Catch-up classes help integrate Kosovo's minorities
Too frequently, however, children from minority communities do not attend school in Kosovo. To counter this trend, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo is providing advice and financial and logistical support for catch-up classes, a project initiated by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. The classes aim to improve access to mainstream education for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian (RAE) students of primary and secondary school age.
Making up for lost time
The reasons for poor attendance by RAE children include early employment, isolation, poor security, prejudice and a lack of awareness among government and local authorities. Even for children willing and able to attend school, entry is often difficult because they have had little or no primary education. Many are unable to read and write.
"RAE children need catch-up classes to prepare them for regular school," says Indira Elshani, the local co-ordinator for classes held in Prizren, south-western Kosovo. "We need to eliminate illiteracy and give these children opportunities for a better future."
OSCE support for the project includes covering the costs of local co-ordinators and learning material in eight municipalities: Lipjan/Lipljan, Pejë/Pec, Prizren, Suharekë/Suva Reka, Istog/Istok, Shtime/Stimlje, Gjakovë/Ðakovica and Prishtinë/Pristina. In total, almost 500 RAE children between the ages of six and fifteen are benefiting from the classes.
Tailored classes
The first round of classes began in September 2004 and ran for nine months, covering a curriculum laid out by the government, with lessons in mathematics, science, geography, literature and languages.
Teachers strive to bring the students' academic performance to the level required for participation in mainstream school. For many students, it is their first school experience, while others have missed so many classes that they have to repeat their schooling.
According to Xhevat Neziraj, the local co-ordinator for Pejë/Pec, this kind of learning helps enable the integration of schoolchildren even after they have been out of the normal educational system for a long time. He has organized catch-up classes at the Vaso Pashë; Shkodrani primary school.
Zyra is a sixth-grade student at the school. "In our last class, we learned about biology and cells," she says. "I really like this kind of learning. It means we will be able to catch up with grades we weren't able to complete earlier."
Greater opportunities
Saskia Marsh, the Mission in Kosovo's focal point for the project, says that the classes are having an impact. With education, she adds, the RAE community is in a better position to advocate for its needs.
"Moreover, RAE children gain greater acceptance from their peers through interaction with other children from different ethnicities and backgrounds. Initially this happens through extra-curricular activities, which are organized as part of the catch-up classes, and eventually through participation in mainstream education," she says.
The project's co-ordinators acknowledge that a nine-month catch-up curriculum is not enough to satisfy the educational needs of all participating children. "To fully accomplish its goals, it's clear that students need another two to three years to complete their primary education," says Marsh.
"We want to be like all other schoolchildren"
With teachers, students and parents all enthusiastic about the project, it is hoped that the impetus and support provided by the OSCE in this initial year will be enough to justify continuing it with the help of the Ministry and local partners.
"I'd like to attend next year," said Zyra. "Not only me, but all of us, we don't want to stay behind. We want to be like all other schoolchildren."