Former Deputy Minister Pupovci comments on Up's decision to ban professors to legalise private colleges

The University of Pristina Steering Council has decided today to ban professors of this university from engaging in private colleges.

The decision reportedly includes declarations in the Kosovo Agency for Accreditation, as academic staff of the private institution of higher education or support in any form of college/institution of higher education, in the process of accrediting programmes and institutional ones.

“Unable to engage academic staff in college/institutions of Private Higher Education, including the declaration at the Kosovo Agency for Accreditation, as academic staff of the private institution of higher education or support in any form of the college/institution of Higher Education, in the process of accrediting programmes and institutional that”, the decision is said.

Former Deputy Education Minister Dukagjin Pupovcin has told Gazeta Express that the decision taken by the Steering Council is understandable, since private colleges are direct competition of Pristina University.

According to Pupovci, this decision is also useful for private colleges, since it will help to profile.

“Under the conditions of continuing reducing interest in university studies and hardening conditions for accredition, private colleges are the direct competition of Pristina University, so the decision is understandable. I believe this decision of UP's will help private colleges profile, focusing on programs for which qualified academic staff can provide, because academic staff are the main asset that gives identity to a higher education institution.

He has proposed that a similar decision be made for other public universities.

It would be reasonable for a similar decision to be made in relation to other public universities, which would help them to be profiled, avoiding unnecessary replication of UP programs at those universities”, Pupovci said.

Otherwise, Pupovci was appointed deputy minister of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology in April 2021.

In November 2022, he had announced that he would withdraw from the post because of personal nature.

It is true that I have planned that by the end of 2022, I will withdraw from the post of deputy minister of AugustI, and this I have communicated to Minister Nagavci and Prime Minister Kurti in October. The reasons are personal nature. For the correctness, I have not submitted formal resignations yet, but I will do so at the right time, when I have finished some of the work I have started and in co-ordination with the prime minister. Even after I left the current post I would remain active in the field of education”, Pupovci told Express at the time.