Prishtina, 4 March, 2024
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, participated in the ceremony of awarding certificates for the fifth generation of Assistants for children/students with special educational needs.
In his speech to the audience, Prime Minister Kurti said that we are all different from each other, such as character traits, physical features, tendencies or certain requirements and this encourages the expansion of awareness, the deepening of knowledge and gives us opportunity to understand the changes and deal with them properly, aiming for equality for all.
“Being different is a value for a democratic and healthy society”, he said.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Kurti emphasized that some qualifications require special attention and special care, because they support individuals with special educational needs, therefore, there is no better way to build the future together, than by preparing qualified professionals and specialized, that then prepare others to develop and acquire their new skills.
“A prominent fact for your generation of assistants is that we initially planned five groups with 125 participants, but eventually seven groups with 180 participants were created from 21 municipalities of Kosovo across our country”, said the Prime Minister, adding that until now we have 409 certified assistants, a total of five generations, while the sixth generation is currently undergoing training.
This clearly shows the increased interest and intense pace of work to provide quality assistance to our children, who need special support.
Thanking the assistants for children with special needs, the prime minister said that guaranteeing and advancing children’s rights, in addition to being an essential issue in itself, is also a driving force for a more successful society.
In the end, he congratulated the Ministry of Education for the intensive and quality work and thanked the international partners LuxDev and Pearson for the fruitful cooperation.
Prime Minister Kurti’s complete speech:
Honorable Mrs. Fikrie Zymberi, director of the Agency for Professional Education and Training and for adults,
Honorable Mr. Muhedin Nushi, senior adviser and chief of staff at the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation,
Dear officials of professional education and adult education,
Dear graduate assistants,
Ladies and gentleman,
Dear attendees,
We are all different from each other, such as character traits, physical features, tendencies or certain requirements. Being different is a value for a democratic and healthy society. This encourages the expansion of awareness, the deepening of knowledge and gives us the opportunity to understand the changes and treat them properly, aiming for equality for all.
In education, there is equality when each and every one has the same opportunity to learn and develop, which we in Kosovo are realizing with concrete policies and actions. There is no better way to build the future together, than by preparing qualified and specialized professionals, who then prepare others to develop and acquire their new skills.
Some qualifications require special attention and care because they support individuals with special educational needs. Such are children with special needs, children with different needs, for whom institutional care is indisputable and continuous. And it is you, dear assistants, who today have an important role in the healthy social and intellectual development of these children.
A prominent fact for your generation of assistants is that, initially, we planned five groups with 125 participants, but eventually seven groups with 180 participants were created from 21 municipalities of Kosovo across our country. This clearly shows the increased interest and intense pace of work to provide quality assistance to our children, who need special support.
So far we have 409 certified assistants, in total in five generations, while currently the sixth generation is following the training. We are pleased to note the extraordinary increase in the number of participants in the qualification, from 48 last school year to 180 this year.
Meanwhile, only in the period 2021-2023, 250 assistants for children with special needs have been hired and a total of 500 are planned to be hired. So, this not only allows you professional development, but also employment and continuation of your noble journey.
Therefore, I congratulate the Ministry of Education for the intensive and quality work and thank the international partners LuxDev and Pearson for the fruitful cooperation.
Dear assistants for children with special needs,
I thank all of you for your commitment, to increase children’s sense of belonging, and to enable them to live with dignity. Guaranteeing and advancing children’s rights, besides being an essential issue in itself, is also a driving force for a more successful society.
We are together in efforts to build a fairer, better society and a future with greater opportunities for each and every one.
Congratulations and I wish you good work and success in your work, commitment and contribution, which you do and give!
Last modified: March 5, 2024