Bilateral agreements

Montenegro has signed a significant number of agreements with other, mainly European countries, on cooperation in the field of education. The agreements mainly involve the activities of student mobility, as well as the exchange of teaching staff, encouraging the cooperation of educational and research institutions, exchanging experiences in the field of improvement and education reform, etc.

The following bilateral agreements are in force:

1. Memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Education and Science of Montenegro and Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, on cooperation in the field of education, signed in 2008;
2. Programme of cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Science of Montenegro and Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, in the fields of science, technology and education, for the period 2009 - 2012; 
3. Bilateral agreements between the Government of Montenegro and the Council of ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of education, signed in 2008;
4. Memorandum on cooperation on enhancing the English language teaching, professional development of teachers, increasing employment through the development of secondary vocational education, cooperation between schools at international level and support to parents whose children learn foreign language in preschool and early school age, signed in 2009, British Council;
5. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and Government of the Republic of Macedonia on cooperation in education, signed in 2010; 
6. Administrative agreement on promoting French language teaching in Montenegro, between the Ministry of Education and Sports of Montenegro and Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of France, signed in 2011; 
7. Agreement on the exchange of professional staff between Montenegro and Federal Republic of Germany, signed in 2011;
8. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and Government of Ukraine on cooperation in fields of education and higher education, signed in 2011;  
9. Memorandum on understanding in the field of education between the Government of Montenegro and Government of Turkey, signed in 2012;
10. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and Government of the Republic of Poland on cooperation in fields of culture, education and science, signed in 2012; 
11. Agreement  on cooperation between the Government of Montenegro and the Council of ministers of the Republic of Albania in the field of education, signed in 2013; 
12. Agreement  on cooperation in the field of policies, youth, physical education and sports between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, signed in 2013;
13. Memorandum on educational and scientific cooperation between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry for Human Resources of Hungary for the period 2012 - 2014, signed in 2013; 
14. Agreement on cooperation in the field of education between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of National Education of Romania, signed in 2014; 
15. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the Republic of Italy on cooperation in the field of culture and education, signed in 2014; 
16. Agreement on cooperation in the field of education between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, signed in 2014; 
17. Protocol on cooperation in the field of education between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of Education, Science and Sports of the Republic of Slovenia, signed in 2015; 
18. Memorandum on cooperation between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia in the field of sports oblasti, signed in 2015; 
19. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on cooperation in the fields of culture and education, signed in 2016; 
20. Memorandum on understanding on cooperation in the field of higher education and scientific research between the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science of Montenegro and Ministry of Education of the United Arab Emirates, signed in 2016; 
21. Agreement on cooperation in the field of education, culture, sports and youth between the Government of Montenegro and Government of Hungary, signed in 2017;
22. Agreement on cooperation in the field of education, between the Government of Montenegro and Government of Republic of Serbia, signed in 2017;  
23. Cooperation Programme between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of Republic of Slovenia in the field of education, for the period 2017 - 2021, signed in 2017;
24. Cooperation Programme between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of Human Resources of Hungary, in the field of education for the period 2018 - 2020, signed in 2017;
25. Administrative agreement between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, for promotion and support to studying French language in Montenegro, signed in 2018; 
26. Memorandum on understanding between the Government of Montenegro and Government of the United States of America on the Fulbright Academic Exchange Programme, signed in 2018;
28. Agreement on cooperation between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and the Goethe Institute, signed in 2019;
29. Protocol on cooperation between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and the Goethe Institute in the frame of the „PASCH“ initiative, signed in 2019;
30. Memorandum on understanding between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Peace Corps, signed in 2019;
31. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and Government of the Republic of Bulgaria on cooperation in the field of education, signed in 2021.                                                            
32. Amendments to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Montenegro and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary on cooperation within the Frameworks of the Stipendium Hungaricum Programme for the years 2021-2023, signed in Podgorica, on 11th November 2022. 
33. Program on educational cooperation between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro and the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China for the period 2024-2027, signed in China in February 2024.
34. Agreement between the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro on mutual recognition of higher education documents, signed in China in February 2024.
35. Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro and the Peace Corps, signed in Podgorica in March 2024.
36. Agreement and Protocol between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation and the Goethe-Institut Belgrade, signed in Podgorica, in September 2024.
37. Memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation and the British Council on cooperation in the field of education, signed in Podgorica, in September 2024.
38. Administrative agreement for the promotion and support of French language teaching in Montenegro between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France, signed in Podgorica, in March 2025.
39. 1. Memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Education and Science of Montenegro and Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, on cooperation in the field of education, signed in 2008;
2. Programme of cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Science of Montenegro and Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, in the fields of science, technology and education, for the period 2009 - 2012; 
3. Bilateral agreements between the Government of Montenegro and the Council of ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of education, signed in 2008;
4. Memorandum on cooperation on enhancing the English language teaching, professional development of teachers, increasing employment through the development of secondary vocational education, cooperation between schools at international level and support to parents whose children learn foreign language in preschool and early school age, signed in 2009, British Council;
5. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and Government of the Republic of Macedonia on cooperation in education, signed in 2010; 
6. Administrative agreement on promoting French language teaching in Montenegro, between the Ministry of Education and Sports of Montenegro and Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of France, signed in 2011; 
7. Agreement on the exchange of professional staff between Montenegro and Federal Republic of Germany, signed in 2011;
8. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and Government of Ukraine on cooperation in fields of education and higher education, signed in 2011;  
9. Memorandum on understanding in the field of education between the Government of Montenegro and Government of Turkey, signed in 2012;
10. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and Government of the Republic of Poland on cooperation in fields of culture, education and science, signed in 2012; 
11. Agreement  on cooperation between the Government of Montenegro and the Council of ministers of the Republic of Albania in the field of education, signed in 2013; 
12. Agreement  on cooperation in the field of policies, youth, physical education and sports between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, signed in 2013;
13. Memorandum on educational and scientific cooperation between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry for Human Resources of Hungary for the period 2012 - 2014, signed in 2013; 
14. Agreement on cooperation in the field of education between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of National Education of Romania, signed in 2014; 
15. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the Republic of Italy on cooperation in the field of culture and education, signed in 2014; 
16. Agreement on cooperation in the field of education between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, signed in 2014; 
17. Protocol on cooperation in the field of education between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of Education, Science and Sports of the Republic of Slovenia, signed in 2015; 
18. Memorandum on cooperation between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia in the field of sports oblasti, signed in 2015; 
19. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on cooperation in the fields of culture and education, signed in 2016; 
20. Memorandum on understanding on cooperation in the field of higher education and scientific research between the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science of Montenegro and Ministry of Education of the United Arab Emirates, signed in 2016; 
21. Agreement on cooperation in the field of education, culture, sports and youth between the Government of Montenegro and Government of Hungary, signed in 2017;
22. Agreement on cooperation in the field of education, between the Government of Montenegro and Government of Republic of Serbia, signed in 2017;  
23. Cooperation Programme between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of Republic of Slovenia in the field of education, for the period 2017 - 2021, signed in 2017;
24. Cooperation Programme between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry of Human Resources of Hungary, in the field of education for the period 2018 - 2020, signed in 2017;
25. Administrative agreement between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, for promotion and support to studying French language in Montenegro, signed in 2018; 
26. Memorandum on understanding between the Government of Montenegro and Government of the United States of America on the Fulbright Academic Exchange Programme, signed in 2018;
28. Agreement on cooperation between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and the Goethe Institute, signed in 2019;
29. Protocol on cooperation between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and the Goethe Institute in the frame of the „PASCH“ initiative, signed in 2019;
30. Memorandum on understanding between the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and Peace Corps, signed in 2019;
31. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and Government of the Republic of Bulgaria on cooperation in the field of education, signed in 2021.     
32. Amendments to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Montenegro and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary on cooperation within the Frameworks of the Stipendium Hungaricum Programme for the years 2021-2023, signed in Podgorica, on 11th November 2022. 
33. Program on educational cooperation between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro and the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China for the period 2024-2027, signed in China in February 2024.
34. Agreement between the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro on mutual recognition of higher education documents, signed in China in February 2024.
35. Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro and the Peace Corps, signed in Podgorica in March 2024.
36. Agreement and Protocol between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation and the Goethe-Institut Belgrade, signed in Podgorica, in September 2024.
37. Memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation and the British Council on cooperation in the field of education, signed in Podgorica, in September 2024.
38. Administrative agreement for the promotion and support of French language teaching in Montenegro between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France, signed in Podgorica, in March 2025.
39. Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on cooperation in the fields of culture, education, science, youth and sports, signed on July 5, 2024.
40. Memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro and the Austrian Agency for Education and Internationalization (OeAD) regarding the project "Preparation for vocational education and training through career guidance and counseling - Get ready 4 VET through Career Guidance", signed in December 2025.

Higher education institutions cooperate with many universities around the world on the basis of bilateral agreements they sign directly. The agreements specify the areas of cooperation such as exchange of students and teaching staff, participation in joint scientific and research projects, exchange of scientific literature and experiences in the teaching process and scientific work. Overview of bilateral cooperation of the University of Montenegro.

Cooperation and participation in worldwide programmes and organisations

When it comes to global-level cooperation in the field of education, the cooperation with the United Nations organizations i.e. UNESCO, and with the OECD is notable, as well as participation in global testing organized in the field of education, such as TIMSS, PIRLS, ICILS.

Montenegro is a member of the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (UNESCO ASPnet), a global network with more than 11,000 registered educational institutions from 182 countries. The mission of the network is to promote and apply the UNESCO values ​​and goals within the four pillars of learning: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be. The objective of the network is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals and support the Education Agenda 2030. The Montenegrin ASPnet network, currently composed of 16 educational institutions, certainly plays a recognizable role among the members of the global ASPnet network - through activities aimed at promoting world peace and topics including: intercultural learning, natural and cultural heritage, global citizenship and sustainable development.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation has regular communication and cooperation with the National Commission for UNESCO aimed at providing support to the planning and implementation of national activities, as well as coordinating activities and calls from UNESCO and the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Venice (as well as its Antenna in Sarajevo) for participating in international and regional events and projects.

Cooperation with the OECD takes place through participation in the PISA testing in which Montenegro takes part since 2006, as well as through periodic monitoring and surveys (e.g. Competitiveness Outlook - Education and Competences).

The Examination Center of Montenegro is conducting several international research in cooperation with International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), PIRLS, TIMSS and ICILS.

PIRLS

PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) assesses the reading literacy of fourth grade elementary school students. The goal of participating in the PIRLS research is the collection of reliable and comparable data on the achievements of students in the field of reading, as well as the analysis of factors that influence the development of reading literacy. 

The results of the previous PIRLS 2021 cycle represent an important basis for planning and improving education policies (Education Reform Strategy 2025 - 2035).
‒ 87% of our students had a basic reading achievement level, and the remaining 13% did not meet that level. 59% of students read at a medium level of achievement, while 21% of students showed a high level, and only 2% of those tested read at an advanced level;
‒ The international average in reading is 500 points, and our students achieved 487 points, which is below the international average. This result, among other things, should be seen in the context of the fact that the testing in Montenegro was carried out in the first wave (spring 2021), which was not the case in all participating countries;
‒ A significant proportion of students below the basic level was also identified, which indicates the need for systemic interventions.

TIMSS

TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is an international comparative study that assesses student achievement in mathematics and science. TIMSS is conducted in four-year cycles. It includes students of the fourth grade of primary school. In the TIMSS 2023 mathematics test, 84% of Montenegrin students showed basic knowledge, while 19% achieved higher levels. In the field of natural sciences, 80% of ten-year-olds demonstrated basic knowledge and 12% achieved higher levels. Each of these results represents a significant achievement above the basic skill level, but still lags behind in regional comparisons.

TIMSS 2023 Longitudinal is a continuation of the international research TIMSS 2023, which enables the monitoring of changes in the knowledge and achievements of the same students during one school year. Therefore, in the TIMSS 2023 Longitudinal testing, Montenegrin students achieved an increase in achievement in mathematics of 18 points, while the increase in achievement in natural sciences was 19 points.

ICILS

ICILS (International Computer and Information Literacy Study) is an international study that measures the computer and information literacy of students, and it is conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievements (IEA). Montenegro joined the next cycle of the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) for 2028. It is an international comparative study in which, in an innovative way, computer and information, as well as algorithmic literacy of eighth grade students are assessed. The focus is on their abilities to use computers to research, create and communicate at home, at school and in their communities. ICILS reports on students' abilities to collect, manage, evaluate and share digital information, as well as their understanding of issues related to the safe and responsible use of digital technologies.

The new ICILS 2028 cycle will enable countries to use ICILS data to make informed decisions about how best to prepare students for life in an age of ever-evolving digital technologies, educational policy and practice, gain a deeper insight into how artificial intelligence is used and how it can be applied within resources, planning and teaching and learning in schools, cope with new challenges associated with the development of basic digital literacy competencies among young people, generate internationally comparable indicators of computer and information literacy and computer thinking of students.

PISA

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is the largest international testing in the field of education. Since 2000, when the OECD launched the program, more than 100 countries and economies and about 3,700,000 students from all over the world have participated in the PISA survey. PISA investigates whether students know how to apply what they have learned in school in real life. Reading, math and science are tested. 

PISA investigates whether students know how to apply what they have learned in school in real life. Reading, mathematics and science are tested, as well as innovative areas, such as team problem solving. PISA assesses fifteen-year-old students, since in most OECD countries this age limit also represents the limit of compulsory education.

The international student testing PISA 2025, in which 92 countries and regions from all over the world participate, was conducted in Montenegro from 1 April to 20 May 20 2025. The testing was held in 50 secondary and 18 primary schools on a sample of 6,647 students. The students solved online tasks in natural sciences, reading, mathematics and innovative fields, learning in the digital world, and answered questions from the questionnaire about school, teaching and learning, their attitudes and interests. The results of the PISA 2025 test will be published in the second half of 2026.

TALIS

TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Survey) was conducted in five countries of the Western Balkans - Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo. The research was conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2024, in cooperation with UNICEF and with the financial support of the European Union. 

TALIS is an international survey on teaching and learning, which focuses on teaching and management staff, giving teachers, teachers and school principals the opportunity to share their views and experiences at work. By generating information relevant to the development and implementation of policies focused on teaching and management staff, TALIS 2024 will contribute to the improvement of conditions for learning, development and general well-being of children. Questions include pedagogical practices and experiences, opinions and beliefs of teaching and management staff, as well as opportunities for professional development, working conditions, management activities, etc.