For countries with a falling population, it is recommended that all remaining workers “climb” the ladder of industrial worth. However, this means dealing far more with average students and raising the level of their abilities
Secondary school enrolment is currently underway in Serbia. It is said that 67,000 eighthyear primary-school leavers are applying for 72,000 spots in secondary schools. And these numbers hide the fact that probably no one has dealt with secondary school programmes – with what is taught and how – for a very long time. There’s no place in this story for special mathematics and IT departments, which are attended by only a few thousand students anyway. I must add to this analysis that the number of first-year pupils enrolled in primary schools in Serbia is 61,000.
Despite the fact that I was expected to advocate for investments in infrastructure, access to technology and further digitalisation, that doesn’t seem wise to me. Given the numbers from the first paragraph, education is the most important direction of technological development.
Every citizen needs to be trained to be a user of the latest technologies, in order for users in Serbia to be interested in testing new products and services
Ever more foreign companies are considering Serbia as a place to locate their computer programming and development sectors. This offers a major development opportunity. For countries with a falling population, it is recommended that all remaining workers “climb” the ladder of industrial worth. However, this means not only bidding farewell to outstanding students, but also dealing with average students and raising the level of their abilities. That means training every citizen to be a user of the latest technologies, in order for users in Serbia to be interested in testing new products and services. That is the route to attracting “complex” development and people with the knowhow required for such a “competition”.
Perhaps you’ve read about how Singapore is providing scholarships for all its citizens aged over 40 who want to learn something new. The speed of technological development means that this is probably necessary for every country, especially ones wanting to compete in the development of new technologies. That’s why I wouldn’t suggest anything epochally new when it comes to technology, as everything new becomes old too quickly. I would instead suggest raising the population’s general level of knowledge regarding the use of technologies, because that is currently the only enduring competitive advantage. Instead of being walls and machines, it is in people and their knowhow.