Kosovo education improvement project

Kosovo*'s education system has been serving nearly 1.5 million pupils, but it struggles to provide adequate curricula, instruction, and a learning environment to produce the skills that the evolving labour market requires. Enrolment rates have been nearly universal in primary education and much progress has been noted in upper secondary education. Despite achieved progress, disparities still exist in access to education, especially among girls in upper secondary enrolment and pupils from low-income families. Kosovo’s school infrastructure has been insufficient with more than half of schools operating on double shifts in overcrowded classrooms in most urban areas.

The challenge ahead is, therefore, to further develop the education data systems and their use in the allocation of limited resources to address sector priorities, including infrastructure. Improving access of disadvantaged groups to education and developing targeted strategies to address this challenge requires understanding the cause and extent of the issue and its implications on sector resources. Moreover, the implementation of the new competency-based curriculum requires an in-depth analysis of the teacher profile and immediate training for the implementation of new curricula.

To aid this, WBIF has provided a grant to assist the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) in addressing the education sector needs through a sector-wide assessment of the current situation. The technical assistance included:

• The development of an education information database for monitoring sector performance, and improving planning capacities to serve the needs of educational management, resource allocation, and policy formulation.
• The preparation of a study to identify the main constraints including access and retention, and propose instruments and mechanisms to address this issue based on international best practices.
• The development of a needs assessment for in-service teacher training to implement the new competency-based curricula by analysing the profile of the existing teacher workforce and teaching methods used in schools, and developing a prioritised list of teacher training programs to facilitate new curriculum rollout.

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.