"Transparency" Forum reacts on the situation of the education13 November 2015

"Transparency" Forum has been attentively and concerningly following the recent developments in the Municipal Directorate of Education in Prizren, which were roughly the topic of the year, having been featured with arrests, imprisonment, dismissal and substitutions, alleged to be temporary, in one of the most important sectors of the municipality, on which depends not only the present but also the future of the country.

Irregularities and long rumored scandals, followed lately with imprisonment have become alerting that the sector requires serious interventions, not only by the local government, but in this situation even by the Ministry of Education, who shall not sit with folded arms waiting for miracles to happen.

The imprisonment of nearly all of the staff of the Department of Education, and even worse, the numerous scandals for other abuses in this area (some of which are presented in external audit reports) are more than enough to show that it is about time that the Mayor of Municipality, Ramadan Muja and local government intervened, to restore this sensitive sector to normal tracks. The intervention is urged even more by the suspicions that besides MED, the abuses extended to several school principals, who appeared several times before the judicial authorities.

The Forum "Transparency" expressed its astonishment of how Mayor Muja, who spent his entire life in education, can close his eyes in front of this situation, allowing the education degrade to this extent and allowing Prizren, which has been the best example before the war, through home-based schools, to transform into a bad example, with negative reputation in the country. Undoubtedly this situation will have repercussions, including quashing conspiracy, not only on the teaching staff, but also on students and on those related to education.

We hereby ask from Mayor Muja to intervene, not by substituting "the suspended" with his relatives, but with those who recognize, love education and willing to reflect in order to overcome the created situation as soon as possible.

Also we request from the PDK, currently in power, to contribute in overcoming this situation as soon as possible, as this entity is accountable to the citizens. Considering the fact that the PDK, entrusts the running education sector to its own people, then for sake of citizens and the younger generation we request from them to appoint its professionally-proven staff in these positions, not only party-loyal persons, who will further degrade the education in Prizren.

By the way, we express our concern that one of the arrested officials Reshit Kushaj is also part of the municipal management of the United Syndicate of Education. We believe that USESC should not remain silent regarding this issue.
 

"Transparency" forum also supports the initiative of judicial authorities in Prizren and calls for their persistence on law enforcement to prevent the education of Prizren from becoming a mess without a way out.

Transparency Forum is an informal body consisted of civil society activists and journalists of Prizren, who are active in the field of democratic governance where its mission is to coordinate the actions of these stakeholders to increase transparency and accountability level of local government in Prizren.