PUPILS WITH TWO REPORTS!?

AIM Pristina, 21 June, 1997

The Albanian school year in Kosovo is ending in an atmosphere of a big scandal concerning publication of text-books and documents for school, pupils and students. At first, this problem did not seem as if it would cause such serious tensions and deepen the gap within the Albanian movement. However, it was not possible to hush it up any more, and that is why in the present distribution of political forces, none of the parties in dispute can force the other to absolute obedience.

The dispute has its origins back in 1992. After the Serbian authorities had dissolved all Albanian educational institutions, and the Albanians decided to support operation of their own educational system, competence of institutions which could not quickly be re-established, were replaced by the Association of Albanian Teachers of Kosovo (UANK). In conditions of sharp persecution by the Serbian authorities, material deprivation and lack of experience in work in such conditions, the UANK became the promoter and the axis of the existence and operation of the autonomous Albanian educational system.

In time, educational institutions such as the institution for publication of textbooks and teaching aids and the educational institution of Kosovo were renewed and acquired new strength. Much longer than they, the ministry of education of the Kosovo government in exile and the commission for science, education, culture and sports, have been operating, the latter being a commission of the unconstituted parliament elected by the Albanians in May 1992.

In the past years, educational institutions are increasingly insisting on taking over competences given to them by laws and regulations which they had adopted, including the right to issue educational documents.

From the aspect of the Albanian legal system, it is clear that the institution for publication of textbooks and teaching aids and the education department were given all the necessary rights, but they could not assert them. Not even persons who are directly dealing with these issues for years can understand why this dispute has dragged so persistently when solutions prescribed by the system are quite clear. The UANK, being an association, is not competent for publication of textbooks and issuing educational documents. However, various rumours were in circulation about operation of a powerful political clan behind the scene, about great private/group material interests and very powerful clan political tendencies to establish and by all means keep the monopoly of control and decision-making in such a significant sphere of the Albanian autonomous life such as education.

Education and especially the university are the most sensitive barometre of Albanian social and political trends. It is no wonder that the University is the first significant public institution which managed to evade Rugova's control. It should also be said that the Albanian political weighing out of forces in the end of last year, were first, practically and politically expressed at the University, where a students' organization was created which is bluntly publicising its stands of Rugova's severest opponents. In the end of last year, a students' petition with very sharp warnings was addressed to Rugova.

Parallely with it, a strong Albanian political block of opponents to Rugova's policy began to emerge, which is strongly against ignoring of critical voices about "internal difficulties in the Albanian movement" and "great delusions of Rugova's policy". The most critical was and still is Adem Demaqi, but more or less evidently, with certain contradictions, different parties and groups which have so far unconditionally supported Rugova are also becoming critical. Taking of positions has not been completed yet and it is not quite clear yet who is against whom, but it should not be ignored that even the Albanian government in exile is in the "block of opponents", as well as parts of the leadership of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo (DSK) itself, and the University and institutions and commissions competent for education.

This political digression may be of some help to understand positions in the dispute about competences of the institution for publication of textbooks and issuing educational documents. The institution in charge of textbooks, or rather its director Abdulah Vokri and the president of the UANK Rexhep Osmani have been engaged in a difficult public polemic for several weeks already, which was at first focused on suspicions about major financial abuses of the pupils' and students' money. Hundreds thousand and even millions of German marks were mentioned. The calculus was simple. Dufferent forms, booklets, reports and diplomas are printed for several hundred thousand pupils and students and are sold at the price of one to three German marks. When comparatively low expenses of printing are substracted from the sum received after sale which is ensured, large amounts of pure profit are received, what is more in German marks. Since this has been going on for five or six years, it is clear that about one million German marks are turned over.

Rexhep Osmani, who as the president of the UANK is in charge of these jobs, rejects accusations that there have been any abuses of the pupils' and students' money. But, it is a fact denied by noone that financial auditting by the competent Kosovo offices has never been permitted.

Last year it seemed that the dispute was resolved, when an agreement was finally reached between representatives of the competent Albanian educational institutions and the UANK, that UANK should stop publishing textbooks and educational documents as of 1997. It was explicitly decided that the job would be finally taken over by the institution for publishing textbooks and teaching aids, as the only institution of the Albanian parallel authorities competent for the job. It turned out, however, that the UANK has not given up printing of educational documents for 1997. That is how it happened that the Albanian education system at the end of this and the beginning of next school year has two sets of documents, which differ not only by the fact that they were printed by two publishers, but also by their contents.

These two large public expenditures in the general difficult financial situation, spilled the cup. At first the whole issue flared up as an unprecedented financial scandal. But, soon after, it turned out to be a political problem causing great tumult and confusion, which has like never before revealed certain essential weaknesses in the field, in order to persuade municipal councils, leading figures in educations and schools to take theirs and not ducuments of the other publisher.

In the general political and financial crisis, in an atmosphere of general confusion, it seemed that the institution for publishing textbooks, being the official institution, had a significant advantage. Probably in order to put an end to it, Rugova's advisor for education, Zejnulah Rahmani issued a statement accusing the press of "sensationalism" and some people of "incompetence" and demanded that all schools use only documents published by the UANK. Assessing it as a minor problem in a conversation with journalists, Rugova himself also demanded that ducuments published by UANK be used. Many believe that this was a political mistake which might turn out to be very costly for Rugova, since it has come at the moment of distribution of political forces, and he has failed "to side with state institutions of Kosovo, which he refers to everyday in his political activities". Some even believe that the group of people surrounding Rugova are responsible for certan phenomena which accompany that which is called "Rugova's policy".

The president of the parliamentary commission for education and member of presidency of the DSK, Abdyl Rama, stated in the name of this commission that this dispute had "caused disturbance and unseen confusion in educational institutions and the broadest public inside and outside Kosovo". Rama says that only the documents published by the institution for publishing textbooks are valid and observes by the way that the presidency of the DSK and the sector for education of this presidency are unanimous about it. Rugova has, nevertheless, given primacy in decision-making about all issues concerning education to his advisor for education. However, things cannot be cut short as before. The dispute has not been resolved, and political confusion continues. Some negative consequences have already become visible.

AIM Pristina Fehim Rexhepi