Summary of articles published in three daily newspapers – “Zeri”, “Kosova Sot”, and “Koha Ditore”, writing about the workshop “Strategy of Education for Rural People in Kosovo”

On 24th of June, 2004, a workshop presenting the Strategy of Education for Rural People in Kosovo took place, which was organized by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MASHT), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Development (MAFRD), and FAO, with the participation of international and national experts.
The objective of the strategy is to reduce the low access to education in rural areas of Kosovo and increase the education quality for rural livelihoods, and in doing so reduce illiteracy and poverty , which are strictly related to low school attendance by young generation. Ms Lavinia Gasperini, Senior Education Officer, FAO, stressed during the workshop that the number of illiterate people, especially in rural areas, all over the world, is appalling. This is due among other factors to the bad economic conditions of rural dwellers, undeveloped roads infrastructure, remoteness of schools, lack of adequate teaching materials and teacher training and conservatism in rural families to bring their children to schools, especially the females. Kosovo has expressed strong commitment to further promote, stabilize, and increase access to and the quality of education in rural areas.
Mr Richard Eberlin, Policy Officer, Regional Office for Europe, FAO, focused his argument more on the relation between education, people living in rural areas and rural and agricultural development. According to Mr Eberlin, in order to have quality in education in rural areas, a country needs also to have a developed infrastructure, good roads, transport security, and good quality of schools.
Whereas the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Zenel Jusufi, said that there still exists a huge difference in education between rural areas with those in urban ones. However, he expressed the readiness of MASHT to fight this phenomenon. He went further to elaborate that one of their strategies is to have the same education in the whole regions of Kosovo, stating that present stagnation came as a result of the last ten years of isolation of the villages from towns.
Mr. Menderes Ibra, the Permanent Secretary of MAFRD, said that rural development is a very important element in economic development of Kosovo. Taking into consideration that a large percentage of people are living in rural areas, it is very important that the young generation living in rural areas, especially in villages that are far way from towns, acquire education. Mr. Ibra went on to saying that due to the lack of the education in these areas, agriculture development has stagnated.
The Strategy of Education for Rural People in Kosovo focuses among other issues, on improving the quality and relevance of education to rural livelihoods needs through the school curricula revision, increased rural children access and retention in school, increased delivery of non-formal education for rural people, and adequate teaching materials, books and equipment for rural schools.
The MAFRD and MASHT presented a five-year strategic programme for the development of education for rural people in Kosovo. They stressed that the overall amount to implement this programme US$17 millions are needed .