The past year has witnessed both great strides as well as further delays in the progress of education in Kosovo. The University of Prishtina has become a flashpoint for the tangible expressions of dissent among students protesting nepotism as well as parents promoting it, and less than a year ago Prishtina primary schools were emptied due to dangerous levels of sulfur in the air. Underneath the flashy headlines, however, is an ongoing and troublesome deficit in the quality of education. In a country where approximately ¼ of the population is enrolled in some level of education, the large number of youth observing the persistent poverty and unemployment that awaits them need as much encouragement as possible. The rise in Kosovo’s citizens seeking a new life in Western Europe has gained extra attention recently, but the issue of students pursuing a different sort of asylum by studying abroad is not a new concept. Many young adults in Kosovo share the common sentiments of patriotism and family ties, but often these emotional motivations do not outweigh their ambition to gain a level of education that is not available here. Political campaign promises have been made to make improvements in the education sector, yet teacher to student ratios are growing in the wrong direction, standards for entry into higher-level institutions continue to be compromised, teaching qualification standards are not being upheld and female enrollment at the upper-secondary level remains well below male enrollment. Though the facts and figures paint a portrait of dire straits when it comes to education, there is one factor that certainly is not lacking among the students: motivation. Many of the young adults of Kosovo are pursuing Master’s degrees and working hard to save money for visas and the expense of studying abroad. UP students made a strong statement regarding their stance on corruption when their protests in February led to the rector’s dismissal, setting a tone for what the students will and will not stand for. There is a great desire for improvement and growth, the only question is when those in power will turn their focus to Kosovo’s most vital and admirable asset — it’s youth. The shortfalls of education in “Europe’s youngest country” are ongoing and should never slip into the background, no matter what other crises are being given more attention at the moment. In an effort to bring the issue of education back into the spotlight of analysis and debate, Kosovo 2.0 has put together a collection of stories we strongly support the promotion of to spark continued conversation. From low enrollment in primary education in rural areas to the lack of proper textbooks and language competency at the universities, these articles cover a wide range of the various aspects that play into the greater picture of education in Kosovo. Samantha Freda Online Managing Editor
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WE NEED THE PRESENT TO BUILD THE FUTURE! TEXT BY FITORE BAJRAKTARI
Children are our future. This sentence sounds familiar, as it has been used so often that it nearly loses its charm. Yes, children are our future — but before that they are also the present of this country. Without proper education and development now, there is no way that they can be the future we all talk about. This article aims to present some facts about the current situation of basic education in Kosovo. Every school-day basic education institutions serve around 20 percent of the population, making it one of the country’s largest sectors and also the basis for higher education. Education has been considered one of the most important priorities of the government in recent years, but the actual dedication to it is evident in how much investment and reform has been made in this area. According to the law, basic education is considered to be the period from the first grade of primary school until graduation from the 12th grade of high school. Though there have been ef-
forts from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) that enrollment in the entire period of basic education should be made obligatory by law, this has not been realized. Pupils in Kosovo are only obliged by law to complete the first level (from 1st to 5th grade) and second level (from 6th to 9th grade). If law would also require completion of the third level of education (from 10th to 12th grade, including gymnasiums and professional high schools), this would not only create a legal obligation for pupils to attend school, but also a responsibility for authorities such as MEST to create optimal conditions and opportunities for this level of education. This would be particularly difficult because of the lack of school facilities, and even more concerning the lack of facilities for children with special needs in high schools. It is hard to talk about the quality of teaching when the education system still faces elementary problems to function properly, like issues of infrastructure. Even though the construction of new schools has continued, there is still not enough space. This causes the majority of schools to work in two shifts each day, limiting or reducing the possibility for activities after classes because the school space is needed for the entire day. At first MEST made one of its priorities to reduce the number of pupils in high schools in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning. According to them this number is considered to be 32.3 pupils per class, but lack of school space is not the only factor that inhibited any im#7 MIGRATION FALL 2014 KOSOVO 2.0
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provement in this direction. On the contrary made, it was a decision made by MEST that made the situation even worse. In the decision 557/02-1 of year 2008, MEST decided to increase the number of pupils per class to 37, aiming to create more opportunities for pupils to participate in high school education. This decision was also a response to previous requests on the same issue made by education departments at the local level. In reality the number of pupils in a class is even bigger than 37. Gymnasium “Sami Frasheri” in Prishtina, one of the most popular high schools among young pupils, has approximately 45 pupils. In a class that lasts 40 minutes, those pupils do not have even a minute each to participate. Despite these issues of space and size, the most essential factor of the education system that is directly linked with teaching new generations is the teachers themselves. Their professional preparation is a fundamental condition for qualitative learning. 2008 marked the start of the process of licensing teachers, aiming to set a standard, level of wages and promotion within the career. Currently, developments and increased knowledge in science and technology are constantly moving and improving. A university degree is the most important condition toward becoming a teacher, but needless to say there should be a system that would keep teachers engaged in the learning process, to be informed and to adapt with new developments in science and other areas. For these reasons a system for professional development of teachers was supposed to be established which requires that each teacher should attend at least 100 hours of vocational training throughout a period of five years in order to remain licensed as a teacher. According to Strategy for Basic Education 2011-2016 from MEST, the process of licensing teachers would be finished by the end of 2014. However there is no data available regarding how this worked in practice, and if the criteria of completing 100 hours of vocational training within five years has been respected. Mr. Nehat Mustafa and Mrs.Igballe Cakaj from MEST were contacted for comment, but no answer was received. Besides the lack of school facilities and the failing management of human capacity, there are other remaining challenges to the education system, starting from quality of teaching but also the quality of learning. E-learning is one of those challenges — creating the opportunity to use technology for accessing information and equipping schools at all levels with computers, which would also require training teachers. MEST, based on its data, shows a ratio of 1 computer for every 17 pupils, and in some schools this could be even 1 computer for every 32 pupils. Opportunities to put theory into practice are also limited. Internships in private or public companies is very important, especially for pupils of professional high schools, considering that every year thousands of young people who finish high school enter the job market in Kosovo. Therefore it is necessary to require study of the labor market — even though we are aware it offers limited chances for jobs — in order to give some perspective as to which areas can potentially offer employment for young people. In this way pupils could orient themselves in those directions and also the educational institutions could offer incentives for certain programs. Although primary and high schools are the basis for higher education, recent years have shown that this base is not very strong in Kosovo. While still facing problems of infrastructure, high student/teacher ratios, lack of technological equipment, and little to no space at all for informal learning through engaging pupils in extra-curricular activities, there is not much room left to start talking about the quality of teaching and learning. Young pupils are the future, but the present circumstances do not allow them to grow and receive the proper education that they should be receiving. The decisions of young people regarding their education are personal, however they also influence the overall development of society, and every citizen who hopes to see better days in Kosovo. Fitore Bajraktari was born in Kosovo, graduated from the Law Faculty-University of Prishtina, and was also an exchange student at Vilnius University in Lithuania. Fitore worked as a journalist at Radio Television of Kosovo and is currently working on her Master's thesis at Salzburg Univeristy in Austria.
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FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP: FAILINGS IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION TEXT BY SEB BYTYCI
Much has been written about higher education in Kosovo, especially with the University of Prishtina continuing to be in the news. The recent problem regarding the list of candidates compiled by the organizations of War Veterans, Invalids and Martyr’s Families has highlighted the issue of what criteria is used by universities to accept students. It has also brought renewed attention to the competence of new students, as low levels of competency have been recognized as an issue before. One of the previous rectors instituted a policy of forcing students in all departments to take Albanian language classes, due to the fact that many of them have writing and spelling problems. As this instance shows, the universities in Kosovo often have to do the jobs of high schools or even primary schools. The problems with the education system in Kosovo are not confined to just higher education, but begin in the lower levels of the system and are then compounded. In fact, as we shall see below, they begin before children even start going to school. Kosovo has the youngest population in the region and in Europe as a whole, with 38 percent of the population beung under 19-years-old, meaning that around a quarter of Kosovo’s population are currently in education. However, spending on education remains low. Spending per student is at only 13 percent of per capita income, which is lower than other countries in the region. Total spending on education is around four percent of GDP, which is also a low figure. Furthermore, due to the nature of clientelistic politics, spending is focused on salaries for teachers.
The data is not promising As noted above, problems in the Kosovo education system start at the pre-school level. Only about a quarter of Kosovan children are enrolled in pre-school and pre-primary education, which is half the number of Serbia (53 percent) and much lower than in Slovenia (88 percent). With so few children benefitting developmentally from a pre-school system, it is not surprising that competency levels are low in the primary school and higher levels. Teacher/student ratios are also problematic. Although the averages are good, they mask large differences between schools. These differences are mainly between rural and urban areas, with some city schools having up to 50 students per teacher. This is a worrying statistic which shows that the government has not tried to implement policies based on the needs of communities. In upper secondary education, the data becomes gendered. Whereas there is a 95.8 percent rate of enrolment for boys, only 88.1 percent of girls are enrolled in upper secondary education. And in general, enrolment rates at this level in Kosovo are below EU members in the region. This gendered result shows that problems for female participation in the labor marker start at the upper secondary level; very low female participation in the labour market and the discrepancy in pay between women and men can not be improved without addressing this issue of low female enrollment. Worryingly, achievement levels are consistently low. External assessment percentages both for grade five and grade nine are in the mid 50’s. The new competency test in primary education also showed distressing results: for grade five, language competency is at 27.4 perce t and mathematics competency is at 17.3 percent. The graduation (matura) exam shows even worse results, ranging between the upper 40’s and low 50’s. This means that around half of Kosovo’s youth graduating from the secondary school system do not have sufficient competency to either continue in higher education or to join the labor market.
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No hope for employment The labor market data adds further proof to display how the education system in Kosovo is not preparing young people for work. Only about 12 percent of the labor force has any post-secondary education (including bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees). It is obvious that Kosovo has a relatively uneducated labour force which is not a good sign for its development prospects. In terms of endowing young people with skills needed in the economy, the education system does not fulfill its promise. Data from job fairs organized by business associations consistently shows that dozens of vacancies remain unfilled because there are no qualified candidates. This shows that the education system is not responsive to the needs of the private sector and the economy in general. The problems evident in the primary and secondary levels are compounded in higher education. One important manifestation of this is the small number of students in science and mathematics. The low competency in maths in primary education is reflected in higher education statistics. Less than 5 percent of students in higher education are in science and maths fields, whereas an unnecessarily large number of students are studying social sciences and humanities.
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Politics of education There are two main overarching problems in the education system which are naturally related. Firstly it is the problem of plain incompetence, which is evident mainly through low achievement rates and grade inflation. Secondly, it is the politicization of the education system through strong partisan interference. Incompetence of teachers is a prevalent problem in developing countries. Kosovo has been trying to address this through teacher training, with strong support from foreign aid agencies. However the problem remains and many student evaluations do not match their actual learning and competency. This issue is especially prevalent in rural areas. Unfortunately grade inflation has also affected supposedly objective testing, namely the graduation (matura) test. Some municipalities show uncharacteristically high achievement in the matura test. The incentives for such grade inflation are strong, given that the matura results are a large percentage of the acceptance requirements in the public universities. Unfortunately, acceptance criteria in higher education, and especially at the University of Prishtina, promotes grade inflation. We have to place the problem of grade inflation within the wider phenomenon of formalism typical of developing and transforming countries. Formalism signifies the gap between stated norms and actual behaviour. Such a gap is quite wide in transforming countries and formalism is evident in all fields of public life. The second, more urgent problem in the education system is its politicization. There is very strong partisan political interference in all levels of the education system. In higher education this has become evident through many scandals which have exposed the level of political interference in the selection of senior officials such as rectors, deans and board members. The most notable are the cases of the attempts to select a vice president of PDK as rector of University of Prishtina and the selection of a vice president of AKR as rector (the same rector which resigned due to plagarized publications). The positions of rector and deans of faculties in the University of Prishtina are considered as political jobs similar to the ministries and deputy ministries by political parties. They are divided amongst themselves in political bargaining in forming governing coalitions. The current rector, which probably represents the most meritocratic selection in the post-war period, is facing extreme pressure from political and corruption networks within and outside the university. In the lower levels of education, we see the same amount of interference. The positions of school directors are especially attractive, not least because elections take place in schools and they essentially are responsible for guarding ballot boxes and election materials. School directors are appointed politically, and are part of political bargaining at the local level, just as the directors and board members of public utility companies are. Teaching jobs are offered as rewards for party activists at the local level. We are seeing this process being repeated in the municipalities where parties in power changed in the late 2013 elections. There has been a dashing of expectations and strong accusations of politically motivated employment, especially in large municipalities such as Peja and Ferizaj. In conclusion, problems in the primary and secondary levels of education in Kosovo are many. It is never too late to start talking about them and that is the first step in addressing them. But real reform will require political will and evidence-based policy changes such as reform of funding mechanisms. The upcoming inclusion of Kosovo in PISA testing in 2015 should provide an impetus for stronger public debate and meaningful reform.
Seb Bytyci is a Ph.D. candidate at York University, England, and a former lecturer at the University of Prishtina.
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UP ROUND-UP TEXT BY JACK DAVIES
THE STUDENT BODY OF PRISHTINA UNIVERSITY HAS BEEN A HOTBED OF DISSENT AND A BAROMETER OF POLITICAL FEELING IN KOSOVO THROUGHOUT HISTORY; 2014 WAS NO EXCEPTION. In response to Yugoslav-era manipulation of universities — alongside most other institutions —Kosovo’s education legislation was designed to ensure a healthy degree of separation between campus and state. Yet, Prishtina University continues to be at the heart of political discourse in Kosovo. The year got off to an auspicious start in January, when students began blockading the front steps of Prishtina University’s rectory. The heavy handed police tactics employed in dispersing the crowd, which saw blows from police baton hospitalizing students, garnered sympathy and support for the protesters. The result was that what had started as a few dozen students holding a sit-in, snowballed into thousands of students, civil society actors and concerned citizens facing off legions of riot police — only to be dispersed by clouds of tear gas and pepper spray. For their part, the protesters were not always angels. Their more militant elements pushed and shoved officers as the two groups vied for possession of the rectory. Towards the end of the standoff the police would find themselves covered in red acrylic paint as they struggled to maintain control of the entrance. At the heart of all this passion and violence was one man, then-rector of
the university, Ibrahim Gashi. Gashi was widely believed to have been appointed in a political trade-off between the then ruling party PDK and its junior coalition partner, AKR. The story goes that the junior party had requested the post of Education Minister be filled by one of its own. When the job went to PDK deputy Ramë Buja, the position of Prishtina University rector was handed to AKR vice president Ibrahim Gashi as consolation in 2012. The move was widely viewed among the student body as being in contravention of the Education Law’s provision that, “All members of a Governing Council [of universities] 9 110
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shall serve the Council as individuals, not as delegates or representatives of a particular interest group.” But it was not this supposed legal violation alone that drew thousands onto the streets. Midway through January, Koha Ditore reported that Gashi, along with other professors on his staff, had research crucial to their academic accreditation printed in dubious pay-to-publish academic journals. For student activist organization Studim Kritike Veprim (‘Study, Criticise, Take Action’, SKV) this was the final straw. On January 22, armed with a 10-point list of demands, the students began an action designed to prevent what they saw as a farcical administration from operating. 17 days later their key demand would be sated with Gashi’s resignation. In the twilight days of 2014, tension has returned to the rectory. The issue this time is far more divisive. 10 years ago the university signed a memorandum of understanding with the KLA War Veterans Association promising to admit 1,000 children of KLA veterans and war dead without requiring the passing of an entrance exam. Gashi’s successor, Ramadan Zejnullahu, repealed this privilege after having decided it contravened the university’s rules. The veterans’ associations, who feel Zejnullahu betrayed not only them but the memory of the entire KLA, responded with a series of marches and protests starting on November 27. Like SKV who went before them, the veterans attempted to storm the rector’s office but were held at bay by police. Not all veterans were incensed by the rector’s move though. Even wahero-in-chief and former Prime Minister Hashim Thaci took to Facebook to, albeit half-heartedly, support Zejnullahu’s decision. Talking to Kosovo 2.0, fellow KLA veteran and Vetevendosje parliamentary deputy Fisnik Ismaili said he doubted the sincerity of the PM’s remarks but stood by the rector’s decision: “As a veteran myself, I believe they deserve help, but financial: grants, books, travel, housing.” Ismaili went on to describe any backroom support Thaci’s party, PDK, might be giving to the veterans in their calls for exam-free admissions as “a game… to justify 15 years of neglect towards this group of people.” A march to express solidarity with the university’s progressive rector was organized by Krenare Loxha on December 9th. Loxha told Kosovo 2.0 that in spite of poor weather conditions the march was well attended, stating that “I was the happiest [that] there were some veterans there as well, supporting us and the rector’s decision, and not accepting any privilege from anyone.” Zejnullahu seems aware that if he is to make himself an ally of the students in their desire to build a university centred on academia rather than political back scratching, he is almost certain to make some powerful enemies. Perhaps as a declaration of intent, Zejnullahu welcomed new Prime Minister Isa Mustafa into office by stripping him of his university salary, along with any other teaching staff that also hold political offices. SKV activist and leader of the February protests Durim Jasharaj welcomes the new rector’s appointment as flying in the face of the political elites that he sees as trying to violate the university’s autonomy, concluding that it must have “somehow slipped from their hands.” When Kosovo’s historians look back on 2014, they will surely talk of a year in which politicians lay siege to democracy. It looks, however, like those historians may be able to mark it off as the year a similar siege upon academia was broken.
Jack Davies is a freelance journalist who has spent most of the last year and a half covering the Western Balkans from Prishtina. His work has been featured in Kosovo 2.0, Vice News and Prishtina Insight, among others.
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KOSOVO’S STUDENTS ARE EAGER TO LEARN, BUT OFTEN DON’T KNOW WHERE THEY STAND WITH THEIR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES.
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THE STRONG POINT’S WEAK POINT TEXT BY MIKRA KRASNIQI / PHOTOS BY KUSHTRIM TERNAVA
YOUTH IS HAILED AS KOSOVO'S BIGGEST ASSET, BUT WITHOUT EDUCATION, THE OPPOSITE MAY BE TRUE
— ON FEB. 28, 2013, a young Indian reporter named Rupa Subramanya wrote an article titled “The Perils of Unfulfilled Indian Youth.” Published in the India Real Times, there was nothing particularly extraordinary about this piece — except that Subramanya asked an interesting rhetorical question: “Could the frustration of India’s youth help explain the prevalence of sexual harassment and violence against women in India today?” After a slew of widely publicized sexual attacks on women and children in India, including the rape and killing of a 5-year-old girl at the hands of a 29-year-old man, Indians were horrified and scrambling to find answers to their dark underworld of sexual monsters. Subramanya’s question may not provide an answer to India’s problems with sexual predators, but the question is worth exploring, and while it may just lead down a dark alley, it may also point to a potential culprit: the rising youth of India. Often heralded as the promise of the country’s future and hope of the second-most populous nation on earth, the young people of India also present a nightmarish challenge for the country. With a median age of 25, they number over 240 million. The vast majority of them are unskilled, uneducated, unemployed and, frankly, hopeless. They are desperate. Could the violence against women be explained from this perspective? Maybe or maybe not. But if it is a factor — even on a small scale — that other young societies should watch. What do India and Kosovo have in common? Not much. As the cliche goes, Kosovo’s 2 million people could easily fit into a small suburban neighborhood somewhere in the vicinity of a major Indian city. But just as India provides a large-scale case study on the perils and promises of a young population, Kosovo serves as a microcosm of this problem that plagues major countries with too many young and idle people — but is it really a problem? Some Kosovars disagree. For over a decade, Kosovo’s political class has trumpeted the youth as the country’s top advantage. “So, now that you’ve got your own country, tell me, what’s Kosovo’s biggest asset? What do you have to offer?” asked the weary-eyed looking diplomat. “We have Europe’s youngest population,” boasted the newly crowned minister from Kosovo. “And they all speak English, and are well-educated.” “Well-educated? Hmm, that’s interesting,” I thought to myself. They are young, there is no question about that. But educated? Let's look at the facts. As recently as three years ago, Kosovo had Europe’s lowest university enrollment, at 16 percent. In comparison, in Moldova, the next-poorest country in Europe, enrollment in tertiary education is about 34 percent, and in Macedonia the number stands at 30 percent, while the average for the entire Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region is at 45 percent. Post-secondary education is crucial to obtaining the needed skills and technical prepa#7 MIGRATIONKOSOVO FALL 2014 2.0
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ration to find employment and compete in today’s labor markets, whether inside or outside Kosovo. The desperate economic situation of Kosovo’s youth is also a reflection of a labor market with incredibly weak fundamentals. General unemployment rates are among the highest in Europe at 31 percent, and while no one knows for sure the exact unemployment rate for the young, best estimates put the number at over 65 percent for ages 15 to 24. An estimated 30,000 young Kosovars enter country’s labor market every year, but less than 10 percent of them make the successful transfer to employment. More worrying still is the labor force participation rate — those in the workforce or actively seeking work — which dropped from 47 percent in 2006 to 37 percent in 2012. The labor market shrank by a staggering 10 percent in just six years. Of the 259,338 registered job seekers in 2012, only 5,050, or about 1.9 percent, had university degrees. The World Bank estimates that about 30 percent of Kosovo’s people live below the poverty line — the highest percentage in Europe. Compare that with Albania’s 12.4 percent, Serbia’s 9.2 percent, Macedonia’s 19 percent or Bosnia’s 14 percent. The list of depressing statistics is long, and should be ground for alarm if you are a policymaker in Kosovo; this data is no occasion for celebration. And while some of these numbers should probably be addressed in the context of the legacy of both the war and the crippling decade that preceded it, it’s still disheartening to see how we project a delusional view of our most severe economic and social problems. We should not boast about the current state of our young population, because at the moment they are the most uneducated, unskilled, and least employed group of young people on the entire continent. It is gravely important to understand the scope of the problem and be informed intelligently about the underlying dynamics of it, and then work to target areas where improvement is possible. To continue to deny the severity of the problem is either intentionally misleading or ignorant. “What do you mean Kosovars are uneducated?” a fellow Kosovar asked me recently. “I personally know so many people who are studying or have studied in the best universities in the world,” he continued. Therein lies the problem. Some people are used to measuring social and economic change using their personal observations, and passing anecdote off as societal fact. They confuse statistical evidence with personal observation, plausibility with probability. It’s troubling and ultimately wrong to look at a small number of people who attend
STUDENTS ARE TAUGHT THAT EDUCATION IS THEIR ROAD OUT OF POVERTY, BUT THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE.
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1. KOSOVO’S POPULATION MAY BE YOUNG, BUT ITS ACADEMIC (AND ECONOMIC) FUTURE IS FAR FROM CERTAIN. 2. UNIVERSITY EXAMS ARE EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE IN A COUNTRY WHOSE LABOR MARKET IS AS LIMITED AS KOSOVO’S.
universities outside Kosovo and then reach the conclusion that Kosovars are highly educated. This group is a tiny fraction of Kosovo’s youth. A young population is a great asset to society only when it has access to good education, training, and obtains the right skills to compete, produce, and integrate into the economy. Otherwise, young, uneducated and jobless people are a huge burden on society both in the short and long run. A prolonged state of ignorance breeds primitive societal values. Absence of education is a wilderness where people resort to superstition, conspiracy and ignorance that cripples logic and reasoning. On a more practical level, a poor and uneducated bulging youth is — It is gravely prone to mass immigration, violence, crime and political instability. Research on the perils of a young population is well known. Studies important to show that, historically, countries in which young adults made up 40 understand the percent of the population were twice as likely as countries with a low proportion of youth to experience an outbreak of civil conflict or huge scope of the political instability. They may turn against women and children or they problem and be may turn against society by radicalizing through religion or other fainformed natical belief systems. This is a critical juncture for us. Kosovo’s cherished youth, our intelligently about pride and our biggest asset, is also our biggest burden and liability at the underlying the moment. That doesn’t mean, however, that young people in Kosovo are forever trapped in a land of poverty and economic misery. They dynamics of it, and should learn that the 1990s were “the middle ages” of Kosovo, but that then work to target we all survived and some even thrived. Today’s youth is more resourceareas where ful, with many advantages, such as flow of information, communication and even free access to some education. They are as intelligent as any improvement is their peers any-where in the world. But raw intelligence is not possible. To continue of enough. People who are intelligent need to be cultivated with educato deny the severity tion in order to reap its benefits, thrive and be productive in any profession or career. More than anything else, however, the young people of the problem is of Kosovo need direction, structure, leadership, organization and a vieither intentionally sion that’s going to carry them to the bright future they all deserve. —K misleading or
ignorant.
Mikra Krasniqi is an economist with the Governor of Maryland's Office of Business and Economic Development in Baltimore. Mikra holds graduate degrees from Harvard University and George Mason University.
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DEGREES OF SEPARATION TEXT BY LEONARD NIKACI / PHOTOS BY KUSHTRIM TERNAVA
BARRIERS THAT PREVENT MANY RURAL GIRLS FROM FINISHING SCHOOL ARE NOT EASILY REMOVED
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In Kosovo, as in many other countries, the dropout rate among school-age girls and women is a problem. This is especially true among families who reside far from the smogchoked cities and big towns, out in the country. Eighteen-year-old Albania Gashi is one of these people, and her story is one of many that illustrate this issue.
CURTAILED AMBITIONS
While a lot of her high school friends are working toward university degrees, Albana stays at home in a village near Decani, thinking about how she wants to study medicine. Unfortunately, that’s not possible; when Albana was 17, she had to drop out of high school in Peja because her family could not afford the costs involved in sending her 25 kilometers to the campus each day from her remote village. It was Albana’s parents who decided that it would be better for her to stay at home. Not only did it make more economic sense, they decided, but it was also “safer.” “Nowadays,” Albana’s father would often say, “parents never know where their children are wandering around.” It was this factor that led her father to override the objections of Albana’s teachers and pull her out of school for good. Luljeta, Albana’s former language instructor, describes the situation as sad and awkward. “It is sad,” Luljeta says, “that all students do not have equal opportunities and access to schooling, [and it is] awkward that some parents cut them off because they feel their children are out of their reach.”
A GROUP OF YOUNG BOYS WAIT AROUND OUTSIDE THEIR SCHOOL. IN MANY FAMILIES — ESPECIALLY RURAL ONES — IT IS ONLY THE BOYS WHO ARE ALLOWED TO COMPLETE THEIR EDUCATIONS.
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NO EASY ANSWER
— When Albana was in school, her family could not bear the weight of her independence. Given the opportunities present in the city, it is only natural that young people like Albana would want to move to the city — that’s where the jobs are, where the resources are.
To some extent, this is a problem that relates to the rural mentality, but it is location that remains the biggest hurdle. If Albana’s family were to move to the city, she would have been able to continue in her studies — it’s as simple as that. But this type of move is not always easy. Migrating to the city would pose several problems for Albana’s family. For one, moving to the city translates to higher living costs — not to mention the financial problems that would be posed if the family left its land. Albana’s family owns their property in the village, but moving would require them to leave these assets behind in favor of the recurring cost of renting in Peja. In addition to this, her parents would need to fit themselves into the city’s service-oriented workforce, but they are not skilled or trained, and the services they could provide would likely not be wellcompensated. When you add these factors to the general stress of moving, to the strains of starting from zero, you can see why it might not be a decision Albana’s family is willing to make. Do these sorts of structural concerns, however, justify Albana’s dropping out of school? Of course not. Instead, they point to a societal problem, an opportunity for change. When Albana was in school, her family could not bear the weight of her independence. Given the opportunities present in the city, it is only natural that young people like Albana would want to move to the city — that’s where the jobs are, where the resources are. More and more, people are making these sorts of moves, even if their “migration” means that they spend their days in the city and their nights back in the village. But while Albana’s desires may make a lot of sense, they remain difficult to achieve. It is not easy to simply pack up and move to the city — even if that’s where everything is.
ONE OF MANY
Albana is not the only person affected by such problems, says Luljeta. Many girls like Albana have had similar problems, and their solutions have often been either extreme or entirely inaccessible. Luljeta remembers one case in which an entire family picked up and moved into a nearby village when their children reached school-age, so as to be close to the region’s elementary school. But most families cannot afford to do things like that. There are the questions of land and recurring costs, of skills and compensation. These are the barricades that keep the Albanas of the world out of school, and their rural families far from opportunities. These are the barriers facing rural-to-urban migrants. Albana’s story is a sad one, but it is also revealing. It is a story that illustrates the problems faced by village girls, and the costs of both migration and staying put. Though the move to the city can be difficult, it is often the only choice for rural girls who are seeking new opportunities. Unfortunately, low labor mobility, high travel costs, a lack of vacancies for students seeking jobs and other such barriers mean that a move to the city is often a step too far. Until these hurdles are eased or removed, girls like Albana are likely to keep dropping out of school and abandoning their dreams. — K
Leonard Nikaci was born in Peja in 1991. He was raised in the U.S., came back to Kosovo for his education and currently lives in Prishtina. He is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology in Economics and Management. #7 MIGRATIONKOSOVO FALL 2014 2.0
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A STUDY IN FRUSTRATION TEXT BY MIMOZA KQIKU / PHOTOS BY KUSHTRIM TERNAVA
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS LAMENT LACK OF TEXTBOOKS, BUT PROFESSORS SAY STUDENTS NEED TO BROADEN HORIZONS
STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PRISHTINA LAMENT A LACK OF 118 ALBANIAN-LANGUAGE TEXTBOOKS AVAILABLE FOR SALE OR LOAN.
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STUDENTS COMPLAIN PERSISTENTLY about a lack of textbooks at the University of Prishtina, and some educators agree that the supply is inadequate. But professors say students place too much importance on textbooks while ignoring other resources. Students request texts in Albanian, though most are written in other languages. UP Vice Rector Qerim Qerimi says that UP can commission translations, but only to address a definite need. And it’s not clear if these efforts have a standing fund, nor how much money would be dedicated to such projects. “There is no such constant service,” Qerimi said. “Instead, according to the needs, possible requests and reviews by relevant bodies (mainly by the Steering Committee, which runs the finances), it is possible to allow or approve necessary academic projects, which might include translation.” The perceived shortage will only come into greater relief as UP offers new programs, observed Professor Dukagjin Pupovci. But Pupovci, who is also the executive director at the Kosovo Education Center, notes that no university in the world simply gives students textbooks for all subjects. “There is a mindset that for every subject at the University of Prishtina, there ought to be an original book produced at the University of Prishtina, conveying the content of the subject, step by step. There is no such thing anywhere,” he said. To approach those expectations, lecturers distribute handouts and make available other study materials. In fact, students should not use books exclusively, Pupovci says. But UP has fallen short even with providing the minimum, others say. When a university develops syllabuses, it usually acquires books for students to use in the library, explained Professor Qëndrim Gashi of the Faculty of Philology. And the same book is often offered for sale. Yet UP has no agreement with any store to stock textbooks. Gashi said some blame lies with students. Many textbooks are written in English, and the inadequate English skills of many students effectively block them from using untranslated texts. “One cannot claim to be studying seriously if (one) lacks elementary knowledge in order to be able to use a text in English,” he said. “When someone comes to UP, he must have elementary knowledge of English, otherwise we may ask — “There is a ourselves why English is being taught from primary school and even in every department of UP.” mindset that for It would be economically unjustified for UP to translate all texts on its every subject at the own, Gashi said. A consortium of universities teaching in Albanian could share that cost, he said, but it’s still not clear that would be as desirable University of as using a text in its original language. Prishtina, there For the Faculty of Journalism, quality is as much a problem as availabilought to be an ity, said analyst Imer Mushkolaj. “When I say, ‘adequate,’ I mean advanced and professional textbooks, scioriginal book entific books on journalism and communication by renowned international produced at the authors,” he said. “Every student acquires initial academic knowledge from textbooks. It is imperative that these textbooks be useful for them and University of orient them toward the right path.” Prishtina, conveying Professors share fault because they are reluctant to require new texts, the content of the Mushkolaj said. And when they do, some require textbooks written by themselves or their colleagues. This is unacceptable, he says, because it subject, step by does not present a sufficient breadth of knowledge. step. There is no Yet the ability of today’s students to acquire adequate texts is 100 times such thing greater than when Mushkolaj was a student at “Faik Konica” Faculty of Journalism, where he later lectured, he said. anywhere,” he said. “I have the impression that journalism students of today learn theory by heart, but also have few opportunities to acquire skills in practice, despite the high number of media in Kosovo,” he said.
STUDENTS COMPLAIN
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ogy and radiology not from texts, but from poorly translated handouts, said student Liridona Gerbeshi. Books are difficult to find, at best. Those they do get their hands on are outdated, she said. “Professors are still teaching with Serbo-Croatian textbooks,” Gerbeshi said. The shortage is most noticeable in introductory courses in the faculties of medicine and sciences, Pupovci says. But faculties that have seen upheaval due to changing ideologies have also been hit hard, he said. “Faculties of law, economics, and sociology … are now facing a lack of contemporary literature because there was a major step from one program based on another system to a program which should satisfy the requirements and needs of a democratic world,” he explained. Yet according to Faculty of Law Dean Bajram Uka, students have no lack of textbooks in the faculty. “We have enough textbooks for all courses,” he said. Roland Sylejmani reported using high school texts in a social philosophy course in the Faculty of Sociology. In some cases, the same course is taught by different professors who use different textbooks, Sylejmani said. But Professor Linda Gusia of the Faculty of Sociology says that some professors are simply unaware of new textbooks.
LANGUAGE BARRIER
The problem of inadequate English skills applies especially to postgraduate students, Gusia said. And that is unacceptable, since English is indispensable for accessing contemporary texts, she added. “We do not have many academic publications in Albanian. Even if we established an association for translation, we would not be able to translate all academic texts that are important,” she said. “Basic texts should be translated, but still, postgraduate students cannot finish their studies only by knowing Albanian.” Students who cannot read in English try to limit themselves to material available in Albanian, said Professor Lindita Tahiri, who teaches in the Department of Journalism and the Department of English Language. To accommodate the lack of English skills, she has adjusted her courses. “I never follow the curricula which I deliver to foreign experts or the accreditation agency,” she said. “Naturally, the accreditation agency asks from us, like everywhere else in the world, to add new textbooks in our curricula and of course, they are in English.” The only students who have ever been able to read those recommended books were those studying English, she says. So she uses simplified materials in her courses. “I cannot follow my syllabus — which I draft with the most contemporary books — because students do not speak English. Today, many books and a number of magazines (in English) can be found online, but there are no students who want to use them,” she said. In many countries, postgraduate studies are in English, so it is particularly absurd that UP students insist on literature in Albanian only, Tahiri says.
LACKLUSTER LIBRARY
The Kosovo National Library, like most libraries in the country, is in miserable condition, professors say. They are low on supplies of books and fall short in providing Internet access, which has become one of the major functions of libraries around the world. “There should be a lot of investment to rebuild libraries in order to 120 19
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UNIVERSITY OFFICIALS SAY IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO TRANSLATE TEXTBOOKS FOR EVERY COURSE OFFERED AT UP.
PROFESSORS DRAFT SYLLABI TO MEET ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS, BUT THEN TEACH BASED ON THE REDUCED MATERIALS THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
SOME OBSERVERS BLAME STUDENTS FOR NOT USING ONLINE MATERIALS AND FOR NOT HAVING SUFFICIENT SKILLS IN ENGLISH — THE LANGUAGE OF MOST MATERIALS.
— “I cannot follow my syllabus — which I draft with the most contemporary books — because students do not speak English. Today, many books and a number of magazines (in English) can be found online, but there are no students who want to use them,” she said.
have access to the Internet for those who want to read,” Gusia said. The National Library’s catalog has not been converted to an electronic system, which means books get lost and patrons cannot find what they’re looking for, Gusia said. “I have sent some books to the National Library, and they are lost because they were not digitized since there is no such system,” she said. If they can find one copy of a book, students turn to photocopying, a rampant practice, even though it violates the author’s copyright. “Students continuously print author’s books for half of the price,” said Gerbeshi, the student of medicine. “Original books cost a lot, which is unaffordable for us students; therefore, we are forced to print them as copies for a much lower price.” The university does provide access to academic electronic libraries for fields like biology, medicine and economics, noted Vice Rector Qerimi. Some departments have worked out agreements for access to journals. Thanks to a relationship with the Association of Mathematicians of Kosovo, students can access journals of the European Association of Mathematics, Gashi said. But some platforms, such as MathSciNet and many other journals, remain out of reach. Yet even when they have access, students seem to be disinclined to use the online resources, Tahiri said.
— “Students are not the problem,” he said. “Rather, the problem is what we offer them during their studies at UP and the opportunities they have in Kosovo after they graduate, where the labor market is small and deformed by different anomalies.”
UNPREPARED FOR WORK
The problems with materials may help explain disappointing placement results for graduates. According to employers, Kosovo’s institutions of higher education do not prepare students for work. Most graduates lack adequate skills for the job market, employers say, so they do not seek out graduates of Kosovar institutions. Moreover, just 4 to 5 percent of graduates from Kosovo find success in other countries, Pupovci said. Yet Mushkolaj cautioned that outcomes cannot be generalized. In the journalism field, some graduates have become excellent and successful journalists in Kosovo and abroad, he said, even while others with a degree can’t find work in the field. Gashi has anecdotal evidence of students going on to postgraduate studies at universities as prestigious as Cambridge. Still, dim prospects at home demotivate students, he said. “Students are not the problem,” he said. “Rather, the problem is what we offer them during their studies at UP and the opportunities they have in Kosovo after they graduate, where the labor market is small and deformed by different anomalies.”
CAMPUS POLITICS
Students may come by their apathy honestly, especially when confronted by recent revelations suggesting academic misconduct by administrators. Former rector Ibrahim Gashi was exposed as having paid a journal in India to publish his work. Gashi and members of UP’s steering committee resigned in a climate of upheaval and mass student protests. Though students got what they demanded, the scandal and the politicization of the university hurts the academic atmosphere, said Pupovci, the education expert. And students may also lose enthusiasm when they see that UP’s international standing is slipping. In January, one ranking system, Webometrics, which considers the online presence of universities, put UP at 8,067th out of 22,000 universities around the world. That is down some 3,600 spots from just four months earlier, when it was ranked 4,416th. A year earlier, it was ranked 3,387th. UP’s most recent problems are the culminations of persistent troubles, Qendrim Gashi said, and the university deserves its ranking. By the same token, UP’s students may deserve more from Kosovo’s primary public university — perhaps even better textbooks. — K Mimoza Kqiku studied journalism at the University of Prishtina. She is the editor-in-chief of IP Magazine and work at the informative portal publiku.net. She was recently awarded second prize for investigative journalism in the field of education. #7 MIGRATIONKOSOVO FALL 2014 2.0
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— KOSOVO HAS THE YOUNGEST POPULATION IN EUROPE. Every year, approximately 30,000 teenagers turn 18, becoming adults. Some continue their studies in institutions of higher education in Kosovo, while others are employed and the rest are unemployed. Unemployment among youth in Kosovo is very high, reaching up to 70 percent. Unable to implement policies to create new jobs, the government has chosen to decrease the unemployment rate by placing jobless youths in universities. The result is a decrease in the quality of education, which focuses purely on students obtaining their degree. Because of a lack of new jobs in the economy, the main hope for students after graduation is to find work in public organizations through political connections.
HEADING OUT
Studying abroad is an ambition for a number of students, especially those who speak foreign languages. But pursuing a bachelor’s degree in another country is more difficult because of the lack of scholarships and the longer study period of three to four years. The number of available scholarships for a master’s degree is higher, however, so many students who have completed their undergraduate studies in Kosovo aim to continue their studies abroad, mainly in western countries. The EU is one of the main donors for study scholarships, and the Young Cells Scheme is the postgraduate scholarship program for Kosovo funded by the EU. Other available scholarships include the Kosovo American Education Fund from the U.S. and the Chevening Scholarship from the UK. Fields of study mainly include the social sciences, European studies, public policies and business administration. In compliance with EU interests in Kosovo, its scholarships were later specialized in fields dealing with fulfillment of standards — for instance, food quality control — and subsidized fields such as agriculture.
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TEXT BY SEB BYTYCI
THE ESCAPE
COMING HOME
OF THE EDUCATED
KOSOVO'S HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM IS OVERWHELMED AND LOSING STUDENTS ABROAD
— The condition for The condition for most of these scholarships is the student’s eventual return to Kosovo. The EU plan ensures that the returnees most of these gain employment in Kosovo administration. A large number of those scholarships is the who study through the Young Cells Scheme continue to work in the student’s eventual Ministry of European Integration. Though there is no accurate data, most who study abroad through the scholarship return to Kosovo. return to Kosovo. This is perhaps not as common for those who finance their own The EU plan ensures studies abroad. Because diplomas from western universities are considered that the returnees prestigious, it is generally not difficult for those alumni to find jobs gain employment in in Kosovo. However, the majority of those who return are motivated Kosovo by reasons other than employment. In the post-war period and after Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008, there was a administration. noticeable sense of patriotism and participation in state-building. This sense has begun to fade due to the economic crisis and poor governance. The return and systematization of those who study abroad are not easy. There are cases of students who are unable to find jobs within the government of Kosovo despite its obligation to hire students through the Young Cells Scheme. Another problem is low salaries; some returnees avoid working in public administration and look for jobs in international organizations in Kosovo. A number of returnees are employed in the field of education, partly due to the needs of public universities and partly due to the increase in private institutions of KOSOVO 2.0
higher education, of which there are already 22. This has proved beneficial for students in Kosovo as the returnees are able to impart the experience that they gained in higher quality education systems to their students. Unfortunately, these students still have little chance to contribute to the education system due to the overall quality of education in Kosovo and its politicization. In Kosovo today, there are 120,000 students, more than 50,000 of whom are enrolled in the University of Prishtina. However, the institutions do not have the necessary infrastructure to face the sudden increase in enrollments. As someone who returned to Kosovo after my higher education, I was able to observe these problems first-hand. After obtaining my master’s degree in public policy at Indiana University in 2007, I returned to Kosovo and began working as a teaching assistant in the Department of Political Science at the University of Prishtina. Unfortunately, this was a period that saw both increases in the number of students as well as direct political intervention. These problems were more apparent in my department, as most professors were involved in politics.
PLENTY OF PROBLEMS
The challenges of working in this environment are considerable. Though some are committed to their work, the system seems to create obstacles for those who wish for change. From the lack of space to the difficulty of achieving high grades, the struggles are vast. In the Department of Political Science, professors involved in politics often disregard obligations and teaching hours while an unpaid teaching assistant picks up the work. In order to advance within the university, a teaching assistant is required to have a doctorate. However, little support is offered for this. Because of the lack of doctoral programs in Kosovo, most quality doctorates are sought abroad. A teaching assistant is expected to obtain this doctorate while simultaneously fulfilling contractual teaching obligations. For those who are involved in politics, these obligations often do not apply. Advancement and employment are often not achievement-based. To accommodate the sudden increase in students, a coordinated effort to ensure teaching jobs for returnees would help fulfill the needs of the universities. In 2008, the government launched a “brain gain” initiative to persuade members of the diaspora and professionals from other countries to take part in Kosovo’s development. A database of students was created to identify individu— In the end, there als who would be invited to work in Kosovo’s public institutions. seemed little effort from However, the initiative proved unsuccessful and little is known of completion of the database. A fund was also created to grant the government, ministry of the higher salaries to those who studied abroad. However, there were education and public accusations related to abuses of this fund. In the end, there seemed little effort from the government, ministry of education and public universities to employ universities to employ returnees or to improve the quality of higher returnees or to improve education. the quality of higher Kosovo is still suffering a brain drain despite the return of more educated students. Opportunities for employment — especially education. in places like Canada and Germany — are very attractive. This is disconcerting, considering that an educated population is necessary for development. Any “brain gain”-related efforts should focus on improving public services; focusing on salary is simply not enough. Returnees will also base their decisions on the quality of life in Kosovo — whether their families have access to hospitals and whether their children can attend good schools. The role of the education system in the creation and preservation of human capital is twofold: firstly, to prepare students to enter the labor market through higher education, and secondly, to ensure the quality of education for the next generation. — K Seb Bytyci is a Ph.D. candidate at York University, England, and a former lecturer at the University of Prishtina. #7 MIGRATIONKOSOVO FALL 2014 2.0
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HELPING THE HOMELAND TEXT BY MIKRA KRASNIQI / PHOTOS BY KUSHTRIM TERNAVA
KOSOVO DEPENDS GREATLY ON REMITTANCES, BUT THAT MONEY ISN'T ALWAYS SPENT WISELY — ON JULY 28, 1992, Faton Gashi was woken at dawn by his mother’s whispering voice. Sleepy and disoriented, he washed his face, dressed and collected his personal belongings. The air in the room was heavy as he surveyed the faces of his two younger brothers, retracted in the dimly lit space. Minutes later, in the front yard, he embraced his crying mother, father and four siblings before leaving in his cousin’s car. He boarded the 6:15 train and waved from the window as his cousin receded from view. After an arduous threeday journey across several countries, Faton arrived in Munich, where his uncle was waiting for him. He was only 19 when he left his family and had never been outside Kosovo. As the oldest child, he decided to emigrate when he saw no prospects in Kosovo after finishing high school. It had not always seemed this way. As an intelligent and curious student, a math and science wunderkind, his potential seemed limitless. In the fifth grade, he nearly electrocuted himself to death while conducting a science experiment. The same year, he read a children’s book describing Einstein’s theory of relativity and became fascinated with the concept of space and time. At night, he would close his eyes and imagine himself aboard Einstein’s hypothetical train, traveling at the speed of light while time slowed around him. He dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Twenty-two years later, Faton lives in Germany with his wife and three children. He has been working for a landscaping company for the past six years. He has put on weight, but appears healthy and content. His ties with his parents and siblings have weakened somewhat, but he still supports them financially, though less than he used to. He travels to Kosovo at least once a year and spends a few weeks with his ailing mother and father, his two married sisters and his two brothers. One brother has been unemployed for several years while the other works periodically to support his own family. When asked about his teenage years, Faton is resigned and says: “You never know what could have been.” This sentiment seems to define Fa-
KOSOVAR UNIVERSITY GRADUATES LIVING ABROAD OFTEN HAVE MORE THAN THEIR OWN FUTURES TO WORRY ABOUT. THE REMITTANCE ECONOMY MEANS THAT MANY FAMILIES DEPEND ON MONEY FROM THEIR RELATIVES IN THE DIASPORA TO SURVIVE.
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SINCE THE 1990S, MANY WESTERN EUROPEAN KOSOVO 2.0 CITIES HAVE ACCRUED LARGE POPULATIONS OF IMMIGRANTS FROM KOSOVO.
A DEGREE FROM A FOREIGN UNIVERSITY IS NOT ALWAYS A TICKET TO A BETTER LIFE. MANY DIASPORA GRADUATES FIND THEMSELVES UNDER-EMPLOYED AND BURDENED BY THEIR FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS.
ton’s generation, a generation that came of age in Kosovo in the 1990s and was forced to leave in search of prosperity, often crossing borders illegally. Faced with increasing hostility and dwindling opportunity throughout Europe, thousands abandoned their dreams and settled for immigrant life. Faton’s journey from whiz kid to landscaper is sad but not unusual.
THE MONEY ROLLS IN
Kosovo has one of the largest international migration flows in the world. Of those who left Kosovo in the past two decades, more than 90 percent left for economic reasons and only 9 percent had a university education. About 35 percent of Kosovar households have at least one family member abroad and 25 percent of households are dependent on remittances. Remittances have served as a safety valve for many families in Kosovo and have alleviated acute poverty. Between 400 and 550 million euros are sent to Kosovo each year by emigrants. This accounts for the largest source of foreign income despite a decrease from 17 percent of Kosovo’s GDP in 2004 to 10 percent in 2012 — a figure that is still the highest in the region. This data is likely to understate the economic impact of remittances, as it represents only remittances received by families #7 MIGRATIONKOSOVO FALL 2014 2.0
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and not consumption by Kosovo emigrants when they return to visit. According to the United Nations Development Program’s 2012 Kosovo Remittance Study, more than 60 percent of emigrants visit Kosovo at least twice a year, spending an average of 2,300 euros per visit. This amounts to tens of millions of euros spent each year. The effect is largely positive for Kosovo’s economy as it generates economic activity, job creation and additional revenue for the government in the form of tax receipts. However, the potential of Kosovo’s diaspora has not been fully exploited. Though emigrant spending is beneficial for the economy in the short term, this consumption-based model is cyclical, risky and susceptible to wide economic fluctuations in emigrant host countries. A decrease in remittances would harm Kosovo’s economy greatly, especially given the nation’s high import levels and lack of mechanisms that stimulate the economy. Additionally, there is evidence that remittances have some negative effects on Kosovo’s labor market. Money sent to Kosovo influences the behavior of the unemployed by discouraging an active search for work. The labor participation rate is the proportion of the population between ages 16 and 65 who are economically active. The labor participa-
— Faced with increasing hostility and dwindling opportunity throughout Europe, thousands abandoned their dreams and settled for immigrant life. Faton’s journey from whiz kid to landscaper is sad but not unusual.
STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PRISHTINA. MANY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN KOSOVO VIEW THEIR DEGREE AS A TICKET TO A LIFE ABROAD.
tion rate in households that receive remittances is approximately 45 percent, compared to 59 percent in households that do not receive remittances. In other words, families who rely on remittances have higher unemployment rates.
AT THE EVALUATIONS BOARD, UNIVERSITY OF PRISHTINA.
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Remittances can also increase the wage reserve, which can be seen as both a blessing and a curse. Though an inflation in wages can benefit those who do not receive remittances, it may also discourage hiring. In the retail, food and other unskilled professional industries, employers will often seek cheap labor. It is estimated that 90 percent of remitted money is used for consumption — food, clothing and housing. While this alleviates poverty in the short term, it does little to address the root causes of povKOSOVO 2.0
erty or to help families develop a sustainable path. The low rate of investment and savings among families that receive remittances is disconcerting and points to larger problems. Sixty percent of investments by emigrants are focused on real estate purchases for personal use, while investments in productive sectors such as manufacturing are virtually nonexistent. This low propensity to invest in productive industries is likely due to a lack of confidence in Kosovo’s economy and institutions. The perception that Kosovo does not offer a solid business environment is underlined by its government’s inability to instate a workable strategy to attract capital from the diaspora. While Kosovo has established the Ministry of Diaspora to address many of these issues, its capacity is weak. Instead of implementing policies and models that link migration and economic growth, its strategy consists merely of a document that lacks specificity and focus. It fails to incentivize investment among the diaspora and saving among recipients of remittances.
REMITTANCE ROLE MODELS
KOSOVO HAS MANY EDUCATED WORKERS, BUT FEW LINKS TO MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT ABROAD.
— It is estimated that 90 percent of remitted money is used for consumption — food, clothing and housing. While this alleviates poverty in the short term, it does little to address the root causes of poverty or to help families develop a sustainable path.
Other countries with substantial migration — such as the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Moldova — have demonstrated that remittances can support social and economic development with proper strategies in place. These migration strategies are generally focused on two objectives: preparing prospective applicants for migration and strengthening ties with migrants while they are abroad. For the first objective, negotiations are made with host countries to establish migration programs, to facilitate legal migration and to provide training and education. Sri Lanka’s program before migration allows potential emigrants to assess their prospects in host countries based on their level of education and training. For the second objective, ties with emigrants are continually engaged through policies that protect their rights in host countries. Additionally, costs for remittances are reduced and incentives are offered to financial institutions that facilitate money transfers between emigrants and their families. Moldova has been successful in providing incentives for microfinance institutions, which in turn train rural families who receive remittances to invest and save. Given Kosovo’s persistent rates of illegal migration, the country needs to devise a strategy that promotes legal and orderly migration for low-skilled and semi-skilled workers. With its weak labor market and current demographics, Kosovo is unlikely to produce enough jobs for the growing workforce. This is an opportunity for Kosovo to diversify its strategy by engaging other countries and establishing labor programs in host countries for prospective emigrants. Such partnerships between countries have proven to create opportunities for legal migration. These migration-specific strategies can only go so far in addressing the fundamental weaknesses in Kosovo’s education system and economy. This is why Kosovo needs to couple short-term solutions with a long-term vision. It should begin with early education, helping young people like Faton realize their potential in science, technology, engineering and mathematics professions. Kosovo’s future depends not only on its flow of remittances and emigrants, but on how it helps the next generation become productive members of society. — K
Mikra Krasniqi is an economist with the Governor of Maryland’s Office of Business and Economic Development in Baltimore. Mikra holds graduate degrees from Harvard University and George Mason University. #7 MIGRATIONKOSOVO FALL 2014 2.0
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The content does not neccessarily reflect the views and opinions of the donors
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