On March 7th, widely celebrated as Teacher’s Day, a discussion took place at the Reporting House of Journalists, focusing on the huge role of “Home Schools” in Kosovo during the ‘90s, which were created as an answer to government oppression of the Albanian population at the time.
Former teacher, students, and activists gathered on Friday in Prishtina to discuss the educational structures during the 1990s, which served as both an act of resistance against the violent measures imposed by the Milosevic regime and, according to them, as the most successful means of resistance.
With the abolition of Kosovo’s autonomy in 1989, the Albanian population in Kosovo faced extreme repression under Slobodan Milosevic’s regime, especially in the field of education.
Zijadin Gashi, former president of the Education Council in Prishtina, explained that home schools emerged as a direct response to the suspension of Kosovo’s autonomy in 1989 and the violent measures imposed by the Serbian government.
Education in Albanian language was removed from schools, and students were required to study the Serbian curriculum.
“Home schools were born out of the terror of the Serbian regime after Kosovo’s institutions were suspended,” Gashi said.
He noted that the violent measures taken by the Serbian government in the late 1980s, which included the militarisation of the region, aimed to systematically assimilate the Albanian population by erasing its cultural identity through the Serbian education system.
Debate on the role of home – schools in Kosovo during the 90s at Reporting House, on March 7, 2025. Photo: BIRN”
“School leaders declared that they would not work with Serbia’s curriculum, and later, exclusion from school buildings began. It started in Podujeva and expanded. They were not allowed to continue their education in school buildings unless they signed that they accepted Serbia and its system as their state,” he further explained.
The challenges faced by the people of Kosovo during this time were immense.
According to Gashi, the Albanian population had to find alternative ways to continue their education.
“Then, the organisation of protests began,” Gashi recalled, emphasising how these protests were part of a broader struggle to maintain Albanian identity.
Despite lacking resources, teaching materials, and proper infrastructure, Gashi highlighted how the community came together to create a system of home schools that was an extraordinary success.
“The Pedagogical Institute developed a plan for home schools, which was publicly debated and approved, and the school year began under these circumstances,” he said.
In the mid-1990s, the efforts of the Albanian education system in Kosovo gained international attention. Delegations from UNESCO and the European Union visited these home schools, encouraging and supporting teachers and students.
Debate on the role of home – schools in Kosovo during the 90s at Reporting House, on March 7, 2025. Photo: BIRN”
Linda Gusia, a professor, mentioned the crucial role that home schools played in the foundation of Kosovo’s statehood.
“You cannot understand Kosovo today without understanding the context of the 1990s and the resistance of that time,” she said.
Gusia also noted that Slobodan Milosevic’s regime specifically targeted the Albanian education system, particularly the universities, which were the breeding ground for the intellectual elite and political leadership of Kosovo.
“The goal was to suppress the voices calling for greater rights and autonomy,” she said.
Shyqeri Obërtinca, a former professor at ‘Xhevdet Doda’ High School in Prishtina, shared his experience during this time. He described how both students and teachers were persecuted, facing the daily fear of arrest and violence.
“We were in a state of war, lacking resources, and the entire infrastructure was missing. Students and teachers were under constant surveillance. The first salary was only 35 marks. We created a council to collect funds from citizens, and there was also support from the diaspora,” Obërtinca said.
Jeta Xharra, director of BIRN Kosovo, shared a personal story of how Professor Obërtinca encouraged students to document their experiences during these difficult years.
She recalled how they created a “book of memories” with a profile and mottos at the end of each school year, as evidence and documentation of that period.
“He told us ‘we will be like Americans’ which also created a revolutionary atmosphere at that school,” she recalled.
Debate on the role of home – schools in Kosovo during the 90s at Reporting House, on March 7, 2025. Photo: BIRN”
Gresa Neziri, an urban planner, is working on documenting the history of home schools, ensuring that future generations understand this chapter of Kosovo’s history.
“We grew up with the perspective of education in these years,” she said, emphasising the importance of passing on these memories to younger generations.
Neziri and her team are also working to digitise archives related to home schools, making them accessible to everyone.
“We’ve identified about 3,000 homes that served as schools, and we are working to compile data on the people who opened their doors for education,” she added.
Vullnet Jakupi, a contributor to the ‘Xhevdet Doda’ school installation at the Reporting House, highlighted the importance of preserving the history of this resistance.
He emphasised that for his generation, who grew up after the war, creating works of art and installations to document this history was a personal mission.
“I belong to a generation that has the freedom to be educated and express opinions freely,” Jakupi said.
“I was raised in a family that came through a period of transition, like the war. We must protect the memory of these resistance efforts because if we forget history, we forget our identity.”