Education as an economic factor of development in Bosnia and HerzegovinaSvetlana Dušanić Gačić and Vanja Šušnjar Čanković

The education system represents the foundation of the infrastructure and the growth and development of any society while, simultaneously, knowledge is the driving force of the new economy and intellectual well-being. The main objective of this article is to present, at top-line level, the problems of the education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to contrast the approach adopted in our country against the context provided by competitiveness, the standards of other European Union countries and the needs of a modern labour market. We also examine citizens’ attitudes towards education as a factor in the development of B&H, drawing on original research conducted with the use of a survey questionnaire addressed to a sample of 400 citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A strong majority think that education is one of the real factors that can ensure the future development of B&H; however, citizens perceive that it is the indifference of the authorities - and thus institutional failure - that represents the greatest risk factor in the development of education in B&H.