Kosovo non-majority communities within the primary and ... - OSCE

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3. SEPARATION OF EDUCATION SYSTEMS AND OBSTACLES TO THEOPERATION OF MULTI-ETHNIC SCHOOLSIn both Kosovo Albanian and Kosovo Serb majority areas, the Kosovo and the Serbianeducational systems seclude Kosovo Serb and Kosovo Albanian students from thesurrounding social environment of the majority community, as much as they ensureeducation in the mother tongue. In this way, education perpetrates and reinforces separation.Other communities gravitate around one of the educational systems depending ongeographical, linguistic and other identity factors. Based on the educational system attended,there are multi-ethnic schools with either Kosovo Albanians or Kosovo Serbs and othercommunities, but schools combining Kosovo Albanian and Kosovo Serb students are ratherthe exception. Even in the isolated cases in which students of these communities attendeducation under the same roof, separate educational shifts are in place, and with fewexceptions, there is no interaction between students of the Kosovo Albanian and KosovoSerb communities. The fact that Kosovo Serb students learn only Serbian and KosovoAlbanian students learn only Albanian further prevents communication.While Kosovo-curriculum schools hosting Kosovo Albanian children and children from non-Serb communities 65 and Serbian-curriculum schools with Kosovo Serb children and childrenfrom non-Albanian communities 66 are present throughout Kosovo, Kosovo Albanian andKosovo Serb children do not attend education together. The integration and social interactionof students attending the Kosovo and Serbian education systems within the same schoolsremains problematic. The ‘Sveti Sava’ school in Bresje (Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje) is acase in point. Prior to the events of March 2004, this school hosted only Serbian curriculumstudents. At the same time, the Kosovo Albanian municipal leadership and political partieswere raising concerns that the school was not used in its full capacity, while the municipalityhad a deficit of classrooms space. The school was destroyed in March 2004 andreconstructed and reopened in September 2004. Fruitless discussions between KosovoAlbanian and Kosovo Serb representatives regarding the joint use of the school lead to anExecutive Decision of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations, making it a “multi-ethnic school”, which is used in different Serbian and Kosovocurriculum shifts. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)opened an office to administer and monitor the school. In October 2008, the office wasclosed and the municipality assumed responsibility for the implementation of the ExecutiveDecision. Since then, a decreasing number of Kosovo Serb and Roma children 67 and a65 Schools in southern Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, Vushtrri/Vučitrn and Skenderaj/Srbica host Kosovo Albanian,Ashkali and Kosovo Bosniak students. Kosovo Turks and Kosovo Albanian students attend Albanianlanguage education in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica and Vushtrri/Vučitrn. Kosovo Bosniaks and Kosovo Albanian inthe Pejë/Peć region attend the same schools, though in separated language courses. In the Pejë/Peć region, inFushë-Kosovë/Kosovo Polje, Podujevë/Podujevo and Shtime/Štimlje, Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian andKosovo Albanian students attend the same schools. In Prishtinë/Priština, Kosovo Turk, Kosovo Albanian andKosovo Bosniaks students share the same classes or schools. The same applies to Kosovo Bosniak, KosovoTurk, Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian and Kosovo Albanian children throughout the Prizren region, and to KosovoAlbanian, Kosovo Turk, Ashkali, Gorani and Kosovo Bosniak students in various schools of theGjilan/Gnjilane region.66 Serbian curriculum schools of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica and Gjilan/Gnjilane regions, Osojan/Osojanë, Istog/Istok,Fushë-Kosovë/Kosovo Polje, Obiliq/Obilić and Gračanica/Graçanicë (Prishtinë/Priština) integrate KosovoSerb and Roma students. Serbian curriculum schools are also attended by Kosovo Bosniak students innorthern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë and Leposavić/Leposaviq, and by Kosovo Croats, Kosovo Bosniaks and Romain Janjevo/Janjevë (Lipjan/Lipljan).67 There are 62 primary school Serbian language students in five classes of the first floor (12 students per classon average). Regardless of their number, UNMIK Executive Decision 2005/7 protects the rights of KosovoSerb and other non-Albanian students to continue education in the school.15
growing number of Kosovo Albanian and Ashkali students 68 attend education at separatetimes and on separate floors without communication between school managers, teachers andstudents of the two systems. The decreasing Kosovo Serb population feels that Serbiancurriculum education in the school may be at risk. 69During the school year 2008/9, in Dragash/Dragaš town, Gorani and Kosovo Albanianteachers and students did not share premises in the two schools that were used by bothcommunities. 70 In September 2008, a decision of the mayor has prevented Gorani teacherswithout Kosovo contracts to enter the school premises. Since 2006, Gorani teachers havesigned contracts exclusively with the Serbian Ministry of Education. 71 This situation hasdeprived 135 Gorani children of education in the Serbian language. As of January 2009, afterlosing an entire semester, students and teachers of the Dragash/Dragaš ‘NezimBerati/Nebojša Jerković’ primary school had no other option but to move to satellite schoolslocated in four neighbouring villages. However, allegedly due to lack of space and thedistance between the villages, the organization of regular education has been seriouslydisrupted. For example, students of grades 5-8 only attend thirty minutes classes two days perweek. After a visit of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in February2009, the municipality, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Education promised to ensurethe prompt return of Gorani students and teachers to the said school. On 3 March, Goranistudents of the grades 5-8 returned to the school while students of the grades 1-4 did not.However, on 17 March also teachers and students of the grades 5-8 withdrew from theschool, allegedly due to interferences of the Kosovo-curriculum director in the readmissionand activities of Serbian-curriculum teachers. 72The school in Poneš/Ponesh (Gjilan/Gnjilane) is another example of division of the theKosovo Albanian and Kosovo Serb communities along political lines. The school buildingwas constructed with financial support from the British Embassy for the two communities tobe taught in their own language and curricula, but to share classes such as physical education.However, the setup of a sign naming the school after a Kosovo Liberation Army member anda “Republic of Kosovo” sign proved too divisive and ran counter to the spirit of the project,which endeavoured to bring communities together under a shared roof with common values.In Rahovec/Orahovac, a multi-ethnic primary school established in 2001 in an attempt tobring Kosovo Albanian, Kosovo Serb, Roma and Egyptian students together, is not used by68 According to the municipal directorate of education, 383 Kosovo curriculum students of the ‘Selman Riza’school attend seven classes of the second floor, with an average of 54 students per class. Current use of theschool does not exempt the municipality from the obligation to build new school premises to cater for agrowing number of students.69 Kosovo Serb students come from the village of Uglar/Ugljare, where the Kosovo Serb population has beensteadily decreasing since March 2004 and only ten of the previous 80 families have remained. Inter-ethnicproperty sales continue, while several Kosovo Albanian young families settle in the village. Roma students inthe school reportedly consider opting for Kosovo curriculum education.70 Gorani students and teachers do not use the Dragash/Dragaš town secondary school premises since 2007, andhave not used the “Nezim Berati/Nebojša Jerković” primary school since September 2008.71 While a Kosovo curriculum in the Serbian language is not provided, in 2006 the Serbian Co-ordinationCentre for Kosovo and Metohija requested that Gorani teachers sign either Republic of Serbia or Kosovocontracts. Gorani teachers have declined to sign Kosovo contracts since. Teachers contracted by the Republicof Serbia in Kosovo enjoy better contractual and salary conditions.72 While two Gorani teachers of the grades 1-4 were not being allowed back in the school, the Kosovocurriculumdirector took the initiative to issue ‘house rules’ and, in response, all Gorani teachers and studentswithdrew from the school on 17 March. The OSCE contacted both representatives of the Dragash/Dragašmunicipality, who consider the ‘house rules’ invalid (20 March), and the representative of the SerbianMinistry of Education in Kosovo, who reassured the Gorani children would return to the school upon awritten decision of the municipality invalidating the ‘house rules’ (23 March). The municipality fulfilled thisrequest on 24 March.16
Page 5: educational integration of Roma, As
Page 8 and 9: lessons in the Serbian language res
Page 10: etween regions and schools, and con
Page 13 and 14: minimum required. 38 Shortage of qu
Page 15 and 16: If education in the chosen official
Page 17: ensure the educational integration
Page 21 and 22: among all of them. 75 It also provi
Page 23 and 24: Respondents have different opinions
Page 25 and 26: to learn about identities of other
Page 27 and 28: As the Montreal Seminar on Intercul
Page 29 and 30: 7. ANNEX 1. Respondents interviewed
Page 31: Brestovik/Brestovik (Pejë/Peć); I

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