Children's rights NGO’s in Bosnia and Herzegovina appealed to the Ministry of Education of Sarajevo Canton and the local crisis headquarters to consider opening educational institutions in full capacity while respecting all epidemiological measures and school protocols.

The group, consisting of Save the Children, World Vision BiH, SOS Children's Villages, Hope and Homes for Children and the Stronger Voice for Children Network, sent the appeal based on the findings of research conducted during the pandemic by Save the Children, World Vision BiH and UNICEF, which show how absence from school has negative effects on children across the world.

The survey, which involved 25,000 children across the world, showed that four out of five of them feel that they either learn little or nothing at all outside of school.

“Although we are concerned about the impact of various restrictive measures on the quality of children's education throughout BiH, we are particularly concerned about the situation in Sarajevo Canton. Specifically in Sarajevo Canton, in a situation where epidemiological measures of the competent authorities allow the work of all economic entities, public transport, preschools, sports schools, and even primary and secondary schools in partial capacity, we believe that there is no justifiable reason not to introduce the same measures the older grades of primary school, as well as for all high school students. In times of crisis, as well as in regular circumstances, access to quality education for every child must remain our main priority,” their appeal said.