Jakšić Stojanović: The Ministry will consider making media literacy a compulsory subject through the education reform

The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation will consider making media literacy a compulsory subject with the education reform, said minister Anđela Jakšić Stojanović.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation announced that, at a meeting with the head of the OSCE Mission in Montenegro, Dominik Vag, she said that in a time when information is increasingly available, especially through social networks, media literacy gets its deserved place.

"In the coming period, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation will consider making media literacy a compulsory subject through the education reform," stated Jakšić Stojanović.

As announced, the meeting discussed joint projects that, within the framework of the OSCE agenda, were implemented by the former Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science, with special emphasis on two important topics.

"The first topic is "Elimination of gender stereotypes from the educational system of Montenegro", primarily in school programs and textbooks, as foreseen by the National Strategy for Gender Equality", the announcement states.

The Ministry said that another important topic of the meeting was media literacy and literature for that optional school subject, considering the activities of the OSCE Mission in the field of media literacy and the continuous cooperation it has with media representatives in Montenegro.

The interlocutors assessed that these two topics are extremely important for the education of young people, especially from the aspect of improving human rights and democratic processes in society, as well as 21st century education, which requires the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

"They expressed particular satisfaction with the activities carried out on the gender analysis of school programs and in the digital school and media literacy subjects, agreeing on their continuation in the next year as well," says the announcement.

It is stated that Vag praised the Ministry's work on the analysis of the curriculum of primary schools, which maps the presence of gender stereotypes and thus actively contributes to the implementation of the National Strategy for Gender Equality.

She said that the OSCE Mission appreciates the Ministry's efforts to promote gender equality in schools, such as training for teachers on inclusive education, gender equality and violence prevention.

Vag stated that the OSCE Mission, at the request of the Ministry, supports the production of part of the content for the digital school platform for students, parents and educators www.digitalnaskola.edu.me, and that it is actively working on developing content on the topics of media literacy, stereotypes and digital security.

"It will also continue to promote media literacy in schools, using the first Handbook for teachers, parents and children that the Mission published last year, which was presented to Vag by Jakšić Stojanović," the announcement says.