Ilanderful

Education in Prishtina in the past

• The Foundation of Educational Institutions in Prishtina

The first schools known in Prishtina were those opened during the Ottoman period—sometimes before 1912. Albanians in Kosovo had the right to attend these schools, most of which were religious, and only a few of them were secular[1]. In 1913, in Prishtina, few Serbian-language primary schools and gymnasiums were opened.[2]

The period that followed the Ottoman rule, between 1916 and 1918 was also important for the educational system in Kosovo. During this period, Prishtina, along with other cities such as Ferizaj and Prizren, was occupied by Bulgaria.[3] The Bulgarian occupier restricted the activities of Albanian-language schools, however because of the positive lobbying of the Austro-Hungarians in the Bulgarian area, some religious catholic schools were allowed in Prishtina and in some other cities occupied by them.[4] In 1916, the Bulgarian National Gymnasium was opened in Prishtina.[5] By and large the situation in terms of education was worse in the region under the rule of Bulgaria compared to the region occupied by Austro-Hungarian forces where 300 Albanian-language schools were allowed to be opened.[6]

During the period after WWII the education system turned out to be very successful. However, by the end of WWII still 78% of the population were illiterate and there was only a very modest tradition of higher education, while today the percentage of those in Kosovo who are illiterate is apparently not very different from the "average“ of the region and the neighbouring countries (Bulgaria 5%, Yugoslavia 7%, FYROM 11%, Albania 28%; currently, however, detailed statistics aren't available for Kosovo).

From 1981 to 1990 the number of Albanian students was already reduced for 25%. However, with the abolition of Kosovo's autonomy by the Serbian regime in the period of 1989/90 the effects on the educational system were disastrous.

• The context during Yugoslavia

During the period between 1919-1939 in Yugoslavia, all Albanian-language schools were closed and education was allowed only in Serbo-Croatian language.[7] Around four percent (4%) of people living in Kosovo under Yugoslavia attended secondary education, with rural areas being the regions with the lowest numbers of participants since access to schools was almost nonexistent.[8] During this period, the most marginalized group who was deprived from attending schools were girls coming from Muslim families.[9]

The period during the WWII, Kosovo and Albania were under Italian occupation. This marked a positive turn in the educational system in Kosovo and Prishtina in particular since schools in the Albanian language were allowed to be re-opened.[10] Besides the opening of hundreds of primary schools in Prishtina, the first high school in the Albanian language in this municipality, Sami Frasheri, was also founded.[11]

After the WWII, Kosovo was again part of Yugoslavia. During this period, ethnic Albanians were recognized as a national minority and the Albanian-language was accepted to be taught in special primary schools [12]. However, higher levels of education remained to be offered only in the Serbo-Croatian language.[13]

In the year 1968, the Yugoslav Constitution was amended to allow the opening of Albanian-language schools at all levels.[14] After the WWII, education in Kosovo was provided in three languages: Serbian-Croatian, Albanian, and Turkish,[15], while after 1953 lessons in these three languages were offered at the same schools.[16]

After 1968, the foundation of Albanian-language educational institutions continued.[17] In 1969, the Albanian University of Prishtina was opened.[18] Texts and teaching materials were imported from Albania, as part of an agreement between the University of Tirana and that of Prishtina/Pristina in 1970.[19] In 1981, the University of Prishtina consisted of 75 percent ethnic Albanians out of the 47,000 students attending it.[20] During the late 70s and early 80s the economic situation in Kosovo and Yugoslavia as a whole was worsening. Furthermore, negative discrimination of students based on ethnicity led Albanian students of the University of Prishtina to organize a massive protest on March 11, 1981.[21] As a result of violent student riots, restrictions in the education of Albanians were imposed again.[22]

the Albanian riots of 1981 held in Prishtina shook Kosovo. The riots were ignited by student grievance at a grossly overcrowded Pristina University, and rapidly spread throughout Kosovo. At this time approximately 28% of the people in Kosovo were students and the education they were getting was inferior because of the overcrowding and because of under-qualified and unqualified faculty. This was a matchbox that it took only a spark to ignite. Serbian and Montenegrin citizens were beaten, their homes burned and their shops looted. Public opinion throughout Serbia turned sharply against the educational system in Kosovo. In particular the University of Prishtina became widely believed to be a hotbed of Albanian nationalism. In response, Serbian, Montenegrin and Macedonian nationalisms were all given great impetus.

Resultantly from the protest, the previous agreement between Albania and Kosovo, to exchange educational materials, ended and Serbo-Croatian books started to be translated in Albanian to fulfill the needs of the University.[23] Further, students, teachers, and professors who participated in these protests were expelled, thus resulting in more than 260 students and more than 210 teachers/professors being expelled.[24]

• The context under Serbia

1. Division of schools according to ethnic background
2. Private Albanian schools (before the law)

• The context after the ethnic-conflict

1. Private Serbian schools (if they ever existed)
2. Transitional period – education regulated by international community

• After the Independence of the Republic of Kosovo

1. Regulating Authority, relations between levels of governance (local vs central)
2. Introduction educational system and accreditation
3. Reforms and Future prospects in the Education sector in Prishtina

Contemporary Situation of Education in Prishtina

• Structure and Attributes of Education institutions in Prishtina

1. Pre-primary
2. Primary and Lower Secondary Level
3. Upper Secondary and (VET) Schools
4. Higher Education

• Issues related to the Education System in Prishtina

1. Dropout rates
2. Gender balance
3. Equality among students
4. Safety issues