Prishtinë, 6 April 2023- The Ombudsperson, within the scope of exercising his legal powers and responsibilities, today has published Ex-Officio Report with Recommendations No. 676/2022, concerning education as well as young people’s opportunities in the labor market.

The purpose of this Report was to assess the level of harmonization of the education of young people in vocational and higher educational institutions in Kosovo, with the working conditions. The Report also analyzes the economic context, which workplaces are available in Kosovo and other segments.

Furthermore, the Report has analyzed access to education and educational achievements, access to education of students with disabilities and of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian students, as well as other fields included in the process of this analysis. The Report also includes labor supply and demand analysis.

The Ombudsperson finds that upon analysis of the relevant legislation, previous researches conducted, policies, information and data in the possession of the OI regarding this issue, it derives that during the last decade Kosovo has made progress in the field of implementation of human rights in education. This progress, however, has not been equal in different sub-sectors in terms of participation, inclusion and development of young people according to their needs and skills.

As for education and vocational training in Kosovo, the Ombudsperson ascertains that it is not in accordance with the requirements of the labor market. When the data related to the demand of the labor market were reviewed, such as employment, gross domestic product according to economic sectors and the structure of businesses, with the number of students according to profiles, it turned out that are in disharmony.

The Report, among other things, found that more than 80 percent of vocational programs lack appropriate materials and textbooks for teaching and learning in vocational institutions, which poses difficulties in appropriate and practical learning.

The Ombudsperson has issued recommendations to the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, which, among others, is recommended to draw up policies and undertake concrete measures to ensure that the system of education and vocational training is interlinked to the requirements of labor market.

Kosovo Accreditation Agency has been recommended, among others, to request evidence for the correlation of study programs with the requirements of the labor market, as well as to keep statistics for study programs that have not met the standard to be in compliance with the demands of the labor market. Report in English available soon at www.oik-rks.org