Pristina 24-25 February 2023 – “Together For Inclusion” is a project that CRCA/ECPAT Albania implements in partnership with EdGuard from Kosovo and the Center for Education and Development – CED from North Macedonia, funded by Western Balkan Fund. The initiative aims to include all children, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, special needs or any other ground, in the regular public schools. The integration of children in regular schools is considered an important step towards the social inclusion of children with special needs in the education system and a successful method compared to placing children in separate schools just for them.
In the framework of this project, 12 teachers from Albania, supported by CRCA/ECPAT Albania and 12 teachers from North Macedonia, conducted the first study visit to Pristina, on 24-25 February. On the first day, the teachers were received at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Kosovo, where they shared their work experiences with colleagues from Kosovo. The idea of a plan for the inclusion of children was examined, where teachers, psychologists, social workers and the “traveling teacher” play a special role in this direction, which is a new professional direction that is being developed by the public education in Kosovo.
Ms. Luljeta Kabashi, Director of the Division for Inclusive Education in the Ministry of Education in Kosovo, conducted an information session on policies and legislation on inclusion of students and their integration into regular schools. The teachers shared the experiences of their countries.
During the second day, the meeting took place at the 9-year-old “Qamil Batalli” School in Pristina, considered a model school in this regard. The director of the school, Mr. Liridon Maliqi and the pedagogical staff presented the model of the organization of the comprehensive school and the teaching program, which puts the student at the center, the development of their passions, creativity, the attention you give to practical work, thus promoting motivation and effective learning.
These two working days in Pristina, highlighted a series of positive practices among all teachers, encouraging them to create new practices and joint projects between them. The next meeting between teachers will be held in Tetovo, while in Albania we will hold the final meeting of the three countries, in the month of April.