Functional Review of the Ministry of Education, Science and ...

PART A: Cross-cutting issues
A.1 The overall scope of competences and objectives of the MEST
The MEST was created by the UNMIK Regulation No 2001/19 (amended by Regulation No 2005/15 on
the Executive Branch of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo) to perform functions in
the area of education and science. According to these regulations, the MEST is responsible for:
- Overall education policy and legislation, including higher education and life-long learning,
- Research and development,
- Libraries.
To understand the key challenges in the Kosovo education sector and the mission, main goals and
objectives, we review three major documents: Medium Term Expenditure Framework 2009 – 2011 (MTEF
document), the Program of the Government of Republic of Kosovo for 2008 – 2011 (Program of the
Government) and Conclusions from 1 st High Level Forum 2009.
The mission of the education sector is development of an effective education system, which contributes to
economic growth, and provides better opportunities for all citizens of Kosovo. The current situation in
education is still considered difficult, mainly due to the transition that the education system is going
through, demographic trends that characterize the Kosovo population as well as the lack of necessary
capacities. Kosovo has a very young population, and compared with the South Eastern European
average, the school age population as a percentage of total population is roughly two times higher. But
enrollment rates are low, especially in the secondary and tertiary level and differ across different groups,
with significant gaps between urban-rural, male-female, and so on. Lack of capacities manifests most
visibly by the fact that large number of schools in the primary and secondary levels operate in three or four
shifts per day, which affects both the quantity and quality of education. The provision of vocational
education suffers from the low number of facilities providing vocational training. There are also numerous
problems in the tertiary level of education, both public and private. Even though Kosovo has adopted the
Bologna process, the quality of teaching is not adequate and there is lack of structures for internal and
external evaluations and accreditation mechanisms for institutions of higher education. In addition, there is
little or no scientific research at university level, which inhibits innovation and technology transfer.
The MEST has transformed mostly very generally formulated goals and objectives from the governmental
declaration into a set of more concrete goals, objectives and activities. The most up-to-date list of these
objectives was formulated by the Minister Dr. Enver Hoxhaj at the High Level Forum in March 2009. The
list of strategic priorities comprises the following items:
To reduce the number of shifts in schools through construction of primary and secondary schools
To develop and support the inclusive system of education
To improve quality in teaching; revised curricula and teaching materials, capacity building and
accreditation of teachers
To reframe the secondary education and to promote vocational education and training
To establish vocational training institutions at tertiary level adapted to labor market needs
To improved quality of higher education through quality control, application of European standards
and revised academic organization
To establish research institutions at universities which can also provide services to the private
sector and for other needs
Develop information technology on all levels of education
To declare human resource development as national priority and to create a culture of learning
These priorities are already largely linked to specific activities that are being undertaken under the
umbrella of two existing MEST’s strategies: Strategy for Development of Higher Education in Kosovo 2005
– 2015 and Strategy of Development of Pre-University Education in Kosovo 2007 – 2017. The strategies
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