Prishtina, 19 December, 2023
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, along with the Minister of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Arbërie Nagavci, and the Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, met today with 17 students out of a total of 55 scholarship recipients from the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities, a milestone which they celebrated at the premises of the National Library “Pjetër Bogdani”. The Prime Minister expressed great pride to the students that they are part of Kosovo’s public universities, while wishing them further success.
“For the academic year 2022/2023, we have for the first time allocated 26 scholarships worth 1000 Euros for first-year university students from the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities. In the academic year 2023/2024, we are supporting 55 students from these communities with scholarships, of which 35 are girls and 20 are boys,” said the Prime Minister, recalling that the goal for the next year is to double the number.
In addition to students, beneficiaries of scholarships of many about 300 euros have also been high school students. At the same time, there continue to be facilitations for registration in the 10th grade in vocational schools and high schools, as well as reserved places for the registration of candidates from non-majority communities in higher education institutions.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Arbëri Nagavci, after congratulating the students for receiving the scholarship, stated that a society that cares for all its citizens, a Government that provides the deserved support for each individual, and a state that creates conditions for every young man and woman to reach their maximum potential, have been not only our commitments but also what has guided us in our program and in the implementation of these policies in practice.
The Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, expressed that this is the first Government that supports students not only declaratively and not only with the reservation of a place in public universities, but also with a accompanying scholarship.
With education as a priority, the Government of the Republic of Kosovo continues to engage in providing better conditions for learning and necessary support for the youth of the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities to continue their studies and academic and professional advancement.
After the introductory speeches, a conversation took place between Prime Minister Kurti, the attending ministers, and the scholarship recipients from the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities, who shared their experiences and at the same time thanked the Prime Minister and the Government for their support.
Prime Minister Kurti’s full speech:
Good morning and it’s nice to be meeting you.
We are here together with the Minister of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Mrs. Arbërie Nagavci, and with the Minister of Administration and Local Government, Mr. Elbert Krasniqi. Along with me is my political advisor, Elizabeth Gowing.
All of us, entering this building today, have ascended the stairs before us and each step that lies ahead appears as a predictable future, yet still challenging. Meanwhile, every step we have taken so far is a kind of relief. We must not forget that the steps we have passed through have prepared us for the step that comes next, and not just for the step we are currently on. Despite all the difficulties we go through in our life and professional process, in fact, they prepare us for what comes next and I believe this applies to so many aspects of life and perhaps especially for education and training.
Studying at the university is a great achievement, which also comes with a significant obligation, with corresponding responsibilities. I am here to celebrate this achievement with you, but also to share this responsibility with you. As a government, we believe that the best way for an individual, a community, and a state to make progress is through education.
We understand that in order to have many good students like you, we need to invest in the early stages of education, because it is in early childhood that the foundations of education and further learning are established. Perhaps some of you have also benefited from the learning centers, where thousands of children from communities, with this aid, step onto the first rung of education. This year we have supported these educational centers across the country with 200 thousand euros.
To enhance the experience at the lower and middle educational level as much as possible, in July of this year, the Handbook for Interculturalism was launched in our schools, which provides the theoretical basis and appropriate practices to implement the concept of interculturalism.
In order to raise the educational level, for students of different communities, we continue to facilitate registration in the 10th grade in vocational schools and high schools, regardless of success in elementary school and results in the national achievement test. Now, even if someone does not feel they can go on, we insist that they do not stop.
We know that there is a need for support also for the right to education, especially for girls at risk of early marriages. This month too, we have established the inter-institutional working group for the prevention of early marriages. In order for girls and boys to ascend to the next level of future education, they particularly need support in high schools. Given that high schools are that intermediate level which enables safe, good, fair study at faculties of universities in Kosovo.
For this, in the 2021/2022 academic year, we have allocated 500 scholarships worth 300 Euros each for high school students from the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities. In the academic year 2022/2023, we have allocated 498 scholarships, whereas for the academic year 2023/2024, that is the academic year which has started this year and continues into the next, we have planned for 500 scholarships. Thus, about 1500 scholarships are awarded for three years.
Every academic year, the application of affirmative measures and the reservation of places for registration for non-majority community candidates in higher education institutions continues, and along with these means, last year we started to allocate funds specifically for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian students in public universities, with the initiative of the two ministers who were here with me, namely Elbert Krasniqi and Arbërie Nagavci.
In the academic year 2022/2023, we have for the first time allocated 26 scholarships each worth 1000 Euros for first-year university students from the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities. In the academic year 2023/2024, we are supporting 55 students from these communities with scholarships, of which 35 are girls and 20 are boys.
Regarding last academic year – 26 scholarships, however, in the year in which we are and continues even in 2024 – 55 scholarships for students.
I am very pleased that we now have more than double the number of scholarships for students from the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities in this academic year than in the one we left behind.
Next year, we aim to double the number again, so it’s not arithmetic progression, but geometric progression – and I am sure we will have your support in this. You may ask what help we need to increase the number of scholarships, when the number of scholarships is increased by the Government. At first glance, in a completely unilateral way, it is the program and the will, and it becomes. However, we greatly need you because you can proudly share your academic achievements and be an example for your brothers and sisters, for your friends.
You can inspire them, having successfully faced the challenges that came your way. We are deeply proud that you are now part of Kosovo’s public universities. I wish you success for yourselves, success for your communities, and success for Kosovo where you can contribute with the skills and knowledge you are gaining. Your achievements, your success, serves as an inspiration for those who follow in your footsteps, and for whom we are committed to continuously increasing the number of scholarships.
We have an interest, not merely a readiness, for more and more boys and girls from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities to attend universities in Kosovo for their studies, and as you know, we have now made higher education free. One does not pay for studies, payments are for living and housing, but not for studies. Public higher education is free, and we have both the interest and willingness to have as many sisters and brothers, friends from your community come to universities and acquire diplomas and benefit and contribute to themselves, their families, society and our state.
The Government of the Republic of Kosovo continues to commit to providing you with better conditions for learning, and the necessary support, to continue your studies and enhance your academic and professional growth.
Thank you.
Last modified: December 26, 2023