The National Audit Office (NAO) organized a workshop on Wednesday, during which it presented the findings and recommendations of the performance audit report, “Student Safety in Public Schools in Kosovo.”

In addition to senior NAO officials, the meeting was attended by Minister of Education and Science Hajrulla Çeku, Kosovo Police Director Gazmend Hoxha, Deputy Ombudsperson Anita Çavdarbasha-Korenica, and representatives of the responsible institutions, municipalities, and civil society organizations working in the field of education. Participants discussed the audit’s conclusions and the importance of institutional coordination in improving safety in public schools.

Auditor General Vlora Spanca stressed that ensuring student safety cannot be left to a single institution. According to her, it requires a continuous chain of responsibility and cooperation among institutions. Spanca said mechanisms have been established and initiatives developed to improve safety in schools, but they do not yet operate as a coordinated, standardized, and fully effective system.

She emphasized that ensuring children’s safety requires the implementation of the audit recommendations, better interinstitutional coordination, comprehensive reporting of cases, and a swift, joint response. Spanca said the NAO would monitor the implementation of the recommendations, expressing the expectation that institutional commitments would translate into concrete, measurable, and sustainable measures.

Minister of Education and Science Hajrulla Çeku praised the NAO’s work in conducting the audit and described school safety as one of the most important issues facing Kosovo’s education system. He said the report’s findings and recommendations provide a useful roadmap for improving work and performance. Çeku stressed that responsibility for safety is shared and that creating a safe environment requires everyone’s involvement. According to him, the audit was published at an important time, as the Ministry of Education has begun drafting the Education Strategy, for which he sought the input and support of all parties.

Kosovo Police Director Gazmend Hoxha said school safety remains a priority for the Kosovo Police and a key pillar in building a secure future for our society. He said schools serve not only to educate children, but also as places where they shape their personalities, develop their skills, and prepare for the future. Hoxha emphasized that creating and maintaining a safe, peaceful, and inclusive environment in educational institutions is a shared responsibility, while the police remain committed to fulfilling this mission.

Deputy Ombudsperson Anita Çavdarbasha-Korenica presented the work of the Ombudsperson Institution from a human rights perspective. She spoke about the initiatives undertaken, the results achieved, and the recommendations addressed to the responsible institutions. Çavdarbasha-Korenica said that, with regard to children’s rights and based on the standards of the European Court of Human Rights, safety must come before education, and therefore everyone must work together toward this goal.

The audit results were presented in detail by Ariana Gjonbalaj, Director of the Audit Department. During the discussion, representatives of the responsible institutions, municipalities, and civil society organizations working in education focused on the report’s findings and the implementation of the audit recommendations.

At the end of the workshop, Deputy Auditor General Bezad Halilaj said the participants had praised the report and its results. He stressed that the NAO’s recommendations are valuable and can help the responsible institutions take the necessary measures to improve safety in Kosovo’s schools, describing this as a shared mission.

The post NAO: Student Safety Requires Concrete Measures and Interinstitutional Cooperation appeared first on Albeu.com.

At a press conference, Auditor General Vlora Spanca and Deputy Auditor General Bezad Halilaj presented the main findings, emphasizing that the audits continue to highlight repeated weaknesses in the management of public finances.

According to Spanca, 145 audits are planned for the 2025/2026 season, and 102 of them have already been published. She said that by June 30, 88 mandatory regularity audits and 12 audits of public enterprises are expected to be completed, while the other Compliance, Performance, classified audits and World Bank project audits are expected to be concluded according to plan during the year. She also said that the Annual Audit Report for the Kosovo Budget is expected to be submitted to the Assembly of Kosovo no later than August 31, 2026.

She announced that from 94 financial and compliance audit reports, 55 qualified opinions, 4 adverse opinions and 35 unmodified opinions have been issued.

In public enterprises, according to Spanca, 4 adverse opinions and 5 qualified opinions have been identified.

According to the NAO, among the most pronounced problems are inaccuracies in financial reporting, violations of procurement procedures, as well as deficiencies in the management of contracts and public spending.

The report presented today identifies systematic violations at both the central and local levels. These include entering into obligations without budget coverage, contracting projects without secured funds, delays in implementing capital investments and failure to comply with public procurement procedures.

Late payments, staff engagements outside legal procedures and insufficient use of the e-procurement system were also found.

A notable part of the report relates to the Municipality of Prishtina, for which the NAO issued a qualified opinion on the financial statements and an adverse conclusion on compliance.

According to the report, 52 cases of incorrect classification of expenditures were identified there, worth more than 7.7 million euros, an overstatement of contingent liabilities of more than 27 million euros, as well as inaccuracies in receivables and financial liabilities.

The NAO also expressed concern over a project with UNDP, where 5.2 million euros were transferred as a prepayment, while according to the report, full institutional monitoring and transparency over its implementation are lacking.

The same report also highlights numerous violations in procurement procedures, including errors during the evaluation of bids, failure to include positions in contracts and deviations in the final values of projects.

Cases were also found of contracts being signed without budget coverage, as well as the start of works without the necessary construction permits in major infrastructure projects.

Spanca further stated that during 2025, payments through court decisions exceeded 45 million euros. She added that payment delays of up to 131 days were also recorded, as well as a lack of documentation for the accurate allocation of interest and enforcement expenses.

In some cases, she said, subsidies were allocated without open competitive procedures, including the financing of non-governmental organizations, which according to Spanca constitutes a violation of the rules of transparency and equality in public financing.

As part of the performance audits, Deputy Auditor General Bezad Halilaj said serious deficiencies were found in several public institutions.

For “Termokos,” the report mentions unequal heat distribution, a weak billing system and a lack of backup capacity.

At the Agency for Comparison and Verification of Property, problems were noted with the electronic system, a lack of complete data and irregular inspections.

Meanwhile, at the University of Prishtina, the SEMS system was assessed as having shortcomings in IT governance, data security and dependence on external operators.

Finally, the NAO called on public institutions to treat audit recommendations seriously, emphasizing that their aim is to improve governance and increase accountability in the management of public money.

The post Audit reveals significant irregularities in the management of public finances appeared first on Albeu.com.