MASTILOVIĆ: YOUTH KEY TO DEVELOPMENT OF SRPSKA

ANJA LUKA, MAY 21 /SRNA/ - Minister for Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education of Republika Srpska Draga Mastilović said that next year the government will allocate significantly higher funds for science, as it is a prerequisite for the technological development of the Republic.

Mastilović stressed that young people in Republika Srpska will be the backbone of its scientific and technological development, and that the government and all relevant institutions are obliged to create the necessary conditions for them.

"The Government has also in previous years allocated significant funds and made great efforts to improve the quality of higher education and especially student standards," Mastilović told reporters in Banja Luka, where he attended the opening of the 14th Science Festival at the University of Banja Luka Campus.

He noted that this year’s budget rebalance will increase funding for scientific research, largely thanks to Republika Srpska Prime Minister Savo Minić and his understanding of the importance of science and the need for greater investment in this field.

"The presence of Prime Minister Minić at the opening of the Science Festival means that better days lie ahead for this sector, and that we will, in addition to higher education, focus on scientific research and support for science", Mastilović said.

He emphasized that the goal of the Science Festival is to introduce young people to science and help them understand that it is not something to be feared, but rather something interesting.

"For that reason, we organize the Science Festival every year. In the coming period, Republika Srpska will make significant investments and will be strongly committed to science", Mastilović said.

This year's festival is being held at the University City campus and the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Banja Luka, where visitors have the opportunity to visit a planetarium, aquarium and terrarium.

More than 20 faculties from the universities of Banja Luka and Istočno Sarajevo, the Institute for Genetic Resources, the Public Health Institute of Republika Srpska, the Police Training Administration of the Ministry of the Interior, as well as several secondary schools, are presenting at the festival.