Even a difficult year for Kosovo education

Poor quality in education, the frustrations of teachers regarding salaries and political interference in independent educational institutions are just some of the problems facing the education sector in Kosovo during 2019, experts say.

Halim Hyseni, from the Centre for Advanced Education System Performance, in a conversation for Radio Free Europe says the results released in the field of education during 2019 proved that the education system in Kosovo is in degradation.

The latest “results of PISA (Program for International Student Rating) compared to those in 2005 show that we are in crisis. It is disappointing because Kosovo has no vision and does not know what to do to change the situation in education in a 10-year period of”, Hyseni says.

For the unhappy level in education, Kosovo was alarmed for the second time by the students' international evaluation programme, known in the shorts PISA.

This mechanism ranked Kosovo 77th in the middle of 79 states, which have been subjected to this assessment, ranking the third from the bottom of the list. Kosovo in this test has left only the Dominican Republic and the Philippines behind.

The results of the year 2018 were weaker than the one in 2015, when Kosovo was initially attached to that assessment.

The poor result in PISA was expected and not surprising for many of the education experts and civil society representatives. Youth Qehaja, director at the Institute for Education Studies “EdGard”, for poor results, held the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in the Government of Kosovo responsible.

It is pointless to expect better results when the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MASHT) has offered no support in implementing the curriculum, has offered quality textbooks, much less infrastructure investments. The good result in the PISA could come from the curriculum, rather than from preparing students for testing a week earlier”, Qehaja said, adding that the starting point of changing results on tests that Kosovo can undergo in the future will have to be installing accountability in education in the country.

Acting Minister of Education, Science and Technology in the Government of Kosovo Shyqi Bytyqi linked the poor outcome to the fact that student participation in the test was done in digital form.

“We need to look at the educational system, what improvement needs to be made because the level of results is measured in schools. Thus, ministries can make good policies as we already have new curriculums, for which real training is needed for the teacher to understand their sustainability at all times. But if these curriculums aren't implemented, normally, we're going to have bad results as we now have”, Minister Bytyqi has declared.

The poor situation in education, in terms of quality, is also named in the United Trade Union for Education, Science and Culture (SBASHK).

The chairman of this Union, Nundman Jasharaj, told Radio Free Europe that education in Kosovo is in crisis in all aspects and that radical changes and reforms must be made.

“The SBASK did an analysis, and in 2019 we considered it one of the very difficult years in education. The new government will have to appoint as education minister a person coming from this sector because it will be easier dialogue with him and will understand the nature of work in education. More tools must be divided to improve conditions in our schools. The best conditions would also create space and opportunities to raise quality in education”, Jasharaj says.

The Vetevendosje movement, which has emerged as the winner in the 6 October elections, in its programme for education has planned six necessary transformation areas -- primary education, new textbooks, professional schooling, stock exchange system, free higher education and the foundation of the fund for scientific research.

Education and Strikes

The year 2019 in education was on strike. Educators of all levels used the strike as a means to pressure the Government of Kosovo to change the Law on Salaries, increasing the cofficiency, which therefore meant rising salaries.

The increase in wages for teachers was possible with the Law for Pay. But a few days before this law went into effect, the Constitutional Court suspended it until March 2020.

Under the Law for Rewards, a teacher was expected to raise wages from 470 euros to 612 euros.

The chairman of the United Trade Union for Education, Science and Culture, Beftman Jasharaj, told Radio Free Europe that they did not want strikes, but were imposed because of the disregard the state makes to teachers.

“issues that may already arise to be regulated through dialogue and never again have reason for strikes. SBASK if you see that dialogue is not going right, if the other side is reluctant to do what it said and we are going to go on strike in the future even though we don't want it to, but unfortunately it's the only way to express our frustrations”, Jasharaj says.

International Education Excludements

The situation in education in Kosovo deteriorated even more when the European Association for the Security of Quality at Higher Education (ENQA) failed to continue membership for the Kosovo Agency for Discension (AKA).

Membership was not continued because, as told by the ENQA, the failure to meet the required European criteria, and political interference in the Kosovo Agency for Accreditation was particularly stressed.

The ECA as political interference had considered the decision of the outgoing Education Minister Shyqi Bytyqi, taken at the outgoing prime minister's request, Ramush Haradinaj, to dismiss the State Council of Quality in 2017.

Representatives of civil society in Kosovo, as well as international mechanisms, had reacted in terms of the non-resistant membership of the Kosovo Agency for Accreditation in the ENQA.

The chief of the European Union Office in Pristina, Natalia Apostolova, had blamed the government and politics on the situation.

Meanwhile, nongovernmental organisations in Kosovo, which deal with education, had blamed politics, but also mismanagement of the Kosovo Agency for Accreditation.

The European Association for High Education Quality Security has indicated that Kosovo can apply for membership again two years after making that decision.

The education sector in Kosovo for years has faced major problems and without adequate improvement in specific areas. The country's institutions were criticised for not sharing sufficient financial means for education. Out of the 2.3 billion-euro Kosovo budget in 2019, spending in education was allocated no more than 300m euros.

Education in Kosovo, says education issue expert Halim Hyseni is conveying the negative phenomena that are in society in Kosovo. He says the high level of corruption, without responsibility, noncalculation and nontransparency are factors that have long-term effects on the future of Kosovo's overall development.

It is the last moment that structures that are responsible for education stop and think that the education system if it doesn't advance has no perspective as a state, no union in the European family. All levels of the education system, ranging from pre-school to university, are not in progress, not in stagnation, but in degradation”, Hyseni says.

The Vetevendosje movement, which has come out victorious in the 6 October elections, has promised greater budgetary division for the field of education and that it will put it on government priorities.