Decades of urbanisation and funding shortages have placed a strain on Montenegro’s education system. Now, with funding from Team Europe, the country is investing in its education system to prepare students with the skills they need for the job market and the Western Balkan country’s bid to join Europe’s single market.
The government’s new Montenegro education programme aims to transform the learning experience for generations of pupils and provide them with the skills required for innovation and growth.
The funds will enable the reconstruction, digitalisation and equipping of 13 education facilities, including kindergartens, primary, vocational and secondary schools. The investments will create up to 1,700 new places for pupils and 530 full-time jobs for teachers, once the project is completed in 2027.
“The education sector in Montenegro is in need of attention and faces many challenges,” says Yngve Engstrom, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Montenegro.
“We hope that these investments will improve the conditions for Montenegrin students, teachers and other school personnel and that they will support the comprehensive reforms needed in the education sector,” he added.
EU funds will also finance the construction of a new primary school in the capital city, Podgorica, that will use at least 20% less energy and water than comparable facilities and set a new energy efficiency standard for public buildings.
Equipping students with skills for the workplace
One of the main objectives of the country’s new education programme is to improve digital skills in the country. According to a study by UNICEF, one in six school children in Montenegro lacks access to a computer at home and computers in schools are shared by as many as 16 students on average.
Under the programme, over 500 primary and secondary schools will receive new computers, projectors, printers and other equipment to allow for modern computer classes.
The country’s education programme places a strong emphasis on equipping students with sought after skills. Towards this end, 50 vocational schools with receive sophisticated equipment so that they can offer practical courses for a range of sectors including medicine, chemistry and the hospitality industry.
These improvements will also help align academic qualifications with the needs of industry and help address the current mismatch which produces too many higher education graduates in fields with too few job opportunities.
“The mismatch of skills in the economy, massive brain drain (among the world’s highest), and the low proportion (35%) of workers with at least basic digital skills, are major impediments to progress in the Western Balkans,” says Kadir Bahcecik, at EIB Global.
“The success of the green and digital transitions in the Western Balkans and Europe depends on having enough highly skilled workers,” says Bahcecik. “Upskilling is crucial to enable people and businesses to take advantage of new technologies and opportunities, and this in turn, will contribute to higher employability and productivity.”
- Read here for more about the EIB’s support for education
Team Europe support
Financial support from EU and EIB sources is expected to fund a significant share of Montenegro’s education programme, which has an estimated price tag of €73 million.
Bilateral donors and the European Union are contributing an €11 million grant through the EU’s Western Balkans Investment Framework. The European Investment Bank is providing an €18 million investment loan and a €2.5 million technical assistance grant under its Economic Resilience Initiative. Now, the Bank is already looking for opportunities to increase its financial support and continue to attract additional funding for the project under the Team Europe initiative.
“This blended operation, combining the EIB resources with WBIF grants, exemplifies the Team Europe approach - a powerful force for positive change,” says Giovanni Camisa, an EIB loan officer for Montenegro.
The funds are expected to make a real difference. Speaking at an event to mark the signing of the funds in February, Montenegro’s Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Anđela Jakšić Stojanović, said they were “a significant step towards the improvement of the Montenegrin system, creating better learning conditions in which the youngest generation can thrive.”
- Read here about the EIB’s support for Montenegro’s rail network
- Read here about the EIB's support for Monetenegro's green transition
