Experts call state of education alarming and seek national pact

The state of pre-university education and priorities for improving it were discussed on Monday at a roundtable hosted by the parliamentary Committee on Education. Inadequate funding, difficulties implementing the curriculum, teaching quality and the connection between education and the labor market were among the main issues. Institutional representatives called for broader cooperation, while experts described the situation as alarming and called for a national pact on education.

ETEA director Agon Ahmeti called for a comprehensive agreement that would rise above party interests and those of other powerful groups. He said action was urgent and that declaring education a government priority was not enough. He cited studies indicating that 85 percent of students have not developed critical thinking skills and asked whether Kosovo has a vision for the city it wants to have.

The chair of the Committee on Education and Science, Enver Hoxhaj, said education in Kosovo is in a continuing crisis. He said the 2021–2026 strategy had not been accompanied by a substantive debate on its implementation and results. According to Hoxhaj, what happens in the classroom depends on teachers’ training and pay, as well as the teaching process itself.

Hoxhaj expressed concern that, although the new curriculum is among the most modern, many students continue to memorize material instead of acquiring skills. He also mentioned the results of the international PISA test, which he said highlight problems in education, as well as continuing debates over textbooks, the connection between education and the labor market, and the Parents’ Council.

Deputy Minister of Education Përparim Kryeziu stressed that institutions, municipalities, schools, civil society and parents must share responsibility for the education strategy. He said all-day schooling is currently in place only in Prishtina and Kamenica. Before it is expanded, he said, lessons must be learned from the two municipalities’ experience, infrastructure must be prepared and the curriculum must be adapted.

Kryeziu announced that a school construction protocol is being drafted and that new investments to create or adapt existing infrastructure must follow it. On vocational education, he said there are currently 16 dual-education programs, with more expected to be added. He called for closer cooperation with businesses so that investment can make vocational schools more like enterprises and help them meet the needs of the labor market.

Prishtina’s director of education, Arianit Elshani, warned that expanding all-day schooling would place a heavy financial burden on municipalities. He called for the budget issue to be addressed clearly under current circumstances, particularly the recruitment of teachers, which he described as unaffordable for municipalities and education leaders.

Osman Buleshkaj of the Kosovo Pedagogical Institute also raised concerns about how funds are allocated. He said there is a gap between policies as written and their implementation in classrooms: 80 percent of the education budget goes to salaries, while investment in improving teaching remains a challenge. Buleshkaj called for a more efficient system before future decisions by the Government and Assembly of Kosovo.

Discussions by other speakers also highlighted the need for greater coordination among institutions, sustainable funding and reforms that directly improve the quality of teaching, beyond drafting education strategies and policies.