The non-governmental organizations Human Rights Action (HRA) and the Center for Women's and Peace Education (ANIMA) requested that the introduction of the Civic Education subject in primary and secondary schools in Montenegro be recognized in the Education Reform Strategy.
The working group of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MESI) points out that studying certain subjects at certain levels of education is not a direct issue addressed by the strategy, but that they plan to introduce a separate subject and integrate relevant topics into other subjects, in order to ensure a comprehensive impact on the development of the student's holistic personality.
"The introduction of new subjects into the education system will be the result of a detailed analysis of curricula, including their status (compulsory or elective) and number of lessons. Civic education represents an extremely important segment of youth education and will be recognized in the reform of the education system, especially in the context of promoting human rights, democratic processes and the development of key 21st century competencies, such as critical thinking, problem solving and the development of social and emotional skills," the working group states.
They say that in this context, two segments are particularly important - positive practice in implementing this subject until 2017, as well as the experiences of numerous European countries that have successfully integrated civic education into their curricula through a combination of curricular and extracurricular activities, thereby further enriching the educational process.
HRA and ANIMA proposed that the return of Civic Education to the status of a mandatory subject be accompanied by a revision of the curriculum in order to adapt the content to contemporary needs and challenges.
"We recall that Civic Education was a mandatory subject in primary schools from 2004 to 2017, and Civic Education in secondary schools from 2006 to 2017, when it was demoted to the level of an elective subject through the reform. This change significantly weakened the opportunity for young people to acquire key knowledge and skills needed to build a democratic society," the NGO sector stated, recommending training for teaching staff to ensure quality teaching.
The Education Reform Strategy until 2035 should soon be adopted at a Government session.
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