Kostovski and Kryeziu defend closing the class, Sulejmani: The Albanian-language class at Penko must be preserved

Butel Municipality and the principal of “Penko” school justify refusing to enroll students from Chair by referring to the Law on Education and the territorial division of schools.

However, this position has raised questions, since children who live in the territory of Chair already attend “Penko” school. For this reason, it remains unclear why children living in this area are not being allowed to enroll in the first grade this year.

Principal Mevlide Kryeziu, in a statement published on the school’s website, highlighted concerns about the decline in the number of students in Chair’s schools if children from that municipality are admitted to schools in Butel.

“This decision was also made in the best interests of the children and with the aim of preserving the stability of the classes, bearing in mind that in the past, admitting students from outside the area affected the number of students and created a risk of reducing or closing classes in the schools of Chair Municipality,” said Mevlide Kryeziu, principal of “Penko” primary school.

Butel Mayor Darko Kostovski insists that enrollments must be carried out based on the designated area for each school. According to him, schools in this municipality cannot accept students from other municipalities.

“The essence is simple: in accordance with the Law on Primary Education and the established zoning system, students are enrolled according to the area served by the primary school. In this particular case, Butel Municipality is being asked to act contrary to these rules. More specifically, our primary schools are being asked to accept children from other municipalities,” declared Darko Kostovski, mayor of Butel Municipality.

A different view was presented by Deputy Education Minister Driton Sulejmani, who says the law allows students from other municipalities to be accepted, particularly when they live near the school and when the number of students in a class is low.

“The law allows the mayor or whoever it may be not to accept students from other municipalities, but the school zoning system covers a specific territory, and all students who belong to that territory have the right to enroll in that particular school. Especially in cases where, for example, the number of students is smaller, this makes it possible to form a class by also accepting students who may belong to another municipality but live near the school. I believe that in this particular case a solution will be found, and I certainly think that the class can be saved and should not be closed,” said Driton Sulejmani, deputy education minister.

While Butel Municipality and the school rely on the zoning system, the central question remains whether administrative boundaries should take precedence over the proximity of children to the school.

Sulejmani announced that the Ministry of Education is reviewing the case and will request complete information from the school, Butel Municipality and the parents. According to him, the aim is to find a legal solution that would be in the students’ best interests.

The deputy minister said that if the class has 18 students, as has been reported, there is no reason to close it. He added that a solution could be reached if the school and Butel Municipality submit a request for approval to the ministry. /tv21