Ahead of the February 9 elections, Kosovo opposition parties have unveiled ambitious plans for the education system such as implementing full-day schooling, curriculum reform, increasing teacher salaries, and modernizing education infrastructure.
Ahead of Kosovo’s February 9 parliamentary elections, opposition parties have unveiled their plans to address issues in the education system. The parties detailed their platforms at BIRN and Internews Kosova’s TV Programme ‘Debat Përnime,’ which includes plans to reform the curriculum, increase salaries, and modernise the country’s education system.
Kosovo ruling party Vetëvendosje Movement did not participate in the BIRN and Internews Kosovo- moderated debates on plans for reforms in the education system despite twenty non-governmental organisations strongly condemned the party’s decision to boycott these debates ahead of the 2025 parliamentary elections.
The Kosovo based civil society organisations argued that the move undermines the public interest and the fair and accurate dissemination of information to voters.
The debates that Vetëvendosje is boycotting, the organisations argued, are run by civil society organisations, including two internationally recognized and award-winning organizations, Balkan Network for Investigative Journalism, BIRN, and Internews Kosova.
The fact-checking platform of BIRN and Internews Kosova, Krypometri, is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, IFCN, and the European Factchecking Standards Network, EFCSN.
Jeta Xharra, the director of BIRN Kosovo and host of the TV programme ‘Debat Përnime’ on TV Dukagjini, stated at the beginning of the electoral debate on Saturday, January 11, that Vetëvendosje had chosen not to participate because they claimed that oligarchs run the station.
The NGOs pointed out that this team’s programs were excluded from public Radio Television of Kosovo, RTK, after exposing the oligarchs’ monopoly and saving Kosovo’s budget by 14 million euros.
“Therefore, it is absurd for Vetëvendosje to boycott these shows in the name of protesting against oligarchs,” the statement reads.
Democratic League of Kosovo
The extension of full-day schooling across Kosovo, the construction of 80 preschools/kindergartens, and the measurement of teacher performance rather than their reassessment are some of the commitments made by the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, during the parliamentary electoral campaign
LDK believes that full-day schooling could be implemented in all municipalities of Kosovo within two terms of governance.
Jehona Lushaku-Sadriu, an MP candidate, pledged that students will also be provided with hot meals and more extracurricular activities.
“Homework will be completed in class under the teacher’s supervision. This will reduce costs for families, as they [currently] pay for daycare centres outside of school hours,” she explained.
“Based on the PISA results and the need to intervene in grades 1-5 to strengthen children’s understanding, reading, and applied math skills, the current four-hour schedule is insufficient,” Lushaku-Sadriu explained.
The poor results in the standardized PISA test have been one of the issues challenging Kosovo’s education system for years. Over time, this test has consistently revealed unsatisfactory performance in the basic knowledge of Kosovar students.
The 2022 PISA results showed that around 83 percent of Kosovar students performed poorly in reading, approximately 79 percent performed poorly in science, and about 85 percent performed poorly in mathematics. A total of 6,027 15-year-old students from 229 schools across Kosovo participated in the 2022 test.
Lushaku-Sadriu also claimed that digitalisation in schools will be increased. “Digitalisation will not only include digital boards but also software for managing school data. This will connect parents, teachers, and school administrators for safety purposes, providing information about students’ status, remarks, and grades,” she said.
She mentioned that for teachers already in the system, the focus would be on performance measurement rather than classical testing.
“Performance measurement will start with input from parents, students, internal evaluations, the quality of lessons, and management impressions of teachers,” she added.
Fatlume Jaha, another MP candidate, promised that school textbooks would be purchased by the Ministry of Education and directly distributed in schools for all students to avoid confusion among teachers and students.
In the past two years, the purchase of textbooks for students has been facilitated through subsidies, meaning parents bought the books in libraries and were reimbursed by the government. This method has received both support and criticism.
Before this approach, institutions themselves provided textbooks for students. However, the ruling party changed this method, arguing that public funds had been misused and that school basements were filled with unused textbooks that had been purchased but not utilised.
Jaha also pledged that under an LDK government, the number of public preschools would increase, with 80 preschools to be built over the term.
“We aim to increase the budget by 15 million euros annually and build 20 preschools per year,” she said.
Jaha noted that currently, only 6.9 percent of children under the age of five are included in the preschool system, which is the lowest percentage in Europe.
MP candidate Fatbardha Istrefi-Avdiu pledged to establish vocational centres that connect schools with businesses and manage internships.
In vocational education, she said the curriculum would be revised to align with market needs and the demands of businesses in Kosovo.
Lushaku-Sadriu stated that at the higher education level, the focus would be on quality, university specialisation, university ranking, and providing scholarships to the most qualified students to enhance competition and quality in public universities.
“We want to link study programs with market needs to modernize public universities, something we are very critical of as it hasn’t happened in the last four years,” she said.
Democratic Party of Kosovo
Increasing the number of assistants for children with disabilities, hiring more education inspectors, building 100 preschools in one term, and employing security officers in every school are some of the commitments made by the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, during the campaign for the February 9 parliamentary elections.
Besianë Musmurati, an MP candidate from PDK, outlined three key measures: building 100 kindergartens within four years; subsidising families who are unable to enroll their children in public preschools due to space restrictions with 100 euros per month; revising the administrative instruction for recruiting teachers and school directors; and digitalising schools.
She said the subsidies are more urgent, as building public kindergartens takes time.
For digitalisation, she outlined three key actions: providing digital devices to every classroom and school in Kosovo; creating a national digital software where students can access educational content and videos; and increasing the number of psychologists in schools, along with campaigns against bullying and hiring security officers for schools.
“If we consider there are 1,046 schools in Kosovo and each school employs one security officer paid 600 euros monthly, the annual cost is estimated at 7.5 million euros. This is not an unaffordable expense for the budget,” Musmurati explained.
She emphasised plans to double the number of assistants for children with special needs so that one assistant can cover two children in different shifts. Full-day schooling will also be introduced in schools with fewer than 600 students.
Another MP candidate from PDK, Naim Ismajli, said teacher evaluation would involve two measures: performance assessment based on measurable indicators and a sufficient education package accompanied by the establishment of a training center.
“Performance evaluation through measurable indicators identifies specific training needs rather than general ones,” he said.
In the four-year term of Kurti’s government, there has been visible conflict between central institutions and the teachers’ union, the United Education Union, regarding testing teachers in Kosovo schools. The union has consistently opposed this, deeming it insulting to teachers, who are already evaluated during their university studies.
In vocational education, MP candidate Azem Guri promised to transform vocational schools into competency centers, offering scholarships for students and ensuring their diplomas are recognized by both local and international companies.
Regarding sexual harassment in universities, MP candidate Eliza Hoxha emphasised setting proper behavioural standards for both teachers and students.
“This is a discussion that should involve all stakeholders. As a woman, I can say that I have personally faced such issues,” she stated.
Alliance for the Future of Kosovo
Curriculum reform, salary increases for teachers, modular preschool construction, and bridging gaps between education levels for career orientation are some of the commitments the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, made through its 2025 election program.
Regarding teacher evaluation tests promoted by the ruling party, MP candidate Mensur Neziri said this policy would not continue.
“A classical test to assess teachers’ knowledge is somewhat offensive to them,” he said, calling the Kurti government’s approach a “failed policy.”
Neziri emphasised the importance of continuous professional training based on teachers’ specific needs as a priority for the Alliance.
Teuta Haxhiu, another MP candidate and a long-time member of AAK, pledged to increase teachers’ salaries in the first budget review.
“In 2019-2020, we had 205 million euros allocated to municipalities for education, amounting to 33 percent of the total public-sector salary fund. For 2025, 248 million euros is planned for education salaries, with an overall budget of 916 million euros,” she said.
A new initiative proposed by the Alliance is paying teachers who teach the Albanian language in schools abroad.
“The Kosovo state will take responsibility for paying these teachers’ salaries,” she declared.