Overview: adult education in Serbia

The most recent 2020 Strategy for the Development Education seeks to make lifelong learning a reality in the Republic of Serbia. The Law on Adult Education is the cornerstone of adult learning in Serbia and manifests in the National Qualification Framework. The 2020 strategy It seeks to provide adults with a continuous acquisition of competences and qualifications that serve for their employment, professional development and encourage socially responsible behaviour. The goals include:

• Improvement of educational structure and employability of citizens,
• Creation of a basis for socio-economic development of Serbia, 
• Increase in professional mobility and flexibility of the working population,
• Providing grounds for the reduction of poverty, social equality, social inclusion and intergenerational solidarity,
• Improvement of personal and family life standards, along with the social and natural environment,
• Development of democracy, multiculturalism and tolerance,
• Integration into the European social, economic and educational frameworks.

In 2019 the participation in adult learning was estimated at 4,3%. Members of civil society, including EAEA's member have criticized that the education policy has not been systematically implemented in Serbia and that there are no mechanisms to hold the government accountable.Serbia is challenged by a low level of economic development of the country, high unemployment rates, demographic change, poverty and a poorly trained workforce. Adult education could contribute to promote literacy and provide professional and life skills to the Serbian population. Fostering cooperation among actors in the field and enhancing access, could not only increase Serbia’s economic competitiveness but also contribute to greater resilience and mobility in the labor force and increase social cohesion .