School violence incidents increase: Children in your luck “”

So tells of Radio Free Europe Y.K., the parent of a 14-year-old student who attends classes in one of Pristina's elementary schools.

Not wanting to be identified by full name, she says that her child, “dozens of times”, has been the victim of physical violence exerted by classmates.

I pray every day that my child gets safely home from school. Be afraid that something can happen to”, says Y.K.

Kosovo police confirm that there is often violence among students in elementary schools, which ends with serious bodily injuries, or even fatally.

Free Europe Radio has managed to provide several videos, where students of several schools in Pristina are seen punching each other in the head and body, but has chosen not to publish because of sensitive views.

The Parents ' Council acknowledges that some of the blame for this carries exposure to violent online content.

Violence Repeated

Y.K. She says she has announced her son's case in some insurgency from the school nurse to the school principal, but that violence has been repeated.

“School is powerless to solve these problems of physical violence exercised among students”, says Y.K.

She adds that the issue should be addressed to even higher levels, even as far as the Parliament.

On this issue, Radio Free Europe contacted the Directorate for Education of the Pristina Community, which is competent for managing and co-ordinating the structure of pre-school, elementary and medium public education, but, until the publication of this text, there was no response.

The Data It Provided REL from the Kosovo Police show that the number of incidents in schools and around them is increasing year-on-year.

They range from minor bodily injuries to cans and attacks.

Incidents in Growing Schools

Kosovo police have recorded 592 incidents in schools and around them in 2022. The figure represents increases compared to 2021, when the number of such incidents in Kosovo schools has been 413. In the first two months of 2023, meanwhile, the figure has been 92.

Demi: Children in your luck “”

The chairman of the Parents' Council in Kosovo, Jeton Demi, calls it “alarmant” physical violence among students in elementary schools.

He admits that parents need to play a greater role in addressing this issue, especially when it comes to using technological devices and exposing themselves to violent content.

According to him, lack of control in this regard leads to violent behavior and confusion.

And since families in the majority do not help children to deal with all of this pressure from the outside environment, and on the other hand institutions, generally, do not have any concrete plan or capacity to deal with this situation, children are at the mercy of fate”, Demi says.

What do schools do?

Jehona Oruqi, director of lower elementary school “Faik Konica” in Pristina, says the institution, now two years old, implements various activities that focus on preventing violence.

She says that in this school year, there was no case of physical violence among students at her school.

It's disturbing peer violence and we've started with our projects to prevent this phenomenon. As soon as we have any information about violence or violent games, we activate the mechanisms we have within the school”, Oruqi says.

She explains that the school has the disciplinary council and the Council of Students, who maintain focus-of-the-kind with students and awareness activities against violence.

Kosovo Ministry of Education has said earlier about REL that there is a security protocol in schools, which sanctions violence.

Ministry “Instances have specifically sought out parents, but even school psychologists, to deal more with children and to be more approachable in their activities, in their street exits or wherever they go,”, have said from this minister.

What does the Center for Social Affairs do?

The Centre for Social Work handles the most serious cases of physical violence that occur in primary schools in Pristina, which cannot be solved within the school institution.

Of the nearly 500 cases of various natures that this center has covered in 2022, about 70 percent of them have dealt with school violence.

We almost every day have an intervention in cases of violence and other works that happen in our schools”, says director Webi Mujku.

To prevent this phenomenon, he says parents should engage.

The parents don't do enough checks on their children, they don't check bags, pockets... We've got the money without control”, Mujku says.

In his view, there are times when students who have violent behavior toward other students in class are changed classes or even schools.

Why are children being stoked or harassed?

In a survey conducted by Save the Children Kosova in 2021, 35 percent of the children surveyed have said that they have felt vocalised or harassed because of outward appearance, limited ability, religion, sexual orientation, economic status, and other reasons.

Canary Shehu Efendija from this organisation tells Radio Free Europe that these data are disturbing.

According to her, it is necessary to increase the use of the Education Information Management System, which aims to increase the reporting and reference of cases of violence in schools, as well as their treatment through inter-institutional co-operation.

Radio Free Europe has reported several months ago even of knife attacks in schools, as a result of which a 14-year-old student has lost his life at school “Hilmi Rakovica” in Pristina.