The parallel education system run by Serbia in Kosovo is considerably large, encompassing all levels of education and spread throughout its whole territory. Its integration within Kosovo’s framework inevitably raises direct political and financial implications.

The project aims to help improve the quality of Serbian-language education and increase representation of minority communities in Kosovo institutions in order to complement the existing Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. With a focus on a number of realistic objectives, designed to be implemented independently of each other, the project will seek to work separately and where possible jointly with various actors. These include the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) of Kosovo, the University of Mitrovica North (UMN) and schools that operate in Serbian language in Kosovo. The aim of this project is not only to improve Serbian-language education, but also give greater representation to non-majority communities within public institutions and exercise of free public professions in Kosovo.

The Government of Kosovo has recently adopted a temporary validation mechanism that allows graduates from UMN to apply for jobs, professional licenses, and professional examinations within public institutions of Kosovo. The project will seek to provide technical support to this important process and facilitate the communication between all actors involved. Through a comprehensive and independent research it will seek to fully understand the situation of education in Serbian language in Kosovo at all levels, pre-primary, primary, secondary, and higher education, with the view of exploring possibilities of its continuous improvement. The project will further assist the government of Kosovo, specifically, the MEST in developing a detailed policy on advancement of Serbian-language education in the framework of the Kosovo education system. Lastly, it also supports continual learning opportunities for the education staff of the UMN to enhance the quality of education and increase the employability of its graduates.

Overall objectives and activities of the project

The overall objectives of the project is to improve the quality of Serbian-language higher education in Kosovo and to increase the employability of graduates of UMN by:

1. Providing technical support to the work of the Commission for the Verification of Degrees Issued by the University of Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North to verify diplomas issued by Serbian-language education institutions in order to increase the representation of non-majority communities within Kosovo’s public institutions;

2. Mapping and evaluating the status of Serbian-language education in Kosovo;

3. Supporting MEST in creating a roadmap to develop and advance the legal and institutional framework for Serbian-language education in Kosovo;

4. Enhancing the quality of the Serbian-language university-level education by promoting continuous learning opportunities for education staff at UMN.

Estimated results

1. Greater representation of non-majority communities in public institutions of Kosovo.

2. A clear and up to date qualitative assessment of Serbian-language education in Kosovo.

3. A roadmap on how to develop and advance the legal and institutional ambiguity of Serbian-Language education in Kosovo.

4. Improved quality of education at the UMN.

Implementation period

01/07/2016 – 30/06/2019

Funding

This project is funded by the European Union and managed by the European Union Office in Kosovo and co-financed by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kosovo.