United Kingdom Government: 10 million pounds for 1 million Western Balkan students

Today, on the 30th birthday of the World Wide Web, British Council begins the greatest education initiative in the Western Balkans. 21st-century schools is an ambitious three-year programme funded by the United Kingdom Government that will equip over a million students aged 1015 in Western Balkan countries with critical thinking skills, problem resolution and encryption. The programme aims to promote the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs and create employment prospects.

Schools of the 21st century offer continuous learning and resources valuable to build the skills of school directors, teachers and policymakers. All elementary and lower high schools (tents between 10 and 15 years of age) will be equipped with micro:bbits that will help young people learn new digital and code clicks in a fun and interactive way.

A total of one million students and over 30,000 teachers who will benefit from the 21st century Schools programme in Kosovo will benefit 694 schools and train 2894 teachers as programme beneficiaries. In the first cycle of the program, 127 schools will benefit our country. Of these schools, 632 teachers and 127 school directors will be trained.

Sir Alan Duncan, Minister for Europe said:

On behalf of the United Kingdom Government and British Council, I'm happy to launch the 21st century school program in the Western Balkans today on the 30th anniversary of the invention of Wild Web. We are doing this because we want to help the region become more prosperous and stable. Developing skills of the 21st century will help create the next generation of technology entrepreneurs and help create more jobs. And just like with the invention of Wild Web, 30 years ago, I'm proud the UK is playing a crucial role in this” effort.

Angus Bjarnason, director of British Council Kosovo, said:

“British Council piloted this programme during 2017-18, and we were satisfied with the positive reactions of all involved. There have been significant increases in teachers who have seen the importance of critical thinking and solving problems in practice, while students have reported higher levels of confidence in programming. Everyone reported an increase in motivation in class, team work and creativity. Learning became fun. Now with the great support of the United Kingdom government, we will be able to bring this programme to every elementary school, in every community, throughout the Western Balkans “.

Ruairi O'Connell, ambassador of the United Kingdom to Kosovo, said:

I hope this is the most successful direct investment in Kosovo. We have pledged this together with British Council and Kosovo institutions. I believe the future will be very bright for Kosovo children, and that the 21st century Schools programme will be an important pillar of overall employment and development in Kosovo”.

Shorty Bytyqi, Minister of Education said:

Kosovo is the country with the newest population in Europe. But the youth of our country we must create opportunities. Meanwhile, the 21st century Schools program will prepare our young people with three very important aspects necessary for the future. Rather, this program will enable our young people to develop critical thinking, solve problems, and enable digital skills to develop. This is a highly valuable program in which the United Kingdom government has invested. But even greater than its value is the purpose and mission this programme will fulfill. We're trying to keep this program going for more than three years, making it part of our official quartrick”.

To compete in the global labour market, skills such as solving problems, critical thinking, digital literacy and creativity are key to success. 21st-century schools support developing young people in these areas so that they can build a better future.

British Council in Kosovo is grateful for 21st century School partners, the Ministry of Education, and the schools which have implemented the pilot phase of the programme, respectively; The Third Milenium (Pristina), the Green School (Pristina),