Reviewing Kosovo's Curriculum to address Kosovo's rural people's needs

Due to start in early 2005, the review of the basic education (grade 1-9) curriculum to make it relevant to Kosovo's rural people needs is the first immediate result of the formulation of an Education for Rural People National Strategy by the Kosovo Government.
The curriculum review is a partnership activity and will be undertaken by an inter-ministerial and stakeholder working group led by the Ministry of Education (MEST) and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development(MAFRD), with the technical and economical support of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The working group will help to make the national core curriculum for basic education sensitive to the culture and needs of rural Kosovo.
The cross-cutting working group includes representatives from local organizations, NGOs, community representatives, teachers, school directors, central and municipal representatives from five ministries. Four workshops are planned over a period of six months, which is the span of the project.
The main outcomes expected from this project are:

1. Increased collaboration between ministries and stakeholders.
2. Guidelines for curriculum contextualization which, through stakeholder participation, will ensure that education in rural schools meets the needs of rural learners.
3. Implementation of the ERP strategy in the region by assuring increased awareness on rural people learning needs.
4. Increased capacity of the key actors.

The medium term Strategy for Education for Rural People in Kosovo was developed in 2004 by MEST and MAFRD together with local stakeholders with FAO technical support. The document was based on a participatory approach for strategy formulation and needs assessment which is a useful example for other countries willing to undertake a similar ERP policy-planning exercise.