NQF inventory - Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted its vocational education and training (VET) development strategy for 2007-13 in 2007; a new VET strategy for 2015- 20 is being drafted. The baseline qualifications framework is an element in the strategies and in the strategic directions for the development of education with the implementation plan 2008-15, and the Strategic platform for development of adult education in a lifelong learning context for 2014-20.

BiH is an EU potential candidate country. In February 2016, BiH submitted its application to join the EU. It receives financial assistance from the EU via the IPA (Instrument for pre-accession). An IPA-funded project, managed by the British Council, sought to develop the qualifications framework for primary and general secondary education in the country. It aimed to raise the quality of education and reform the school-leaving matura exam; the project prioritises training for teachers, pre- and in-service, in primary and secondary education. It ran from October 2014 to October 2016.

The EU VET IV project developed vocational qualifications based on occupational standards. The German Technical Assistance Agency (GIZ) is a strong presence in the country and is currently running a project Support to adult education. One element of this is the ‘passport of competences’ designed to recognise informally acquired skills, a type of recognition of prior learning (RPL). In higher education, a joint EU and Council of Europe (CoE) project on higher education qualifications developed a good practice guide for development of qualifications and occupational standards in higher education.

From March 2016 to June 2018, the EU-funded project "Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning" worked on several aspects of the BQF, such as quality assurance, accreditation procedures, EQF referencing, validation of non-formal and informal learning.
 

The BQF is the national instrument for structuring and classifying qualifications in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country already had a classification system of qualifications, the nomenclature, which comprehensively reflects the world of education, but does not provide meaningful links to the world of work.

There is no register or catalogue of qualifications available in the country, although the agency charged with primary, secondary and VET (APOSO), holds data on qualifications and provision.  Creation of a BQF web portal (to serve as a BQF register) was a part of the remit of the EU project on qualification frameworks for VET and adult education.

Validation of non-formal and informal learning (VNFIL) or recognition of prior learning (RPL) forms part of the action plan and of the EU project programme but, apart from isolated cases, remains a goal to be achieved, not a national, working system. However, given the number of adults who have been displaced and the current numbers of migrant workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, VNFIL/RPL would be most valuable and practical. The lack of standards is a hindrance. One exception has been the ‘passport of competences’ led by GiZ, the German Technical Assistance Agency. This supports employability of adults by identifying informally acquired competences.
Reform in higher education has been influenced by the Bologna declaration and the Lisbon convention on the recognition of qualifications concerning higher education in the European region. Higher education reform is supported by the EU and the Council of Europe. All State universities started to implement the first and the second cycle in 2006, in accordance with the Bologna process, and the European credit transfer and accumulation system (ECTS) has been introduced in all new study programmes. Though the framework law on higher education was adopted in 2007, its full implementation is taking its time. Many amendments incorporated in the final adopted version have made it difficult to implement but all entity and cantonal legislation has been harmonised with the State-level framework law.
 

The BQF currently has eight levels and no sublevels: other countries in the region, including Montenegro and Croatia maintain sublevels. The eight levels are intentionally designed for straight level-to-level linking with the EQF (e.g. level 4 BQF to level 4 EQF).

The current level descriptors are derived from the EQF level descriptors and use the same domains: knowledge, skills and competence. Further development may be necessary to fit national and local conditions better, as well as for EQF referencing.
 

The definition of ‘qualification’ in the action plan is: ‘Qualifications: a formal title of the result of a process of assessment and validation obtained once a competent body determines that an individual has achieved the learning outcomes as per the defined standards’. In practice, it can be difficult to distinguish between curriculum and qualifications in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The BQF sets out vertical and horizontal progression as one of its main aims. Credit, with the exception of higher education and levels 6 to 8, is not described in detail in the BQF document.

The framework levels descriptors are described using learning outcomes; it is not explicitly stated that all qualifications in the framework have to be outcomes-based, but the text refers to levels.

The BQF is inclusive/comprehensive. It includes all types (general education, vocational education and training, higher education and lifelong learning) and levels of qualifications (1 to 8) and certification. The BQF illustrates different types of certificate/ qualification in principle attainable at the various levels.

Qualifications that are not the outcome of formal education can in principle be included in the BQF but criteria and procedures for inclusion and for referencing to levels have yet to be defined. The EU project on Qualification frameworks for Lifelong Learning has developed a methodology for this purpose.
 

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Council of Ministers adopted the baseline qualifications framework (BQF) in March 2011; the decision carries the force of law. The Council of Ministers adopted an action plan to implement the BQF in February 2015.

Two main documents were adopted, the Decision on Adoption of the Baseline of Qualifications Framework in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH, No. 31/11, 39/12) and Decision on Adoption of the Action Plan for the Establishment and Implementation of the Qualifications Framework in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Period 2014-2020 (Official Gazette of BiH, No. 28/15).

The following Laws have been adopted at the state level:

• the Framework Law on Primary and Secondary education (2003);
• the Framework Law on Pre-primary Education (2007)
• the Framework Law on Higher Education (2007);
• the Law on the Agency for Pre-primary, Primary and Secondary Education (2007);
• the Framework Law on VET (2008).

In 2014, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted ''Principles and Standards in the Field of Adult Education in BiH'' and ''Strategic Adult Education Development Platform in the Context of Lifelong Learning for the Period 2014-2020'', which constitute pre-requisites for regulating the field of adult leaning and development of lifelong learning in BiH. The adoption of these framework documents at the entity and cantonal levels is a lengthy process.
 

The 19-member Intersectoral Committee (ISC) is the BQF’s current executive, policy-making body, during framework development. It is chaired by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, a country-wide office. The action plan provides for eventual establishment of a BQF Council as a decision- making/governing body, and sectorial councils as technical/expert bodies.

Formally, ISC membership should comprise representatives of the following sectors/institutions:

1. five representatives of the education sector (Ministry of Civil Affairs – Education Sector; Federal Coordination of Ministers of Education: two canton representatives; Ministry of Education and Culture of Republika Srspka; Education Department of the Government of the Brcko District of BiH);
2. three representatives of the Rectors Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
3. three representatives of education agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Agency for Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education; Agency for the Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance and the Centre for Information and Recognition of Documents in Higher Education);
4. three representatives of the statistics sector (Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Institute for Statistics, Republic Institute for Statistics of Republika Srpska);
5. three representatives of the sector for labour and employment (Ministry of Civil Affairs – Section for Labour and Employment, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Ministry of Labour and Protection of Veterans and Disabled Persons of Republika Srpska);
6. one representative of employers (Association of Employers of Bosnia and Herzegovina) and one representative of the labour unions (Confederation of Labour Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina).

In practice, institutional arrangements are complex and fragmentary. As a consequence of the Dayton Peace Agreement of 1995, the country’s constitution is highly decentralised, which poses challenges in creating a national qualifications framework (NQF) with equal validity and application across the country.

There is the State level: in education, this means the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MoCA); the two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska; 10 BiH Federation cantons; and cities and municipalities. There is also the Brcko District of BiH. Each of the two entities, plus Brcko, plus the 10 cantons inside the federation, has its own administration, meaning there are 14 separate education authorities.

In 2018, the ISC remained suspended for political reasons. Some of the institutions and ministries referred to above decline to participate in any initiative beyond temporary EU or other donor- funded projects, and not in a more established national body.
 

The ISC, after an initial phase and one-year mandate, according to the action plan should have a seven-year mandate once appointed (2014-20). Its decisions are majority-determined, qualified by the requirement to include a minimum of two thirds of votes from the representatives of each constituent people. Its principal functions are to oversee and ensure implementation of the action plan.

The Agency for Pre-primary, Primary, and Secondary Education (APOSO) includes a VET department. Its principal concern is with quality; its functions include developing standards (education and occupational) and guiding curricula. Cantons and the two entities – the Federation and Republika Srpska– develop individual qualifications and determine the awarding process.

This raises questions about the reliability and validity of qualifications: it is not clear if outcomes are comparable, as standards are different between the cantons and entities. EU-funded projects in qualification frameworks for general, VET and adult education have an important task to ensure that outcomes, standards and methodologies used by all managing authorities are harmonised and comparable.

Employers and trades unions are represented on the BQF policy-making body, the ISC, though they are generally not strong across the country’s wider institutional set-up. The Ministry of Civil Affairs (with its responsibility for coordination in education and work and employment sectors at country level), EU projects, and the State agencies APOSO and HEA (Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance) have sought to link education and training more closely to the labour market. Employer organisations such as the chambers of commerce, complain that decentralisation leads to excessive difficulty in engaging with government bodies and officials in VET. They also underline that graduates, VET or otherwise, lack soft or core skills.

In technical work, the involvement of sector representatives remains weak and the development of occupational standards is carried out mainly with the support of teachers from schools, who visit a large number of enterprises.
 

The BQF development has been supported mainly by EU funded projects. The recently completed EU project on Qualification Frameworks for Lifelong Learning had a budget of 1.4 million Euro over its 2-year timespan. The other EU project in qualification frameworks in general education had 2 million Euro over its 2-year timespan. Budgets of State/public institutions are otherwise very limited.

In practice, with exception of Higher Education, quality assurance in qualifications is little developed in the country. In particular, in VET, it is highly fragmented.

In higher education, the institutional lead lies with the HEA - Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance, based in Banja Luka (but covering all of Bosnia and Herzegovina).  In recent years, it has conducted accreditation of higher education institutions, private and public, of which several offer short-cycle, level 5 qualifications, which are VET in orientation. To date, this has been general accreditation as providers, not for programmes or individual qualifications. The Agency has also been updating QA procedures, in higher education, to meet the Bologna Process’ European Standards and Guidelines.

The Baseline Qualifications Framework document of 2011 refers in general terms to standards but does not go beyond this level; the Action Plan specifies a timetable to develop Quality Assurance measures, including development of occupational standards; the EU project developed methodologies to support the design of new qualifications, which includes quality criteria.

The Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance is an affiliated member of the European Association of Quality Assurance in Higher education (ENQA) and plans to apply for full membership.

In higher education, quality assurance is regulated by the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance. Higher education institutions (HEIs) develop programmes and qualifications, validated for use by the agency.

VET is more complex. APOSO develops qualification standards and assessment criteria but schools do the assessment, which is mainly internal. Ministries and cantons are the principal awarding bodies: it is their stamps which appear on certificates.
Neither in VET nor in higher education are there yet agreed criteria for validation of qualifications, which would support quality and levelling of qualifications in the NQF. The EU funded Project developed guidelines including standards and criteria for external evaluation and self-assessment based on best European practices and models.  Most assessment remains in-school, or internal, though for matura, the school-leaving exam, a pilot was developed, which included external assessment.
A Manual for Enhancement of Vocational Qualifications was developed by the EU funded project "Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning". The Manual is a result of the working group composed by representatives of all competent education authorities and other key partner institutions and it is intended for all institutions and bodies involved in developing the basic elements of the qualifications framework (occupational standards, qualification standards, curricula and programs, use of learning outcomes). The Manual is directly linked to the training program for enhancement of VET qualifications, which includes additional material for training qualifications developers.

The main issue and challenges for quality assurance of qualifications are lack of comparable education or occupational standards, lack of agreed criteria for development and validation for use of qualifications, minimal external assessment, and fragmented functions among the many actors. There are good cases of quality assurance practice, e.g. some qualifications are written in learning outcomes, there is some validation of qualifications, but there is no consistency across the system or country.
 

There is currently no register or database at national level, although APOSO (see above) maintains a general overview of existing and new VET qualifications, and Higher Education Agency of higher education qualifications. Creation of the BQF web portal is foreseen in the near future within the EU-funded project on qualification frameworks in VET and adult education.

ETF conducted an Inventory of Vocational Qualifications in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2017, comprising all types of qualifications from Level 2 up to Level 5. The inventory includes 1,155 vocational qualifications, of which 836 are formal, obtained in vocational schools, while 319 are obtained through lifelong learning programs. The largest number of qualifications comes from formal VET at levels 3 and 4. Only 6 qualifications are at level 2, while at level 5, 88 qualifications were collected. Looking at the number of qualifications at each level, it could be concluded that further development of the qualifications at level 2 might be required, especially given the need to  provide qualifications for long term unemployed adults and persons with special needs.

Vocational qualifications at levels 3 and 4 are classified in 13 occupation families. More than half of the 742 qualifications at these levels (56.1%) were developed in 1995 and 1996 and they need to be revised. The greatest numbers of qualifications are found in two occupation groups: metal processing (20.3%) and electrical engineering (15.8%). However, the number of students per group shows that economics, law, administration and trade is the most popular group. At level 5, structural modernisation from old qualifications for “high skilled worker” to new “master-craftsman” represents a challenge for all educational authorities.

Learning outcomes are not used at level 2 and only in very few cases at level 5. However, about 43% of the most popular qualifications at levels 3 and 4 are based on learning outcomes. Learning outcomes are a compulsory element and a requirement for each qualification to be placed into the qualifications framework and the process of designing learning outcomes-based qualifications will be one of the greatest challenges in dealing with vocational qualifications. Curricula for the  aforementioned 419 qualifications that contain learning outcomes have them only at the level of the module, but not as an exit profile of the entire qualification.

Mechanisms to monitor the effectiveness of BQF implementation have not yet been fully defined, but the ISC will have an important role in this process. No monitoring or assessment has been conducted as yet.

The BQF is not yet being used as a reference system or tool by learners, providers and workers.