Self-harm cases in elementary and secondary schools in Kosovo are increasing as school psychologists can only be hired if a school has over 1,000 students, based on an administrative instruction by the Kosovo Ministry of Education.
On October 11, a school director in a village in Kamenica reported to the police that eight pupils tried to hurt thyselves and each other before classes, influenced by a TikTok ‘challenge.’
Police told BIRN that there was no criminal violation of bodily injury from the pupils in Kamenica, so the prosecutor registered this case in an official note.
This case in Kamenica is not isolated. Similar occurrences of self-harm across Kosovo based on TikTok challenges were identified four days prior to the ones in Kamenica.
On October 7, Eranda Kumnova-Baçi, the head of Gjakova Municipality Education Directorate, reported to the police three cases of self-harm committed by three pupils based on another TikTok ‘challenge.’
The police and Gjakova Basic Prosecution are investigating the case as the criminal violation ‘inciting or assisting suicide’.
On October 9, Kumnova-Baçi told BIRN that “the number of confirmed cases [of self-harm] is 19.” All of the victims are girls.
According to the Kosovo Police, by the end of October 8, another ten pupils who had hurt themselves in Gjakova were found. The police told BIRN on October 9 that “six more pupils are suspected to have hurt themselves in different periods of time”.
These other cases were identified only after the Gjakova Municipal Education Directorate initiated an inspection conducted by the school’s director, a psychologist, and the class teacher.
According to Afrim Dervishi, the director of the Kamenica Municipal Education Directorate, there is no psychologist in the school where eight pupils tried to hurt themselves and each other. In Gjakova, according to Kumnova-Baçi, there are 16 school psychologists working with 14,420 students across the entire municipality.
According to a 2013 Administrative Instruction by the Kosovo Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovations, MESTI, school psychologists in Kosovo must be responsible for over 1,000 pupils. This means that psychologists often must work in more than one school in order to reach the required 1,000 students and may not be able to deal with those who need immediate attention on time.
Kaltrina Skoro, a Prizren-based school psychologist, told BIRN that her first year was very challenging because she had “to ‘promote’ the psychologist’s role, not only to the student’s community but also to all of the school’s staff.” Every year when new 10th grade students join the medical high school in Prizren, Skoro conducts class visits in the second week of school to introduce herself.
However, for many school psychologists, being responsible for over 1,000 students at a time and often in more than one school does not allow the time to properly focus, assist, and prevent injuries among students.
‘Traveling’ Psychologists
Number of psychologists in primary schools in thirteen Kosovo Municipalities. Graph by BIRN via Flourish
Similar occurrences of self-harm based on TikTok challenges have been identified throughout the country. Many times, the schools did not have their own psychologists.
For Skoro, her role as a school psychologist means “to work more on prevention than in treating.” She said that school psychologists are present mainly to serve as counselors, meaning that they “deal with the various disorders that are mainly related to the parts of learning.”
However, this approach in Kosovo has its obstacles because, as Skoro explained, “if you have to change two to three schools for five days a week, you can at minimum stay in two schools for two days and that logically means that you are not there and you can’t follow school’s dynamics, maybe in the right moment when a student has an urgent need to receive a service.”
Number of psychologists in secondary schools in thirteen Kosovo municipalities. Graph by BIRN via Flourish
At the end of May 2024, there were similar cases in Lipjan, Fushë Kosova, Ferizaj, and Rahovec, where more than 20 pupils, most of them girls, committed self-harm.
Avni Morina, the head of Rahovec Municipality Education Directorate told BIRN that “around five months ago the parents noticed their daughter was attempting to physically harm herself. She didn’t have any marks, but her parents said she attempted, then we intervened with the help of the school’s director, and the psychologist who is employed there assisted.”
In Ferizaj, a school psychologist helped treat three pupils who hurt themselves based on the same TikTok ‘challenge,’ in May, according to Afrim Llabjani, the head of Ferizaj Municipality Education Directorate.
“The best thing here is that the Police collaborated very fast with us and with the school,” Llabjani explained. This school has its own psychologist, therefore the school administration could address the issue more quickly.
However, not all schools across Kosovo can act as fast. A 2013 Administrative Instruction by the MESTI obliges elementary and secondary schools to have psychologists only if there are over 1,000 students. Avni Fetahu, the head of Podujeva Municipality Education Directorate told BIRN that in September last year a school psychologist had to be sent to a school in Podujeva to treat a case where a female pupil hurt herself. The school, which has fewer than 500 students, does not have its own psychologist.
“One professional servant is employed in an instructive-educational institution if the institution has over 1000 students/children. Professional servants could be employed also in some instructive-educational institutions, which together reach over 1000 students/children,” the administrative instruction reads.
Skoro provides psychological services to around 1,500 students at the medical school “Luciano Motroni” in Prizren. Although 1,500 students is a large responsibility, Skoro is fortunate compared to some of her colleagues. When the minimum number of 1,000 students is not reached within one school, school psychologists might have to manage their time and service for three to four primary or secondary schools.
Fetahu from Podujeva municipality, which has a total of 14,200 students and only nine school psychologists, believes that “the administrative instruction should be changed because it predicts a big number of students” for each psychologist under the current standard.
1,000 students 1 psychologist
Number of school psychologists compared to the number of students in primary and secondary schools in thirteen Kosovo municipalities. Graph by BIRN
The Ministry of Education told BIRN that as of early October 2024, there are a total of 161 school psychologists throughout the country, based on municipalities’ reports.
“Their presence in school institutions is a function of education but also overcoming difficulties for each child. As the Ministry of Education we have divided the budget for over 500 positions for psychologists and pedagogues. Their employment is the competence of the municipalities, however, these positions are blocked by the municipalities themselves, even though the budget is foreseen,” the ministry claimed.
Nonetheless, directors of Education Directorates from 13 municipalities in Kosovo told BIRN that municipalities do not always have the financial means to hire psychologists for schools. Even if they do, the regulation prohibits them from fulfilling the real needs of schools.
The capital Prishtina has the highest number of school psychologists, 37, according to Jehona Lushaku-Sadriu, the head of Prishtina Municipality Education Directorate. Ten of them cover two schools each.
The lowest number of school psychologists, four, is in Deçan and Skenderaj, according to the heads of the Education Directorate in these municipalities, Besnik Hulaj and Kastriot Duraku.
In Deçan, “each [school psychologist] has five schools [to work with] that makeup around 900 students,” for a total of around 4,500 students, Hulaj explained.
In Skenderaj, with a total of 8,150 students, there are two free positions for school psychologists, but according to Duraku, there is a lack of qualified school psychologists, making the positions difficult to fill.
Rasim Hasani, the head of the Education Directorate in Lipjan told BIRN that there are around 11,000 students and only five school psychologists.
Despite having less than half the number of students than Podujeva, the municipality of Vitia also has nine school psychologists according to Arta Ajeti, the director of the Education Directorate in the municipality. She told BIRN that there are around 6,500 students.
One of the few cases where one school has two psychologists is the ‘Gjon Serreçi’ school in Ferizaj, with an estimated 2,300 students. The municipality’s head of the Education Directorate, Llabjani told BIRN that the school has “students with special needs, they have some joined classes so we need more [psychologists] there.”
In total, there are 21 school psychologists in Ferizaj with over 22,000 students and some of the school psychologists work for three schools to fulfill the 1,000 number of students required.
Four additional school psychologists will be recruited in Prizren, according to Luljeta Veselaj-Gutaj, the head of Prizren Municipality Education Directorate, where currently 16 school psychologists cover 24,000 students. Gjakova has the same number of school psychologists but fewer students.
Skoro, the school psychologist from Prizren believes that school psychologists should be very proactive and present in the school’s activity to “remove some parts of the stigma and prejudice,” surrounding mental health. She believes that a psychologist’s role is more than just advising those with mental health disorders, and thinks that psychologists can be a useful resource for students and staff to consult for help with daily problems.