The Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Arbërie Nagavci, reported today to the members of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration regarding the actions taken so far and the plans towards fulfilling the obligations arising from the European Integration Process, and that are related to education, science and technology.
Minister Nagavci initially praised the findings regarding the decision to appoint members of the State Quality Council and the efforts of this Agency for membership in ENQA and EQAR, the increase of staff capacity that was done during 2020, as well as new workplaces to be opened in 2021.
Nagavci also mentioned the other achievements identified in the report, which are the decision to hire 100 assistants for children with special needs, the registration of Learning Centers for Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian communities for which MESTI has allocated a budget worth 200 thousand euros for next year, she also spoke about the achievements made in relation to the EU Program, HORIZON Europe, on which occasion the negotiations for the signing of the Agreement that will be realized at the end of 2021 have been completed..
Nagavci also announced that after the review of the budget, 5 million euros have been allocated for the construction of preschool institutions and the adaptation of existing facilities, which will help increase the inclusion of children in early education.
Among other things, the Minister mentioned the findings and recommendations from this report, which were underlined by the EU, which she stressed would be a priority and fall within the framework of strategic and budget plans and documents.
On this occasion, Minister Nagavci said that in the ERA II plan (within the third pillar), MESTI has priority the improvement of the education system of Kosovo, with special emphasis on improving the overall quality in the education sector, ensuring transparent governance of educational institutions and increasing access to education.
She mentioned many works that have been completed or are in process during the period August – September 2021 that are related to these priorities, respectively the implementation of the European Reform Agenda.
Speaking about the Plan for the Implementation of the SAA for 2021, the Minister said that legislative and implementing measures are planned, including the amendment of the Draft Law on Higher Education, the Draft Law on the Kosovo Accreditation Agency, and the Draft Law on early childhood education 0-6 years, in which the working group is working.
Whereas, within the EU recommendations for the Country Report (2020), the Minister stressed that MESTI is working continuously to fulfill their obligations.
Speaking about the progress made in this regard, Minister Nagavci mentioned some planned processes at the level of preschool education, which are expected to increase the quality, as well as increase the inclusion of children in this level of education. In this regard, he stressed that during 2021 7 preschool institutions have been completed, while in 2022, the construction of 15 preschool institutions is expected to be completed.
Minister Nagavci also spoke about the re-application of Kosovo in ENQA and EQAR, in which case she promised that MEST will take care to meet all obligations arising from this process, while announcing that the Kosovo Accreditation Agency is in standards drafting process and once all the criteria are claimed to have been met it can be reapplied.
Last modified: September 8, 2022
