Reform in Progress: Current Trends and Concerns in Developing ...

information on the problems these countries encounter during EMIS development, as was
case for the Republic of Serbia.
Conclusion
In some South East European countries, due to slow and less successful EMIS
development, basic statistical information of outstanding importance is still missing or
unavailable. Based on information available on the process of EMIS development in four
SEE countries, several conclusions can be drawn. SEE countries have recognized the
need to have sustainable and reliable information systems in education, initiating
development of such systems in the last decade. For development, these countries still
depend on the financial resources of donors and creditors. Lack of management and
human resource capacities provide barriers for efficient implementation. It seems that
each country has a unique approach to system development, ranging from the approach of
creating a big and complex project with slow and/or less successful implementation
(Republic of Serbia, Montenegro) to a step-by-step approach (Republic of Croatia).
EMIS development in the Republic of Serbia is still facing significant challenges.
There is a clear need to develop and make such a system operational and sustainable for
the purpose of monitoring education system performance and faster integration into the
European Union. Any further investments should start with the careful preparation and
official adoption of a list of indicators, establishment of the professional EMIS unit,
development of a set of realistic procedures, the selection of up-to-date and appropriate
technological solutions, etc. There is a strong recommendation not to underestimate the
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