Living Standards Measurements Study - Serbia 2002 - 2007

8.7. Conclusion
We shall consider above results primarily in
relation to MDG 2, which refers to universal
completion of primary education for all children in
Serbia by 2015. This objective is to be achieved
through a number of tasks.
1. Increased participation of children in
primary education.
Data from LSMS 2002 and 2007 indicate that
participation of children in preschool education is
growing, especially in the age of 6-7 years, as a
result of introducing the compulsory PPP. However,
the scope is still low, especially in relation to
children from poor families. The scope of including
children and the rate of completing primary school
are high and relatively constant during the analyzed
five-year period. However, the gap between
children from rich and poor families, in terms of
their participation in primary education, has
widened during the past five years. Children who do
not attend school are mostly from poor families,
families whose household head has low education
and families from rural areas, and from Roma
households
2. Training for professions, promotion of
lifelong learning concept and availability of higher
education.
The percentage of young people attending
secondary and higher education has increased
during the past five years. However, one fifth of
children are still not included in secondary
education, especially boys and young people from
socially and culturally deprived areas. The
imbalance in sexual distribution of young people at
higher education institutions has increased (more
female students).
In terms of various social and economic
indicators, differences in participation in higher
education are still evident. This is reflected in lower
participation of young people from the poorest
families and young people from the least educated
families. Young people are increasingly
participating in various programs of informal
education, but those diplomas are still not
appropriately acknowledged in the labour market. It
is necessary to have better vertical and horizontal
mobility in education and shorter response time of
formal and informal education to demands of labour
market, which is envisioned in the Strategy of
developing vocational education
3. Improved quality of education
Data from LSMS are only sufficient for an
indirect conclusion about the quality of education.
The percentage of children who attend private
classes or other additional programs of education
has doubled over the past five years, but it is still
most represented among young people from rich
families or families whose household head has at
least four-year secondary education. In terms of
quality of education, the issue that comes to mind is
whether this increase in spending for additional
classes and programs is due to a desire to stimulate
potentials of children or they fail to achieve desired
outcomes during regular schooling
4. Setting-up additional databases for
monitoring and evaluation of progress toward
national objective and task.
Statistics on various education indicators is
still incomplete, especially data referring to attrition
of children from the educational system and
participation in the educational system of young
people from vulnerable groups. LSMS is a step
forward in establishing better databases.
Data obtained from LSMS shows that the
population has decreased, while the educational
structure has improved during the past ten years.
Yet, the right to quality education is still not
available to all children. Gaps between children
from different social and economic backgrounds are
widened during education, instead of narrowed.
This is a reflection of the inability of existing
educational system to perform its compensatory
role. Target groups who need greatest attention in
terms of education are young people from poor
families, families with lower educational levels,
from rural areas, and Roma. The state should invest
more in education (development of human
resources) in order to develop an open, effective,
efficient and just system of formal and informal
education accessible to all young people.
112 Living Standards Measurements Study - Serbia 2002 - 2007