
"We want a system in which the Montenegrin identity will be built as the best asset of our past and our present," he said while addressing the audience.
Stijepović stated that it is natural that the oldest secondary vocational school, such as Mirko Vešović, has a leading role in the reform of vocational education, especially at a time when the formation of an entrepreneurial spirit is a necessary link in a quality educational process.
"I am convinced that the prestigious award has fallen into the right hands - a school whose progress is obvious and whose successes are in the service of educational development.
The highest Montenegrin award for education and upbringing was presented to the director of the school, Branislav Đukić, by the Prime Minister of Montenegro and a former student of that school, Milo Đukanović.
Đukić thanked the award on behalf of all the employees of that educational institution, as well as for the high marks that the school received from the committee.
"We accept the award on behalf of all the dedicated professors and students who for decades built and preserved the reputation that our school enjoys today. The long tradition of our school is based on fundamental and generally humane civilizational values - knowledge, skills and the ability to understand the spirit of the times in which we live and create "These values have been nurtured by the School of Economics for 90 years," said Đukić.
As he said, with the recognition, the school gains even more reputation and represents a great incentive for everyone to achieve even better results in the future.
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