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06 10 2011 Life in Kosovo broadcast an interview with US diplomat Christopher Hill and a debate on the politicisation of school teachers.
Beginning the show, BIRN broadcast a report on its sixth anniversary event and the launch of the seventh season of Life in Kosovo.
In his interview with Jeta Xharra, Christopher Hill talked about his experience as a US mediator in dialogues relating to the resolution of conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.
Following the interview, BIRN broadcast a debate on the politicisation of teachers and the interference of politics in school management.
Questions covered include: Under what criteria are the hiring of teachers and the appointment of school directors based? Are teachers hired based on their political preferences? What measures should be taken by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to prevent such a phenomenon?
To discuss these and other issues related to the interference of politics in Kosovo’s education system, Jeta Xharra was joined in the studio by the following:
Ragip Gjoshi, a political adviser to the minister of education;
Agime Lajçi, former director of Smajl Hajdari primary school in Peja;
Ridvan Hoxha, a municipal adviser from LDK in the municipal assembly of Prizren;
Nexhat Çoçaj, director of education in Prizren;
Nexhmi Rudari, director of education in Podujeva; and
Edona Musa, a journalist.
At the beginning of the debate, Mr. Çoçaj said that the main basis for hiring teachers and directors in the municipality of Prizren is that of professional qualifications. According to him, “political favouritism occurs only if the applicant meets the required criteria.”
Being asked about the members of the interview panel and their political orientation, he said that “each panel consists of the school’s director and two members from the municipal directorate.”
Mr. Hoxha did not agree with Mr. Çoçaj regarding the procedures for hiring teachers, since, according to him, “schools’ directors often do not attend the interviews.”
“Therefore, the panel includes people from the respective party (in this case the PDK), who are closely linked with candidates,” he added.
However, he failed to explain whether the LDK did not follow the same alleged irregular procedures when they governed the municipality of Prizren.
Mr. Rudari said that “in such cases, I do not think that a call from the Ministry of Education to respect administrative instructions is sufficient. The best solution is that such administrative instructions should be completely changed.”
Mr. Gjoshi said that “we have formed responsible committees for drafting and amending administrative instructions, and we will not allow such irregularities to happen anymore.”
On the other hand, Ms. Lajçi said that “even though I have the required professional qualifications, I did not meet ‘the political criteria’ that were set by the responsible municipal panel in Peja. When my contract was due and the new applications opened, they decided to hire a new director who belonged to the AAK party.”
Further, Ms. Musa described specific cases of teacher recruitment, but unfortunately, these people did not wish to talk to the cameras. “I think that, in these cases, municipal governments throughout Kosovo have installed a system of fear in these people—threatening them in various forms,” she concluded.
During the debate, BIRN also broadcast an investigative report about the hiring of teachers in schools in Gjilan and Vushtrria municipalities.
Click here to watch the debate
At the beginning of 2010 BIRN network published Digging Deeper - A Guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans, written in cooperation with Sheila Coronel, Director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and professor of professional practice at Columbia University, New York.
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