Weapons even in Kosovo school students' bags

Tens of cases have been noted for finding weapons through bags of elementary and high school students in Kosovo. It's about firearms or cold guns, mostly knives.

In the Kosovo Police, 74 weapons possession cases were reported during 2016-2017. Of these, 30 were reported for possession of firearms, and 44 were reported to be numbers of cold weapons.

Because of carrying these weapons and using them, some cases have ended with serious bodily injuries and some with fatality.

During this week, a high school student in the Suhareka municipality has lost his life as a result of a clash between some youths who could not survive the stab wounds. The event did not happen at school, but it was the result of possession and use of weapons by young people and students.

Similarly, by the use of cold weapons, a minor in Pristina had died in 2016. While the last two years have occurred 12 attempted murders.

Officials from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology view these cases as disturbing. Merita Jonuzi, human rights co-ordinator in the ministry, says there are cases where even competent authorities fail to manage the situation sufficiently, then cases end with fatality. She says that there are many circumstances that lead to conflict among young people.

The fatalities that have ended are reflections of the overall situation in the country, which can not always be pointed at the institution of the school”, Jonuzi says.

More than 1,100 is the number of general incidents reported in the law enforcement agencies, whose protagonists were students, cases that took place within school objects or near them.

Of these, 367 cases have ended with minor and serious bodily injuries and 40 cases of tingling. Meanwhile, other cases are related to theft, fire-fire, possession of narcotics, robbery or sexual harassment.

Violence among students in various forms continues to be present in almost all educational educational facilities in Kosovo schools, but to a greater extent in the capital, in Pristina.

Students themselves accept this.

L.B. is senior at a high school in Pristina. It shows that over three years, there have been many cases of violence.

There are, of course, many cases of violence in high school. There have been cases of stabs, beatings...”, she says.

Albert is an eighth grade student at an elementary school in Pristina. Students often use violence as a tool, he says.

I've heard there's violence in schools, but even after the end of lesson”, Albert says.

Highly concerned about the phenomenon of violence and weapons in schools are parents.

Bajram Beqiri, from the Kosovo Parents' Council, tells Radio Free Europe that they have sought out all competent institutions to create a safer environment in school spaces.

“We have appealed to the Ministry of Education, security organs, to municipal education directors, even schools to create a safer and more friendly environment in schools. Unfortunately, even past years we have had fatalities, but also serious injuries”, Beqiri says.

On the other hand, Merita Jonuzi, from the Ministry of Education, stresses that to reduce the level of violence in schools, the ministry has already drafted “Protocol for prevention and reference of violence in pre-university education institutions”.

“August has drafted a platform for preventing violence in school and has initiated drafting regulations on the issue. This document has been established at the government level to take charge of all institutions in support of schools to address cases”.

For example, one case may come from domestic violence or other problems of drug addiction or other social problems that reflect on school environments” is expressed by Jonuzi.

Meanwhile, according to psychologists, there are some factors that push children to the use of violence or even weapons in schools.

Mimoza Sahini, a psychologist, says of Radio Free Europe, that apart from the individual factor, such as adolescence, family problems, or even the climate in school, are some of the factors that increase the level of physical and psychic violence.

She also recalls the fact that violence is promoted in Kosovo society in a way as a means of solving problems.

We're looking at these factors, I think they're closely connected to the promotion society does to violence. This is because often violent acts, viewed by political figures or various activities, constantly stand in the spotlight, promoting violence as a means of solving problems. So I would say that increasing the level of violence in schools is related precisely to the failure of these links”, Sahin estimates.

The violence among students is also estimated to have a source of spread, failure to establish a stable basis of communication, and cooperation between school authorities, students, and parents. / REL