Instead of Bosnian, in RS they offer that children learn 'the language of the Bosniak people' at school

Although the school year is just around the corner, the Ministry of Education and Culture in the BiH entity of Republika Srpska has still not approved for Bosniak children to learn the Bosnian language in schools, a dispute between Bosniaks and Republika Srpska that has been ongoing for three years, writes the news agency Patria.

Instead of the Bosnian language, as one of the school subjects was called until two years ago, the Minister of Education and Culture of RS, Dane Malešević, today offered that Bosniak children in school desks study the „language of the Bosniak people“, which is also unacceptable for parents.

Parents from Nova Kasaba near Bratunac and Vrbanjci near Kotor Varoš have been refusing for two years to send their children to schools where the study of the Bosnian language is banned, and this year they have been joined by parents from several other places, such as Grapska near Doboj.

Representative of Bosniak parents Muhizin Omerović notes that children in schools have no problem learning Serbian and Croatian, but not Bosnian. The majority of non-governmental organizations, human rights experts, as well as the international community, have assessed this move by the authorities in RS as a violation of basic human rights, but that has not influenced them to change their decision.

Minister Malešević gave Bosniaks a deadline until next Wednesday to accept that their children learn the language of the Bosniak people instead of the subject Bosnian language, but parents have already announced they will not accept this, writes Patria.