Tirana MPs Support Albanians' Education in Serbia

The delegation of lawmakers from the Albanian parliamentary education commission announced on Wednesday that it would make an informal visit to Presevo in southern Serbia at the start of next month in an attempt to help ethnic Albanian youngsters who are lacking the schoolbooks they need for their studies.

They will hold talks with the Albanian National Minority Council, which represents the interests of ethnic Albanians in Serbia, focusing on getting pupils in the Presevo region to use the same schoolbooks as children in Albania, especially at primary school level.

They will also discuss quotas for ethnic Albanian students from Presevo who want to study and attend other academic programmes at Albanian universities. 

One of the MPs, Fatmir Toci, told BIRN that the delegation is not going to discuss politics or any other controversial regional topics but will simply try to "address Albanian families' concerns about the education of their children".

"These are informal and amicable meetings of Albanians to discuss the possibilities of collaboration in the education field in respect of all the agreements between Albania and Serbia," Toci said.

Ylli Pata, a journalist and analyst on the issue of Albanians living outside the country's borders told BIRN that the parliamentary visit to Presevo was a good idea but late.

"The schools in this municipality are full of children and they have spent years waiting for proper Albanian school books. But unfortunately, even this academic year has started in the same situation," Pata said.

He said that ethnic Albanians in Presevo had been largely ignored by the Tirana government, particularly on education-related issues.

He added that high schools in Presevo lack professional teachers...