120 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 UDK 37.091.4(439.55Srebrenik)(091)=111 1.01 Izvirni znanstveni članek Prejeto: 24. 8. 2018 Adnan Tufekčić* Historical-Pedagogical Overview of the Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area of North- East Bosnia Zgodovinsko-pedagoški pregled razvoja šolskega sistema in Izobraževanja na območju Srebrenika v severno-vzhodni Bosni Abstract The article represents the results which have been obtained through repeated and ex- panded earlier research on the development of school system in Srebrenik Municipality in North-East Bosnia (from 2001), and which was conducted in the last three years. In this research, the basic historical-pedagogical methodology has been employed, along with that of microhistory. Accordingly, an analysis of the historical and pedagogical documenta- tion related to the focal issues of the research, and the method of qualitative field research with intensive in-depth interviews, have been used. In this manner, beside the data related to historical facts, some data from life his- tory, related to the subject of research and persons who have been participants in these processes, were collected. Thereby, the main determinants of the development of the school system and education in the Srebrenik area in North-East Bosnia have been shown through various historical periods (the Ottoman, Aus- tro-Hungarian, Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the former Yugoslavia). Izvleček Članek predstavlja rezultate raziskav o ra- zvoju šolskega sistema v občini Srebrenik v severno-vzhodni Bosni iz leta 2001. Rezultati so bili pridobljeni v zadnjih treh letih s pono- vitvijo in razširitvijo že obstoječih raziskav, pri čemer se je uporabila osnovna zgodovin- sko-pedagoška metodologija z dodatkom metode mikrozgodovine. Delo je vključevalo tudi analizo zgodovinske in pedagoške doku- mentacije ter kvalitativno terensko raziskavo s poglobljenimi intervjuji. Poleg podatkov o zgodovinskih dejstvih je bilo na ta način zbra- nih tudi nekaj podatkov o življenju oseb, ki so bile predmet raziskave. S tem so prikazane glavne smernice razvoja šolskega sistema in izobrazbe na območju Srebrenika v severno- -vzhodni Bosni skozi različna zgodovinska obdobja (Osmansko cesarstvo, Avstro-Ogr- ska, Kraljevina Jugoslavija in Jugoslavija po drugi svetovni vojni). * Adnan Tufekčić, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tuzla, e-pošta: adnan.tufekcic@gmail.com 121Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area Key Words: historical-pedagogical overview, school system, education, Srebrenik, Bosnia Ključne Besede: zgodovinsko-pedagoški pregled, šolski sistem, izobrazba, Srebrenik, Bosna Introduction The name Srebrnik1 was first mentioned in the Charter of Bosnian Ban Ste- phen II of Kotroman in 1333. During his reign in Srebrenik, Stephen wrote the Charter to Dubrovnik2. The conquering of the medieval town of Srebrenik by the Ottomans (1512) has been recorded not just in historical works but also in folk tradition3. In literature, Srebrenik is mentioned most frequently within the context of the Middle Ages and with descriptions of the Old Town of Srebrenik (Gradina).4 Today, Srebrenik is a town and municipality situated in the North East of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the western part of sub-Majevica region. With 1 Throughout history we always come across Srebrnik. Srebrenik has been the official name of the town and municipality only since the 1950s, and that is why we use the original name of Srebrenik in this text. 2 More on this in: Tursunović, Vahid, Srebrenik kroz historiju (Srebrenik Throughout History), Bosnia Ars, Tuzla, 1997. 3 There is a clash of views among historians regarding the year of fall of Srebrenik under the Ottoman reign, in references to the years 1512 and 1520. More on this can be read in: Handžić, Adem, Tuzla i njena okolina u XVI vijeku (Tuzla and Its Surrounding Areas in 16th Century), Svjetlost, Sarajevo, 1975, pp. 41- 48. Two different folk traditions on the Ottoman conquering of Srebrenik are presented in V. Tursunović, Vahid, Srebrenik kroz historiju (Srebrenik Throughout History), 1997, Bosnia Ars, Tuzla, pp. 41 - 43. 4 The descriptions of the Old Town of Srebrenik (Gradina) can be found in: Truhelka, Ćiro, Naši gradovi – Svi opisi najljepših sredovječnih gradova Bosne i Hercegovine (Our towns-All the Descriptions of the Most Beautiful Medieval Towns of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Naklada J. Studnička at al.., Sarajevo, 1904., pp. 69-74; Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Stari bosanski gradovi (Old Bosnian Towns), in: Naše starine – Godišnjak Zemaljskog zavoda za zaštitu spomenika kul- ture i prirodnih rijetkosti Narodne republike Bosne i Hercegovine (Our antiques-the yearbook of the Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and National Rarities of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, No. I, Sarajevo, 1953, pp. 3 - 40; Tafro, Derviš, Iz istorije zaštite spomenika kulture u Bosni i Hercegovini do oslobođenja 1945 (From the History of Pro- tection of Cultural Monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina to Liberation in 1945), in: Naše starine – Godišnjak Zemaljskog zavoda za zaštitu spomenika kulture i prirodnih rijetkosti Narodne republike Bosne i Hercegovine (Our antiques-the yearbook of the Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and National Rarities of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzego- vina), No. III, Sarajevo, 1956, pp. 5-12; Basler, Đuro Stari grad Srebrnik i problematika njegove restauracije (The old of Srebrenik and its restoration issues), in: Naše starine – Godišnjak Zem- aljskog zavoda za zaštitu spomenika kulture i prirodnih rijetkosti Narodne republike Bosne i Hercegovine (Our antiques-the yearbook of the Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and National Rarities of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina), No. IV, the National Museum Sarajevo, 1957, pp. 119-130. 122 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 the Dayton Peace Agreement and the new administrative organization of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the establishment of the Federation of Bosnia and Herze- govina, Srebrenik remained within Tuzla-Podrinje Canton, and after that within Tuzla Canton.. The Municipality of Srebrenik consists of seven areas, and these are: Podorašje, Tinja, Duboki Potok, Srebrenik, Špionica, Rapatnica and Sladna. The development of education and the school system in Srebrenik can be observed through several stages that also represent certain historical periods (the Ottoman Empire, Austro-Hungarian regime, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and So- cialist Yugoslavia). Most of the important facts about the development of the school system in Srebrenik are also true for the development of education in the wider area (Bosnia and Herzegovina and the former Yugoslavia). However, there are some specific episodes, and we will pay special attention to these in this paper This paper will show the results of the repeated and expanded earlier re- search on the development of education in Srebrenik in North East Bosnia (from 2001) conducted in the period from 2013 to 2016.5 The research follows the devel- opment of education and the school system from the Ottoman period until 1990 in the area which is the present Municipality of Srebrenik. It aims to analyse the issue according to certain territorial areas of the municipality in a way that recog- nizes the fact that today this is a unique municipal area here. A fundamental historical-pedagogical methodology was used in the re- search.6 The analysis of pedagogical and historical documentation related to the subject of the research was used as a methodological approach. In addition to this historical method, qualitative field research with intensive in-depth interviews was also used. This was necessary due to the aim of collecting some information on the life history of the respondents – individuals related to the topic of the research, apart from the information on historical facts. This method was used within a specific methodological approach called “microhistory”. Microhistory is considered a part of exploratory practice where various knowledge related to history is collected, using different prompts that lead to individual memories, stories and fates. Through the use of individual interviews, light is shed on social processes and events through which different elements of social life, that is, the life of specific ethnic and cultural communities, appeared and disappeared.7 5 The results of earlier research from 2001 are presented in detail in the book: Tufekčić, Adnan, Školstvo na području Srebrenika (School System in Srebrenik Area), Preporod, Srebrenik, 2003. The most important results will be presented in this paper as well. 6 Mužić, Vladimir, Metodologija pedagoških istraživanja (Methodology of Pedagogical Research), Svjetlost, Sarajevo, 1973. 7 See more in: Levi, Giovanni, On Microhistory, in: Burke, Peter (ed.) New Perspectives on His- torical Writing, Second edition, The Pennsylvania State Unversity Press, University Park, Penn- sylvania, 2001, pp. 97 – 119. 123Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area The position of the school system in the Srebrenik area leading up to the period of Austro-Hungarian rule After the Ottoman arrival in the Srebrenik area, denominational schools started to open. Out of all the schools, Muslim primary schools called maktab (which means a school in the general sense and originates from the Arabic word katab, meaning to write) were most numerous. After conquering the medieval town of Srebrenik, the first settlements start to appear beneath the fortress (Ćojluk, Dželikani and others). The first mosque was built in Ćojluk, together with a maktab. The mosque in Ćojluk is one of the oldest in the wider area of Tuzla. An oral tradition speaks about its age, and during the mosque renovations in the late 1960s an inscription was found proving it to be built in 1567, thus con- firming this tradition. Maktabs existed mostly as parts of foundations (waqfs), that is to say based on financial and real estate donations given by wealthy people for the benefit of the community. Within the existing settlements of Srebrenik8 sybian maktabs (children’s schools or schools for children) operated the most often, and these were also sustained by the wealthy, especially through foun- dations (waqfs).9 The children were being taught in four sybian maktabs in Srebrnik. Latin and the Cyrillic alphabets were not being in these, but a reformed and customized Arabic alphabet called Arebica was used instead, together with the Arabic, Turkish and Persian languages. Later on, the first textbooks in the area’s native language were written in Arebica, a Bosnian variant of the Perso- Arabic script. Arebica remained the alphabet taught in maktabs, and was used for writing textbooks for such schools until the beginning of the second half of the twentieth century. Maktabs remained unchanged in organizational as well as pedagogical and didactical form during the whole time of Ottoman reign.10 In other respects, the sources on school system in Srebrenik area in this period are almost non-existent and little data can be found in literature. Some, however, is found in the work of Hajrudin Ćurić, Školstvo u sjevernoistočnoj Bos- ni posljednih decenija turske vladavine (School System in North-East Bosnia in the 8 Srebrenik nahiye, with its headquarters within the fortified town of the same name in the north west of Tuzla, included seven settlements in 1533: the borough of Srebrenik town, Begov Konak, Mahala of the Srebrenik borough, Srnica, Špionica, Babunovići, Sladna and Ježinac, as well as four populated hamlets, later to become villages…There were a total of 362 houses and 105 unmarried man ("mudžered") in those settlements that year (source: Handžić, Adem, Tuzla i njena okoilina u XVI vijeku” (Tuzla and Its Surrounding Areas in 16th Century), Svjetlost, Sara- jevo, 1975, p. 131). 9 Čurić, Hajrudin, Školstvo u sjevernoistočnoj Bosni posljednjih decenija turske vladavine” (School System in North-East Bosnia in the Last Decades of Turkish Rule), in: Članci i građa za kulturnu istoriju istočne Bosne (Articles and materials for the cultural history of East Bosnia), the Na- tional Museum, Tuzla, 1958, p. 149. 10 Ćurić, Hajrudin, Muslimansko školstvo u BiH do 1918. (Moslim School System in Bosnia and Herzegovina until 1918), Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo, 1983. 124 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 Last Decades of Turkish Rule), and it is related to the village of Špionica (a settle- ment in the area of present-day Srebrenik municipality), and this document was produced in relation to one of four primary schools that were built in Gradačac nahiye (an administrative unit of the Ottoman Empire). The Serbian municipality in Gradačac requested the building of these schools in 1872, and on this occasion “the proposal on transforming schools for Serbs of Eastern Orthodox Christian- ity within the Gradačac nahiye of Bosnian vilayet” was made. The proposal was submitted to Asim-Pasha, a Bosnian vali (governor). According to a proponent, these four primary schools should be built in Gradačac, Modriča, Crkvina and Obudovac, and at the Sultan’s expense. Thu school in Gradačac would take stu- dents from the following villages: Krečnice, Gornji and Donji Skuglić, Gornja and Donja Slatina, Avramovina, Samarevac, Briježnica, Porebrice, Špionica, Tolisa and three little hamlets within Gradačac borough. This plan was, however, never realized.11 Upon the arrival of the Austro-Hungarian Empire there were some at- tempts to improve teaching in sybian maktabs. The related reforms suggested that these should be transformed into some kind of Muslim denominational schools where secular subjects would also be taught, including the use of Latin and Cyrillic alphabets.12 The opening of the reformed maktabs, called maktab- 11 Ćurić, Hajrudin, Školstvo u sjevernoistočnoj Bosni posljednjih decenija turske vladavine (School System in North-East Bosnia in the last Decades of Turkish Rule), in: Članci i građa za kulturnu istoriju istočne Bosne (Articles and materials for the cultural history of East Bosnia), the Na- tional Museum, Tuzla, 1958, p. 165. 12 Ćurić, Hajrudin, Muslimansko školstvo u BiH do 1918. (Mulsim School system in Bosnia and Herzegovina until 1918), Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo, 1983. Pages of a maktab textbook with its content written in Arebica (The document was collected by the author during his field research) 125Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area ibtidai, started in 1892/93. It was planned to build two maktabi-ibtidais in the Srebrenik area. There were no schools of higher rank (madrasa) in the Srebrenik area during the period of Ottoman rule, and thus maktabs were the only organ- ized form of schooling up to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The development of the school system in Srebrenik during Austro-Hungarian rule During Austro-Hungarian rule in the area of area, the first school was built after special instructions had been issued for building such institutions (1884). It was built in the area between Jasenica, Zahirovići, Potpeć and Straža, in the back- yard of an old Orthodox church, and was opened in 1902/03.13 The school and the church were located on land owned by Milak Milaković, and is situated on the high plains which dominate the area. When the land registry was established in 1889 the lot where the above-mentioned church was registered was then writ- ten in the land register books under the name of Šemsi-bey Tuzlić, a son of the deceased Hajji Osman-bey from Donja Tuzla. After him, this land was inherited by Bakir-bey Tuzlić, a son of the deceased Hajji Mehmed-bey from Donja Tuzla in 1894 (three dunams and 140 m2). The church was registered in land register books (ZK entry number 79 K.O. G. Jasenica) in 1899. The land for building the church (146 m2 of the mentioned land lot) was donated by Bakir-bey Tuzlić. Ac- cording to the contract of donation made in Tuzla on the 9th of March 1911, the right to land ownership was registered (K.Č. 447/03) in favour of the Serbian— Orthodox church and school municipality in Jasenica Gornja (Z.K. entry number 112, K.O. G. Jasenica). The location where the school was built met all the related requirements, such as being built not more than 4 km away from the settlements where the children who would study there lived (in this case the school was located at al- most the same distance from the closest settlements: Zahirovići, Potpeć, Straža and Jasenica). In addition, there was enough space for a school yard in this loca- tion, since the school had the obligation to provide land for practical work in agriculture. The conditions for the construction of school water supply were also met, it was accessible to children from the surrounding settlements, and there was one classroom and one apartment for teachers. There is however inadequate information on the school’s operations in the incomplete written resources and documents that remain from the Austro-Hungarian period. Very little can thus be known about the first pupils and teachers of this school from the documenta- tion that is preserved in the school in Podorašje. 13 Papić, Mitar, Školstvo u Bosni i Hercegovini za vrijeme austro-ugarske okupacije (The School System in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Austro-Hungarian Rule), Veselin Masleša, Sara- jevo, p. 47. 126 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 There were few other school buildings in Srebrenik at that time, nor was there any teaching under Austro-Hungarian programmes anywhere else in the area. However, a form of maktab literacy schooling was still present in many plac- es. Out of all maktabs of this period, the Great Maktab in Seona, which opened in 1912, stands out in particular. The head muallim (teacher) at that time was Ibrahim effendi Topčagić, who was followed by Džemal eff. Fazlić. The first and second grade students were taught literacy in the maktab until 1932, after which only religious knowledge was taught. There was a also home-economics class within this maktab, where girls and women learned to sew and cook. Home- economics classes lasted for three years and were led by Hatidža (whose surname is unknown) from Gornja Tuzla, who was very popular in the area. During the Second World War a partisan hospital for 38th division was also based in this maktab.14 The development of the school system in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia period The progressive work of cultural and educational societies contributed great- ly to the opening new schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, especially the cultural societies known as La Benevolencija, Prosvjeta, Napredak, Gajret and Narodna uzdanica.15 Gajret even had several scholarship holders in Srebrenik. Safer Ahmić, also called Meškić from Gornji Srebrenik, was the first to receive a scholarship from Gajret. He received his schooling in the general-program secondary school of Tuzla. Muhamed Kešetović was also mentioned as receiving a scholarship. There are also some recorded cases when people helped the work of these societies. For example, it is recorded in the Ga- jret Newspaper, number 11, published on the 1st of June 1930, that several people from Srebrenik donated money to the Gajret society, with Mustafa Suljkanović, Osman Jašarević, Mula Halil Kavgić, Osman and Kada Mulaahmetović, Ajka and Huso Hodžić, Ševalija Husein and others mentioned. The only school that was still open in the Srebrenik area in the first years of the Kingdom was the above-mentioned school in Jasenica, which continued to function even after the First World War. When the new government was es- tablished the school was renamed Državna narodna osnovna škola u Jasenici (State Public Elementary School in Jasenica), and it was a part of Tuzla district. 14 Hodžić, Hazim, Nurkanović, Mustafa, Osmanović, Ishak, Seonjački alimi i škole (Ulema and Schools of Seona), Srebrenik municipality, Seona, 1999, pp. 32 – 34. 15 See more in: Bevanda, Mladen Pedagoška misao u Bosni i Hercegovini 1918-1941 (Pedagogical Thought in Bosnia and Hrzegovina 1918-1941), the chapter on the contribution of cultural and educational societies to the development of upbringing and education, the Faculty of Philoso- phy, Sarajevo, 2001, pp. 221 – 262. 127Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area The school used the curricula from 1925/26, 1926/27 and 1934/35. We can learn from the information recorded in the yearbook of pri- mary school in Podorašje, as well as the statements of Mijo Grbić from Straža, who was a student in this school during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia period, that Ivan Odić was the first teacher of this school in the new period. Jozefina Matejan and Radisav Ljubičić were then teachers in after Odić left. The teachers lived in the school apartment next to the school building. A new teacher, Katarina Đuranović, started to work in the school in Jasenica in 1930. From her arrival to the outbreak of the Second World War she was both a teacher and headmistress at the same time. Apart from the names already mentioned in the year- book (Ivan Odić, Jozefina Matejan, Radisav Ljubičić and Katarina Đuranović), we do not know of any other names of the teachers from this school, all the way up to the end of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia period. This was a four-year school, and the students of all three nationalities from Zahirovići, Straža, Jasenica and Potpeć went to it. Since this was the only school during the first years of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, several students from plac- es far away from Jasenica, that are now a part of Srebrenik municipality, also went to this institution. One of the still living students of this school is Osman Ibrišimović from Donji Moranjci.16 He finished the fourth grade of the State Pub- lic Elementary School in Jasenica, and has the original certificate issued on the 28th of June 1935. A copy of the certificate is presented in this paper. The name and place of the school is written in the upper left corner of the document. The number of the register (2/458) is written below the name of the 16 Donji Moranjci are relatively far from Jasenica. Therefore, Osman Ibrišimović had to live at his aunt's in Jasenica during academic year. A certificate on completing the fourth grade of the State Public Elementary School in Jasenica Gornja from 1934/35 issued to Osman Ibrišimović (The document was collected by the author during his field research) 128 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 school. The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia is in the middle of the up- per part of the certificate. In the upper right corner there is a revenue stamp for five dinars, and the stamp of the school containing the following text, “Public El- ementary School Jasenica-Tuzla district”, with the coat of arms in the middle. The basic information on the student (name and surname, place of birth, religion, completed grade and school year) are written on the certificate. There is the place and date where when the certificate was issued written in the bottom part. All the inscriptions in this certificate are written in both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. The grades in subjects were the following: excellent (5), very good (4), good (3), poor (2), bad (1), and the grades on behaviour were as follows: excellent (5), very good (4), good (3) and bad (2). On the certificate there is also a space for infor- mation in minority languages. The certificate was printed in the printing-office of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Belgrade. The price of one copy was one dinar. In the words of Osman Ibrišimović, the following students also completed the fourth grade with him in 1934/35: Suljić Ahmet, Džinić Orhan, Junuzović Muhamed and Suljić Mehmed – all from Kuge, Mičić Tadija, Mičić Momčilo, Mičić Đorđe, Cvjetković Rista, Cvjetković Milka, Tomić Nikola and Subašić Ab- durahman – all from Potpeć, then Vid Ćebić, Šibonjić Zorka from Krušik, Hodžić Osmo, Hodžić Pašan, Gajić Milka, Petrović Sava and Smiljić Ilija from Jasenica. There were 130 to 140 students (from the first to the fourth grades) in the school each year.17 The salary of the last teacher from this period, Katarina Đuranović, amounted to 1,400 dinars.18 Instructors in catechism are also mentioned: effen- di Suljić for the Islamic catechism, Father Paul for the Catholic catechism and Priest Risto for the Orthodox catechism. The students of Islamic and Catholic catechism had classes on Thursday, while the students of Orthodox catechism had classes on Wednesday. Both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets were used in the school all the time. The students spent almost all day in the school and they brought food from home. What is very interesting for this school is that it had various tools for land cultivation and doing handicrafts. Information on the well-developed practical work of students in agriculture as well as handicrafts (male and female) can be found in several records and yearbooks. The students took care of the tools by themselves. The last generation enrolled in the first grade of this school before the Second World War was the 1934 generation. Bogoljub Gajić from Jasenica was one of the students enrolled in the first grade in 1940, and he remembers that, soon after the beginning of the school year, just one month after, the school was 17 The rest of the students' names could not be found in the remaining documentation. 18 This salary is very interesting. The people engaged in trade say that at the time for 1,400 dinars you could buy a couple of cows or a good horse. Besides that the husband of teacher Đuranović was a registrar at that time and his salary was half this amount. This high salary can be ex- plained by a fact that the teacher managed all four grades on her own, and that she was a head- mistress at the same time. 129Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area closed down. Teaching at the school in Jasenica then continued after the Second World War, up until 1949, when the school was demolished and a new elemen- tary school in the centre of Jasenica was built using the same building material. The other schools from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia period in the Srebrenik area were opened in 1929 in Donji Srebrenik, Seona and Špionica. The State Public School in Srebrenik was founded within adapted bar- racks built by the Austro-Hungarian government.19 It is recorded in the land register that this building was built on building lot 393/III, state-owned land, and it is described as one storey stone house with the number 170, covered with roofing tile, with a stone hut next to it. The building was specially built for the Austro-Hungarian gendarmerie, and there was a bathroom with a stone tiled drain built in such a way that it could be functional even today. The stone hut served as a eating place for gendarmerie that lived in this building. After the adaptation of the barracks there were two classrooms, two apartments for the teachers and a school kitchen. The school covered the areas of Donji Srebrenik, Gornji Srebrenik, Ćojluk, Ćehaje and Mustafići. The first generation started at- tending the school in 1929, with many students who were in late childhood or even early adulthood. According to Nail Jašarević, a first generation student, the aim was to educate older students in an accelerated manner. This enabled the older students to finish two grades in one year and the oldest students to finish even four grades in one year. The younger students finished grades at the usual speed manner.20 Related to this, we find one interesting piece of information that one of the students from the first generation, Abdulah Softić from Kazumovići, was married when he started school. The working conditions in the school were very good for that time. An all-day stay in the school was organized provided that the students brought their own food. The name of the first and only teacher, Mehmed Ibrahimović, is given in reports related to the opening of this school. He worked and stayed in the school until 1944, when he was taken to Brčko and shot by the Germans due to his collaboration with NOP (National Liberation Movement), that is to say the Partisans. Before he was arrested he was hiding in the house of Hasan Džanić. Osman eff. Jašarević, an instructor in catechism, worked together in the school with Mehmed Ibrahimović up to his death in 1940. He was replaced by an instruc- tor in catechism called hafiz Husein eff. Hasanefendić from Brčko. The school in Donji Srebrenik did not just have an educational purpose, but it was also a centre of cultural events. Apart from working with regular students, Ibrahimović also worked with adults who would come to school after the regular students finished classes. In this way, several locals learned to read and write. The school was situ- 19 The building was built in 1887 and it served as the police barracks. It is situated in Donji Sre- brenik. 20 The information on all students has not been saved, and the details we have are based on mem- ories of the living witnesses. 130 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 ated in a good position next to the main road running from Tuzla to Gradačac back then (490 m above sea-level).21 The residents of this area still remember that a certain doctor Bravo from Gradačac recommended that his pulmonary patients spend time in the school area due to its favourable altitude, fresh air and plentiful greenery. Students planted conifers next to the school building.22 Izudin Suljkanović from Ćojluk is one of the students from the last genera- tion. He was a student at until 1942, when the school was closed down. That year, soldiers led by Omer Gluhić, Musto Pjević and Osman Jašarević came to the school (Jašarević and Pjević were once non-commissioned Austro-Hungarian officers). The army soon left the school building, and the school was re-opened during the war. Suljkanović remembers cleaning straw together with other students in the classroom where soldiers slept, so that they could prepare the classroom for the resumed classes. The first female students to finish school before the Second World War were Ifeta Mustafić, Sedika Mujedinović and Arifa Suljkanović.23 The State Public School in Seona was also founded in 1929. It was lo- cated on a plot called Dedino Brdo, in Smreka, between Seona, Dedići, Šahmeri, Behram and Čifluk, so that there was an equal distance between the school and all the settlements it served. The building was built of stone and there was one classroom 60 m2 in size, one small office, a wide and long hallway and a lumber room on the ground floor, with a three-bedroom apartment for teachers on the first floor. Older people from Seona say that some Italians were the chief work- ers in building this school.24 There was a large and attractive water-well in the schoolyard. There were four rows of tables and chairs for students from the first to the fourth grades in the big classroom. Teaching lasted the whole day. Marko Sindelić was the first teacher in this school. He stayed in Seona for only a year. He was replaced by Alija Kamber, who previously worked in Smoluća (a place in neighbouring Lukavac municipality). Sindelić thus went to Smoluća and Kamber to Seona in 1930. The reason for this change cannot be found in the preserved documents. Locals even say that Marko Sindelić was engaged in breeding cattle. He could not breed pigs together with other animals since Seona, the place where he started working as a teacher, was populated by Muslims. This is why he made an agreement with Alija Kamber to transfer to Smoluća and why Kamber came to Seona. The teacher Safet Pašić, who first worked in Modriča, made a significant contribution to the school in Seona. During his whole stay in Seona (almost until 21 The road was constructed in 1882. 22 There are still four white pine trees planted by Austro-Hungarian police officers next to the school building. 23 These names are used here primarily because these were female students and there were not so many of them back then. The second reason is that there are no other names since great deal of the documentation on students was lost, as mentioned before. 24 Hodžić, Hazim, Nurkanović, Mustafa, Osmanović, Ishak, Seonjački alimi i škole (Ulema and Schools of Seona), Srebrenik municipality, Seona, 1999., pp. 35 – 36. 131Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area the end of the Second World War, when he moved to Tuzla) Pašić, together with his wife Fadila and two sisters Fadila and Safija, worked on health education for the general population. His wife also worked with young women on household improvements (storing food for winter, making handicrafts). Pašić, together with Ibrahim Omerčić, who was an agricultural expert, also set up an orchard that was very modern for its time. Fata Džinić, Rizo Hadžimustafić, Emina Brekalo, Ilija Kokalj, along with the teachers Mira, Marija and Grozda (the surnames are unknown and not stated anywhere) and Adem Korać worked in the school after Pašić (for short periods of time).25 It can be seen from the yearbook which is kept in the elementary school in Duboki Potok that some very interesting things are connected with Seona and the school there. To be precise, it was a custom to organize a party (teferič) for students and their parents in the schoolyard at the end of each school year. Halva would be baked in huge kettles and an ox roast would be made. This was a huge folk celebration. The school also had a bathroom constructed by Slaviša Vajner Čiča, and it was functional until 1950. The Public Elementary School in Špionica was the only school in Špionica during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia period. It was built in 1929. This school has no saved archives nor is it known that any records or yearbooks ever existed. There is a little information available based on the memories of Milovan Bojić from Špionica. He remembers most vividly that his father donated land for building the school next to the Tuzla-Gradačac road, near the River Tinja. Even today, there is a school building in this place that used as an apartment for teacher. The idea for building a school in Špionica existed even before 1929. The school was supposed to be built in Šokačko Polje. Due to some resistance from one part of local population the school was built later on the above mentioned land donated by Bojić. The school was built thanks to the locals’ donations and with the help of the state. There were two classrooms in this school, and this was a four-year school with two classes. Jovo Špadijer was the first teacher in this school. The school was closed down in the Second World War, but it was re-opened and it continued its work as a six-year and later on as an eight-year school. The teaching was conducted using the 1929 and 1934 curricula. Just before the beginning of the Second World War, two buildings were started to be built in Srebrenik, and these were supposed to be maktab-ibtidai. The building of the maktab-ibtidai in Donji Srebrenik was finished in 1939. The building was constructed thanks to the funds of the Central waqf in Sarajevo and minor financial donations from locals. Thus was a two-storey building with an apartment for muallim (teacher) and a big classroom for three classes. The Central waqf in Sarajevo decided on the architects. Back then, Srebrenik did not have its own expert muallim, and that is why two muallims from Sarajevo were 25 Hodžić, Hazim, Nurkanović, Mustafa, Osmanović, Ishak, Seonjački alimi i škole (Ulema and Schools of Seona), Srebrenik municipality, Seona, 1999, pp. 37 – 38. 132 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 sent to work in the maktab–ibtidai. They were educated in the Dar-ul-muallimin (Islamic teachers’ college) in Sarajevo. However, due to the war the teaching in this maktab-ibtidai did not start. One more maktab-ibtidai started to be built in Gornji Srebrenik at the same time, and it was finished all the way up to the roof until work was interrupted at the beginning of the war. There was an agreement between Ulema representatives and the government of the Kingdom of Yugo- slavia that Muslim children could not start any elementary school run by the Kingdom without having completed three years of education within a maktab- ibtidai, so both maktabs-ibtidai that were planned for Srebrenik were built due to this agreement. Also, the education in sybian maktabs was outdated. There were six of these maktabs in Srebrenik (in Ćojluk, Junuzovići, Gornji Srebrenik, Dželikani and Šerifovići) and these were to be closed down, although this did not happen, as already noted. The development of the school system in Srebrenik municipality after the Second World War Elementary School System During the period of Socialist Yugoslavia, secondary and pre-school educa- tion, as well as the education of adults, start to develop in Srebrenik. This is why in this section we are going to present not just elementary school education, but also the development of pre-school and secondary education and that of adults. During the Second World War, Partisan authorities organized many differ- ent courses for the illiterate population in the liberated parts of today’s Srebrenik municipality. Omer Nalić from Gornja Tuzla, who was an education commis- sioner, organized these courses in Srebrenik in 1945. His contribution to the introduction of literacy in Srebrenik area is considered the greatest. Mujesira Daić also worked on advancing literacy during the war. In addition, she taught women embroidery, how to sew, prepare food and manage the household. Such courses continued even after the war, and these were attended by a significant number of illiterate people. Several courses were organized in Srebrenik within a period of three years, and Omer Nalić, who worked on introducing literacy to all people regardless of their age and gender, was in charge of the organization of these. The teacher Hatidža (whose surname is unknown) from Gornja Tuzla was also in charge of some activities connected to the courses. She regularly visited all the areas of Srebrenik municipality and organized literacy courses, as well as home-economics classes for girls and women. In this period the courses were voluntary, but then there was a period when these became compulsory. Arifa Suljkanović from Ćojluk organized these courses in her own house at the time, since having adequate space for teaching was the biggest issue. She was paid in groceries for her work, and all course lecturers were given new shoes and yellow suits. Mostly women from Srebrenik settle- 133Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area Certificate on completion of a literacy course issued to Bešić Ibrahim from Brnjičani in 1949 (The document was collected by the author during his field research) 134 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 ments attended these literacy courses, since a large number of men were engaged in construction of the Brčko-Banovići railway, although there was an organized literacy course for them there as well. There is no information that has been pre- served on anyone from the Srebrenik area attending courses for the instructors of literacy. Instead, those who were literate were immediately engaged in intro- ducing literacy to others. The courses were organized all the way to the end of agricultural cooperatives, and they were abolished at the beginning of the 1950s. An agricultural course for farming and forestry was organized in the Cooperative Centre in Srebrenik in 1953. Several locals attended the course, which was taught by Sulejman Smajlović, the first agricultural engineer in Srebrenik. All the schools that were opened during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia pe- riod in the Srebrenik area continued their work even after the Second World War, but under changed conditions. The development of the school system in the area of Srebrenik municipality after the war is presented in this paper by looking more closely at individual areas. Rapatnica The first elementary school in today’s Rapatnica was built in a place called Brda in 1945/46. There were two classrooms and two apartments for teachers on the first floor. It served the area of Babunovići, Brda, Rapatnica and Donji Moran- jci, and also Brnjičani and Falešići from 1948. The school was open until 1957/58. Jovo Lazarević was the first teacher of this school. Later on, the teachers Begajet and Ljubinka Kešotović also came to this school, and they were the first qualified personnel who lived in the Srebrenik area that completed both their schooling and all the necessary educational trainings. In 1947, a school with two classrooms and two apartments was built in Falešići. The school was adequate for Falešići and Brnjičani, and it was opera- tional until 1989 as a four-year school. A four-year elementary school in Čekanići was built in 1955, and it was open until 1989. The name of the school is never mentioned in the school yearbook written by Božo Novaković and Radonja T. Maslovarić. According to Ibrahim Djedović, a former student, and the teachers of this school, after 1959 the school was called “Sejfo Karamehmedović”. Later on, the school was named “Džemal Mandžić” and then “Hazim Vikalo”, up to 1963 when it became a branch of “Bajazit Kešetović” elementary school in Rapatnica. The schools in Čekaniči and Falešići were closed down when a new school build- ing was built between these two settlements in 1989, and this school was also a branch of “Bajazit Kešetović” elementary school. The school in Gornji Moranjci was built from 1956 to 1958. It was a four-year school and there were two classrooms and two apartments. This school was iden- tical to those in Falešići and Čekanići, and in 1975 it started work as a branch of “Bajazit Kešetović” elementary school. In 1957, a six-year elementary school was founded in an adapted cooperative centre in the settlement of Luka-Rapatnica, and this school represented a transition from a four- to eight-year school. The school was moved to newly-built barracks in Srebrenik-Centre in 1963. Since the area of Rapatnica is huge in territory and densely populated, another eight-year elementary school was opened here in 1975, after the six-year elementary school 135Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area was moved to Srebrenik. The school was opened in rooms in the cooperative cen- tre and it was named Osnovna škola “Bajazit Kešetović” u Rapatnici (Elementary school “Bajazit Kešetović” in Rapatnica). In 1983 the school was moved from this centre to a newly-built modern building that was part of a project called “Hiljadu škola u BiH” (a thousand schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina). In 1990, there was one central and two branch school buildings in Falešići and Gornji Moranjci. Srebrenik The teaching in the Public Elementary School in Donji Srebrenik was stopped in 1942. Immediately after the war finished in 1945, the school was re- opened and the teaching continued. Zaim Imamović was the teacher at that time. The teaching was conducted using the curriculum from the 27th of December 1945, and the students were from the following places: Ćehaje, Mustafići, Gornji Srebrenik, Donji Srebrenik and Ćojluk. In 1948/49 a four-year school in Ćehaje was founded so that the students from this place did not have to travel to Donji Srebrenik any longer. The school in Donji Srebrenik became a six-year school in 1951, and it covered the area of Ćehaje again so that the students from Ćehaje could continue their education in fifth and sixth grades after finishing the fourth grade. At that time, the stu- dents from this area would continue their education (seventh and eighth grades) in Gradačac and Tuzla. In 1963, an eight-year school was opened in the centre of Srebrenik in newly-built barracks (as we already mentioned before). This is where the students from the neighbouring places could continue with their fur- ther education after finishing their studies in the closest four- or six-year schools. The teaching in these barracks started on the 17th of November 1963. There were six bigger classrooms and two extra classrooms at this location. The school was named after the above mentioned teacher from Srebrenik: Osnovna škola “Me- hmed Ibrahimović” (“Mehmed Ibrahimović” elementary school). After the new building was built as part of the project “a thousand schools in Bosnia and Her- zegovina”, the school was moved from the barracks and it continued the work in better conditions, having 12 classrooms, laboratories, school kitchen and library. The branch schools in Babunovići, Ćehaje, and Gornji Srebrenik were all parts of this school until 1988. Urban development led to a growing population in the centre of Srebrenik. This meant that there was an increased need for education, and also the need for new school spaces. Therefore, one more modern and better equipped elementary school was built in the upper part of Srebrenik town, on the right of Tuzla-Županja main road. The school was opened in 1988 and was named Osnovna škola “Ivo Lola Ribar” (“Ivo Lola Ribar” elementary school).26 At the same time, the school had two branch schools in Ćehaje and Gornji Srebrenik that previously belonged to “Mehmed Ibrahimović” school. 26 This school was not built from the funds of "Hiljadu škola u BiH" (a thousand schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina) but from municipal contributions. 136 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 Duboki Potok After the Second World War, in the area of today’s Duboki Potok, there was the school in Seona that we already mentioned before, and this continued its work within the same building until 1950. In 1950, the school was moved to the centre of Seona and situated in a former maktab, building since the old school building from 1929 was in very bad condition. That year, the children from Donji Moranjci did not go to this school because this is when they started their edu- cation in Rapatnica. After some time, the old school building was demolished, causing many former students to feel sad since they had got used to the building. A letter in which an anonymous former student expresses grief and criticizes the demolishing the school building arrived to Seona together with a poem that he wrote about the school27: Škola i njen vapaj (The school and its cry for help) Dođi đače stari, pogledaj me danas, Zamnom više niko ne mari. Torba ti ne treba, ostavi knjige, Ovdje više neće da te more đačke brige. Knjiga i pribor ti ne treba, Učionice moje su puste i tupe Davno su izbačene moje i tvoje klupe Ne čuje se više đačka cika i graja Postalo je pusto dvorište i naša meraja Polupani prozori i vrata Na sve strane prokišnjava sa gornjeg kata Promaha mi dušu trga i cijepa Na krovu nejmam polovinu crijepa Hej! Ti, tamo-u fotelji što sjediš Voziš se u mercedesu i pežou Pogledaj makar malo ovu školu svoju Ovdje si ti prva slova naučio Odavde si ti na položaj i više škole skočio Đače, makar me obiđi malo Ne bi li mi malo utjehe dalo Dođi da vidiš moje muke Šta samnom rade vrijeme i bezdušne ruke Ti dvonogi glodari raznesoše moje i tvoje stvari Dođi đače stari Zamnom više niko ne mari 27 This letter was found in the archive of "Duboki Potok" elementary school by the author. 137Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area (Oh you former student of mine, come and look at me now, nobody cares for me any longer. You don’t need your school bag, leave your schoolbooks as well, there are no more student worries here. You don’t need the books nor materials, my classrooms are empty and dull now. Our tables and chairs were removed a long time ago. No noise can be heard any longer. Our schoolyard is empty now and doors and windows have been crushed. The ceiling is leaking and the winds rip out my soul. Oh, there are only half of the roof tiles on my roof. Hey you, sitting in an armchair, driving a Mercedes and Peugeot, look at your school for a bit. You learned your first letters here and jumped to higher schools and positions from here. At least visit me for a bit and comfort me shortly. Come and see my misery, come see what the time and heartless hands have done to me. Those two-legged rodents took away our things. Oh you former student of mine, nobody cares for me now). Apart from the school in Seona, in the area of Duboki Potok there was also a six-year school in Ljenobud. The school in central Duboki Potok was founded in 1960 after the Seona and Ljenobud schools were closed down and the school kept its six-year system. In 1967 it became an eight-year school named Osnovna škola “Mustafa Mirica” (“Mustafa Mirica” elementary school) in Duboki Potok, and it was situated in the barracks. The teaching was conducted here until the new school was built as part of the “a thousand schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina” project, and there were 12 classrooms, laboratories and a gym in the building. Up to the end of the 1980s, the school was an eight-year central school with branch schools in Dedići, Ljenobud, Kuge and Cage. Tinja Immediately after the end of the war, a four-year school was founded in Tinja in 1948. which became a six-year school in 1951 and an eight-year school named Osnovna škola “Veljko Lukić Kurjak” (“Veljko Lukić Kurjak” elementary school) in 1960. The elementary school in Tinja was started a little earlier than those in other areas, which was the result of the efforts of one part of the Tinja population to form a Municipality of Tinja, with the eight-year school being a key reason for having a separate municipality. This, however, did not occur. At the beginning, the teaching was conducted in the old school building and later on in the cooperative centre until the new building was constructed as a result of the “a thousand schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina” project. In 1990, this was a central school with a branch school in Gornji Potpeć. Špionica The old school built in the Bojić field was closed down during the Second World War. After the end of the war it was opened as a six-year school. Parts of Špionica near the Tuzla-Županja road, the old Tuzla-Gradačac road and Brčko- Banovići railway were then populated rapidly, and resulted in the need for an eight-year school, which is why one was built in the existing schoolyard in 1963. These were actually barracks with six classrooms for higher grades of students 138 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 (from fifth to eight), and students from four-year branch schools in Špionica Srednja and Špionica Gornja also came here. The school was named Osnovna škola “Ivan Marković Irac” (“Ivan Marković Irac” elementary school) in Špionica. The first generation of eight graders finished school in 1967/68. Ten years later, a new school building with eight classrooms, laboratories, a sports hall and school kitchen was built. In 1990, the school had its branch schools in Gornji Hrgovi and Špionica Gornja. The branch school from Špionica Srednja was closed down in 1981. The Šponica Gornja branch school has always been the tidiest school with the most beautiful garden in the Srebrenik area and wider, and it regularly received awards for this. Students from Gornji Hrgovi and Vrela were the students of this school. Podorašje The previously mentioned school in Jasenica was demolished in 1949 and a new school with two classrooms was built in the centre of Jasenica out of the old building material. At the same time, four-year schools were opened in Zahirovići, Straža and Lisovići. In 1962/63, these schools were made into one eight-year school named Osnovna škola “Pero Bosić” (“Pero Bosić” elementary school) in Podorašje, which has been the centre of this area since 1958. The school was first opened within an adapted cooperative centre and it stayed there until 1970. A short time later a new school building with eight classrooms was built, so the working conditions were somewhat normalized. The teaching was conducted here until 1975/76, when a new school building was constructed as a result of the “a thousand schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina” project. Several years later, a sports hall was also built. In 1990, “Pero Bosić” school had four branch schools in Zahirovići, Straža, Lisovići and Jasenica. Sladna The first school in the area of Sladna was built in 1939 on the spot where the house of Hazim Osmić is now located. In the school there was one classroom, a staff room, a hallway and an apartment for teachers on the first floor, as well as a spacious basement. The first schoolteacher was Stanislav Grozni, and the school was opened even after the Second World War and remained so until 1979, when it was demolished. Before this, an eight-year school was founded in Sladna area in 1966, and it was named Osnovna škola “Hazim Vikalo” (“Hazim Vikalo” elementary school), and it was situated in the cooperative centre. In 1969/70, new barracks were built and the school was moved there. Later on, a community office and a medical clinic were opened in these barracks too. There were four classrooms, a library, a staff room and two offices in the barracks. Drakovac Zahir was the first graduate teacher of biology and chemistry in the school. Vejzović Mejrema was the first woman to finish 8th grade in Sladna. In 1979/80 a new building was constructed using funds from the “a thousand schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina” project, and there were eight classrooms, laboratories, a sports hall, a boiler-room and other facilities. In 1990 “Hazim Vikalo” elementary school in 139Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area Sladna had one branch school in Ibrići. As it can be seen in this review of the developed of the school system in Srebrenik area after the Second World War, many four-year schools were built in all the bigger settlements in the period from 1945 to 1955. After building co- operative centres (during the 1950s), six-year schools were founded in Srebrenik area and these represented a transition from four-year to eight-year schools, even though some four-year schools still continued their work using new curricula. It can be concluded from the records on the teachers employed at that time that professional teaching practices followed the standards of the Yugoslav Republic. It should be stated here as well that there were not many expert teaching staff in Srebrenik at that time. Many teachers thus came to Srebrenik from Serbia and Montenegro in the first decade after the war. A significant number of teachers come to Srebrenik schools from the teachers’ college in Bijeljina in the mid-1960s, which helped raise standards. However, there were still problems with regard to professional teaching staff in subjects from the fifth to the eighth grades, since this was a period when six-year and several new eight-year schools were opened in Srebrenik. In 1961/62 the centralization of schools occurred in the Srebrenik area. In this way, four-year and six-year schools become branch schools that oper- ated within central eight-year schools. After this, unique students’ registers were kept, as well as registers of all those employed at the schools. This represented a step forward in both school network and elementary education organization in the Srebrenik area, and one that was continued until 1990. During the 1970s, there were eight-year schools in all the areas of Srebrenik municipality, along with several branch schools. The issue of professional teaching staff was easily solved back then, since a new generation of teachers from the teacher-training college in Tuzla come to Srebrenik schools. In 1972, a labour organization called Udružena osnovna škola “Bratstvo-jedinstvo” (Associated elementary school “Bratstvo-jedinstvo”) was formed, and all the elementary schools from Srebrenik municipality were part of this as “Jedinice udruženog rada (JUR)” (“Units of As- sociated Labour”). These started issuing a school newspaper called Zvončići pod Gradinom (Small bells under Gradina). Zvončići was preceded by Naša radost (Our Joy), the first school paper in this area originated in “Mehmed Ibrahimović” elementary school and it was published for five years. In 1976 Naša radost was renamed Vihor mladosti (A breeze of youth), with Sabrija Kešetović as the editor, and in 1978 it was renamed Zvončići pod Gradinom. Ešref Berbić was the first editor of Zvončići. There were 26 editions of Zvončići pod Gradinom, and this was one of the best school papers in Yugoslavia. Around 10 editions of Zvončići were published during the 1980s. The newspaper was published until the be- ginning of the war in Bosnia when the elementary school was closed down. At the end of the 19080s, both elementary schools and elementary education in the Srebrenik area were well developed with regard to an extensive school network, children being included in the education process, the quality of teaching and the results achieved. In 1988 there were eight central and 17 branch schools in the Srebrenik area. From the mid-1970s to the end of the 1980s there was a need 140 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 to form so-called special classes for children facing minor mental difficulties in several Srebrenik schools (“Mehmed Ibrahimović” elementary school, “Hazim Vikalo” elementary school, and “Ivan Marković Irac” elementary school). In the mid-1980s the local authorities decided that only one school, namely “Mehmed Ibrahimović” elementary school, should be engaged in such a process due to staff rationalization and the financial resources that were available for this purpose. Since some students from with minor mental difficulties lived far away from “Mehmed Ibrahimović” elementary school, it was decided that an “SIZ” (Self- governing Community of Interest) in Srebrenik municipality should provide funds to organize the permanent accommodation of such children in Srebrenik during their education. Pre-school education Pre-school education in Srebrenik area started to develop in the 1980s, when the Institution for Pre-school Education was founded, and this was a nursery for children from three to seven years old. The institution was named “Melća Mustafić”, and it was founded on the 9th of September 1975, following the Srebrenik municipality assembly decision number 260/75. The fund for direct child protection provided the resources for building the nursery. The construc- tion costs amounted to 1,565,833 dinars, and the cost of equipment to 383,187.05 dinars. The building was built by the construction company “Zlatibor” Titovo Užice - OOUR “Gradnja” Tuzla. The opening ceremony was on the 9th of Sep- tember 1975 which was actually Liberation Day in Srebrenik. At the beginning of the work, the Institution provided a place for children from the local commu- nity of Srebrenik-Centre and there were six employees here. Ramiz Joldić was the first elected director. Kešetović Munevera and Pecirep Zvonimira were the first nursery-school teachers, together with a nurse Imamović Džana who was also a nursery-school teacher. A cook, cleaning lady and boiler attendant were also employed by the nursery. Two groups of children were formed in the first school year, and these were a younger group and mixed group, with 30 children in total. This was the period of the initial cooperation with elementary schools, and chil- dren from the nursery could visit schools together with their teachers and attend many celebrations and other events. The ”Melća Mustafić” pre-school institution had a significant role in the development of pre-school education in the period from 1975 to 1990. Secondary school Secondary school education appeared only in the 1970s, as opposed to el- ementary school education that has a longer tradition in the area of Srebrenik 141Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area municipality28. Secondary school education in Srebrenik begins in 1975. That year, the Ekonomski, tehnički i ugostiteljski školski centar (ETUŠC) (Economic, technical and catering school centre) from Brčko opened four branch classes in Srebrenik. Since over 500 students were set to finish elementary school in the area of Srebrenik municipality at that time, the idea came to open some ele- mentary school centres. A school centre for vocational education was founded as an institution for secondary vocational education in the area following the Srebrenik municipality assembly decision number 01-218/17 on the 18th of Au- gust 1977. The centre was named after Džemal Bijedić who died just before its opening (Školski centar za usmjereno obrazovanje “Džemal Bijedić” - School Cen- tre for Vocational Education “'Džemal Bijedić”). Arif Muharemović was the first director of the centre, which welcomed its first students in 1977/78, with teach- ing starting on the 6th of September. This is when certain acts were established in accordance with the regulations of that time. A minimum of resources were provided so that the teaching could begin. In the first year, the following depart- ments operated within the centre: a school of economics, administrative school, catering school, textile and wood processing school. Each year the number of students increased as well as the number of courses and professions to choose from. In 1990 there was the biggest number of students and classes so far (1,125 students and 33 classes), causing a huge organizational problem since there were just 16 classrooms in the centre. It can be said that, from its founding in 1977 and all the way to 1990, “Džemal Bijedić” school centre was a significant institution for the development of education in Srebrenik area. A large number of students following different professions and occupations benefited from the work of this educational institution. During that period, students from all neighbouring mu- nicipalities (Gračanica, Gradačac, Tuzla) were educated here, not just those from the Srebrenik area. This is why the centre had the function of educating people employed in economic and public life in both Srebrenik and the wider region. The education of adults Apart from the literacy courses after the Second world War that we have al- ready discussed, it can be said that the institutional and systematic education of adults was conducted through the activities of the Narodni univerzitet (National University) in Srebrenik. This was founded in 1961 following the Decision of the Public Committee of the Municipal Assembly number 4295/61, as an institution of special social interest. The tasks of this institution were defined as follows: 28 So far, only one monograph on Srebrenik secondary school has been published: Hodžić, Hazim, Srebreničko srednje obrazovanje 1975 – 2000 (The Secondary Education of Srebrenik 1975-2000), Grin, Srebrenik, 2000. 142 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 1. Introducing literacy and elementary education to young people and adults, 2. The professional education of working people and population in the area of Srebrenik municipality, 3. The health and hygiene education of the population, 4. Social and political education, 5. Additional professional education of working people in their work- places, 6. The development and organization of cultural events in order to meet the cultural needs of the population in the municipality. The elementary school for adult education within the university started work on two occasions. In the beginning, the elementary education of adults started in 1967/68 and 1968/69. Three classes were formed according to different levels (the first level was the curriculum of the first to fourth grades; the second level from the fifth to seventh grades; and the third level was considered to be fifth and sixth semesters). A permanent school for the elementary education of adults within the National University was founded in 1973 following the Decision of the Commercial Court in Tuzla number 2300-01, VS-19/74. All the students were older than 18. In 1977, the elementary school for the education of adults within the National University was closed down and all the educational activities were continued within “Mehmed Ibrahimović” elementary school, where the final ex- ams were organized. In 1974, as a result of the cooperation with “Đuro Đaković” Workers University from Sarajevo, a course for typists and stenographs was or- ganized. The students on this course were workers from Srebrenik companies, and there were two classes. Apart from this course, the university was engaged in training workers for certain qualifications. To serve the needs of the Energoin- vest company from Odžak, 37 skilled workers and 21 highly skilled workers in metal- and electrical-related professions were trained. Within the same year, the university trained 240 workers from the RO Majevica company from Srebrenik: 30 fruit growers, 30 cattle breeders, 30 electro-welders and 150 carpenters. Ever since it was founded the National University in Srebrenik worked on training students for the building industry, and bricklayers and carpenters especially, in order to serve the needs of the Obnova company from Ljubljana. The course last- ed for four months each year, and 560 trained construction workers, who were immediately employed in the above-mentioned company from Ljubljana, were the results of this. In 1973 a driving school for drivers in categories A, B, C and E was opened in the National University. From that year on, the driving school never stopped working, thus helping 5,246 residents of Srebrenik municipality to obtain their driving licence by 1990. At the same time, lectures in first aid and promoting a better traffic culture were also organized. Later on, training for technical secretaries as well as safety at work and fire prevention were organized in the National University. After this, courses for the retraining of workers were 143Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area organized. In 1977, lectures for 25 students of the classroom teaching academy were organized several times in association with the College of Education in Tuz- la, and instructive teaching classes for students of the administrative school soon followed. The teaching was conducted in close collaboration with the school centre in Brčko. Following the approval of the executive board of Srebrenik Mu- nicipality Assembly, a department of 50 candidates for the instructive teaching of students from a higher commercial school was opened as a result of collaboration with one such school from Sarajevo. In 1981 the university organized foreign lan- guage courses for the first time, and in 1981 and 1982 several German and English language courses were held. After a short break, these courses continued to be organized in the following period. Instructive teaching for caterers was organ- ized in 1989. After that a training for a certain number of drivers was organized in order for them to become qualified instructors for the above-mentioned driving school. Training a large number of drivers, metal technicians and electricians at the fifth level of qualification, as well as educating candidates in agricultural ma- chinery operation, represented a significant activity at the National University at the end of the 1980s. The results of this institution can be seen in the significant number of literate and educated adults that attended its classes, including also a significant number of younger adults, as well as in trained production personnel working in many companies, not just in Srebrenik but also in many areas of the former Yugoslavia. The development of the librarian sector When we speak about the development of the school system in some area, then we also have to consider the development of other significant cultural in- stitutions that are directly connected with the school system, and that affect the general education and cultural life of that area. This is why in this paper we also present the development of the librarian sector in Srebrenik. The roots of this can be traced back to 1953 when first forms of librarian work appear in the Coop- erative Centre of Gornji Srebrenik. Young people from Gornji Srebrenik managed to collect hundreds of books that were then placed in one room of the centre. The books were of different genres (war memoirs, professional agricultural literature and a significant number of Russian classics). Ten years after the first library was founded in the Cooperative Centre of Gornji Srebrenik, a new library was formed in Srebrenik town. This happened in 1963, when the teacher Ahmet Salihćehajić, known as Hadžaga, organized a small reading room that he equipped with sever- al thousand books. The reading room was organized in such a way that the books could only be read inside the room. This first Srebrenik reading room, where you could also drink coffee and watch shows on one of the town’s first television sets, had a significant influence on future cultural life in Srebrenik. At that time, the reading room cooperated with publishing houses from Zagreb that donated some 144 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 books to the room, and sold others using loans and other favourable purchase conditions. The books in the reading room were of various genres: scientific lit- erature, professional literature, and other volumes with interesting contents. The most important date in the development of the librarian sector in Srebrenik is the 10th of October 1972, when the National Library was founded following a decision of Srebrenik Municipal Assembly. Soon after, on the 14th of November 1972, the opening ceremony was held. Ćamil Sijarić, a writer and an academician, opened the library and many guests from cultural and public spheres were pre- sent at the event. Ćamil Sijarić said the following at the ceremony: Drage Srebreničanke i dragi Srebreničani! Dozvolite mi da vam danas ot- vorim u vašem gradu aps, zatvor. Ovdje su zatvoreni i Tolstoj i Balzak i Andrić. Na vama je dužnost da svakodnevno izbavljate iz apsa i Tolstoja i Balzaka i Andrića. Proglašavam biblioteku otvorenom. 'Dear women and men of Srebrenik! Allow me to open this prison today in your town. Tolstoy, Balzac and Andrić are imprisoned here. It is your duty to res- cue them from prison on a daily basis. I pronounce this library open.' The first name of the library was Narodna biblioteka “Klub prijatelja En- ergoinvesta” u Srebreniku (National Library “Friends of Energoinvest Club” in Srebrenik). Ćamil Sijarić, Mitar Papić, Husein Lelić (who was the president of Srebrenik municipality back then), Bajazit Jašarević, Ramiz Karić, Nazif Jašarević, Omer Tufekčić and Irina Balić from Srebrenik, as well as Emin Buljubašić from Rapatnica, Nedim Ibrahimović from Sladna and Mašić Ševalija from Brda, were among those who contributed the most to the opening of this library. From 1972 to 1990, the library in Srebrenik made a huge contribution to the development of the cultural, educational and scientific life of Srebrenik. Throughout its develop- ment phases, the library never stopped cooperating with the various educational institutions of Srebrenik municipality. Concluding remarks The school system in Srebrenik developed within the context of all the events in this area in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider South Slavic region. The elementary school system in an organized form started to develop at the beginning of Ottoman rule. It can be said that first maktabs in the Srebrenik area start to develop only after the rise in population after the medieval town fell under Turkish rule (1512). There is very little information or material resourc- es on the Srebrenik school system during the Turkish period. However, we did learn that there were four sybian maktabs in the Srebrenik area. There were no other schools, that is to say madrasas, in the area during this time, and this was the situation when the Austro-Hungarians came. A school in Jasenica was then founded in 1902/1903 after special instructions on building schools in the Sre- 145Development of the School System and Education in the Srebrenik Area brenik area were issued. The school in Jasenica was the only school that existed in the area during the Austro-Hungarian period, and maktab teaching was still present. The Great Maktab in Seona that was opened in 1912 was the most signifi- cant educational institution in this period. New schools were opened during the period of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and the Kingdom of Yugo- slavia,. The only school that was open since the very beginning of the new regime was the State Public School in Jasenica, which continued its work under the new conditions. This was still a four-year school. Other public elementary schools (in Srebrenik, Seona and Špionica) were founded in 1929. Before the end of the King- dom of Yugoslavia, two maktab-ibtidai were built in Srebrenik, and these were to be attended by Muslim children before their public elementary school education. The expansion and development of the elementary school system in Srebrenik happened in the period from 1945 to 1990. In this time there were several stages of development that took places based on social and legal changes in the new state. These changes had a progressive tendency, which saw the move from an undeveloped four-year system to a six-year system and finally to a fully developed eight-year school system. Each stage saw new conceptual and organizational so- lutions. Immediately after the Second World War there were 14 four-year schools in Srebrenik, and in 1960 there were 19 of these. From the beginning of 1950 to the end of 1960s, seven six-year schools were formed and these represented a transitional solution. The 1960s and 70s were characterized by the opening of seven eight-year schools in all the areas of Srebrenik municipality (the first one was founded in Tinja in 1960/61). The last eight-year school built in this period was opened in 1988. The period after the Second World War was characterized by the rise of pre-school education in Srebrenik. The first pre-school institution was opened in 1975. This is when the school network in the Srebrenik area was almost completely developed, and the pre-school and elementary school system became united. When the “Džemal Bijedić” School Centre for Vocational Educa- tion was opened in 1977, the process of forming a school system in Srebrenik was completed. The education of adults after the Second World War was conducted through literacy courses, which a significant number of adults attended. The institutionalized and intensive education of adults started when the National University was opened in Srebrenik in 1961. The role and importance of this uni- versity can be seen through the work of the elementary school for adults, which was attended by many students. In addition, through its many courses and train- ing programmes the university contributed to the development of economic life in Srebrenik and many other regions of Yugoslavia. Together with the school sys- tem, the librarian sector also developed. It all started with the founding of the first reading room in Gornji Srebrenik in 1953, and another in Srebrenik in 1963, which led to the opening of the National Library in 1972. The National Univer- sity and the library cooperated with the schools in Srebrenik, and together they represented a unique foundation for the development of education and culture in this area. 146 Šolska kronika • 1–2 • 2019 References Basler, Đuro Stari grad Srebrnik i problematika njegove restauracije (The Old Town of Srebrenik and its Restoration Issues), in: Naše starine – Godišnjak Zem- aljskog zavoda za zaštitu spomenika kulture i prirodnih rijetkosti Narodne republike Bosne i Hercegovine (Our Antiques – The yearbook of the In- stitute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and National Rarities of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina), no. IV, the National Museum of Sarajevo, 1957. 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