Former Deputy Minister of Education, Dukagjin Pupovci, has spoken about the challenges facing higher education in Kosovo, emphasizing that the decline in the number of students at the University of Pristina and other public universities is the result of a series of factors that are not being properly addressed by institutions.
"In 2016/17, we had around 120 students, while now this number has dropped to 70. Demographic shrinkage is a reality, but other factors also affect it, such as the decline in the number of students and graduates, competition from private universities and the irrational division of public universities in the country," Pupovci said on KTV's "Interaktiv".
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"Out of 12 high school graduates, over 6 have applied to UP. Still, the vast majority are at UP," he said.
Pupovci also raised concerns about the existence of programs of almost non-existent interest at UP, suggesting that some of them be merged or eliminated altogether.
According to Pupovci, the lack of a strategic approach from the government and academic levels to address these problems is one of the biggest challenges. He also mentioned the presence of five law faculties and five economics faculties in the public sector as areas that require urgent intervention.
Regarding the quality of higher education, he assessed that academic staff has been a key factor in the decline in quality, but emphasized that clearer criteria have recently been established and that there is a slow improvement.
He also congratulated the Kosovo Accreditation Agency for its return to EQAR (European Quality Assurance Register in Higher Education), calling it a well-deserved success and a result of its autonomy after 2018.
"The Kosovo Accreditation Agency is the only one from the Western Balkans that is part of EQAR. This was achieved thanks to lobbying and political support, but now we must not sleep. The return is for four years, and after three years the next assessment will take place," concluded Pupovci.