Kosovo Education Improvement Project

The Kosovo education system serves nearly 1.5 million pupils, but it struggles to provide adequate curricula, instruction, and a teaching and learning environment to produce the skills that the evolving labour market requires. Enrolment rates are nearly universal in primary education and much progress is noted in upper secondary education with gross enrolment rates at 88 % for girls and 92 % for boys (compared to 75 %). Despite progress, disparities still exist in access to education, especially among girls in upper secondary enrolment and pupils from low-income families. Kosovo's school infrastructure is insufficient with more than half of schools operating on double shifts and overcrowded classrooms in most urban areas.

The challenge ahead, therefore, is to further develop the education data systems, and their use in allocation of limited resources to address sector priorities, including infrastructure. Improving access of disadvantaged groups to education and developing targeted strategies to address this challenge requires an in-depth understanding of the cause and extent of the issue, and its implications on sector resources. Moreover, the implementation of the new competency-based curriculum requires in-depth analysis of the teacher profile and the immediate training needs in order to connect the existing levels of capacities implementation of new curricula.

To aid this WBIF is providing a grant that will assist the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) to address these most immediate needs in the education sector through a sector-wide assessment of the current situation. The technical assistance will:

• Develop an education information database for monitoring sector performance, and improving planning capacities to serve the needs of educational management, resource allocation, and policy formulation.
• Prepare a study to identify the main constraints to girls' education, including access and retention, and propose instruments and mechanisms to address this issue based on international best practices.
• Undertake a needs assessment for in-service teacher training to implement the new competency-based curricula by analysing the profile of the existing teacher workforce and teaching methods used in schools, and developing a prioritized list of teacher training programs to facilitate new curriculum rollout.

The project will provide the foundation for better investment planning in the education sector by providing MEST with the necessary tools, information, and capacities to lay the ground for institutionalisation of information-based decision making and practices in allocation of resources and in monitoring implementation and impact on the education sector. Based on these findings the World Bank will consider approving further investments.