Primary Education
Education is a critical success factor for the future of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and therefore free for all 12 years at school. The first 6 years of what is regarded as primary education are spent at primary schools where the foundations of numeracy and literacy are laid.
Middle Education
From here pupils move on to middle school for the final 3 years of their primary education. This completes the first phase of their education with which more menial basic employment is achievable.
Secondary Education
At secondary school, students have the option of choosing between general and technical secondary schools where they may study for up to 4 years further although most only study for 3. At around age 19 they may qualify for a
matura or a
diplomarespectively, which entitle them to study further at tertiary level.
Tertiary Education
There are 8 state universities comprising 90 faculties in total and 22 private higher education institutions. Between them they provide undergraduate and graduate education within a system of inter-university transferable points.
The most venerable of these is the University of Sarajevo, originally founded in 1531 as an Islamic Law College, but with a traditional University superimposed over it in 1949. Today it ranks as one of the world’s largest universities, having 23 faculties and approximately 55,000 current enrollments.
