ETF podcast no.15: education and war
The ETF’s latest podcast ‘Skills factory, talks and ideas about skills from Europe and beyond’ discusses the experience of maintaining and rebuilding education systems at times of war. Both Anton Golani, expert on quality assurance in higher education working in Kosovo for the Austrian Development Agency and Anthony Gribben, Human Capital Development Expert from the European Training Foundation, who worked for many years in the Balkans, gained in depth experience in Kosovo during the 1998-1999 war. They share their memories, insights and thoughts for those affected by the current war in Ukraine with the ETF’s Communication Officer, Maria Lvova.
Education goes on
How can we keep education going in the midst of war? This is one of the central questions of the latest episode of the ETF's Skills Factory podcast in which we look at the armed conflict that happened in Kosovo nearly 25 years ago. Dr Anton Gojani from the Austrian Development Agency refers to the heroism of teachers who taught wherever they could find safe shelter, which was often out in the open air. Parents also self-organised to maintain an information system that recorded children's continued education which also served to unite young people and give them a sense of hope and purpose for the future. Anthony Gribben describes his first impressions as he arrived in Kosovo during the war in 1998 as part of the UN’s relief effort. He recalls the lack of teachers, the displacement of people and at the same time a huge attempt by everyone to maintain some kind of normality. The primary goal, says Gojani was to keep their belief in a better future.
Indeed, he adds “I think that in Ukraine, the way they are resisting, how they are really keeping united [...] this helps them a lot also to keep the education system running where possible”.
Rebuilding a broken education system
Notwithstanding the struggle, Gojani talks about the opportunities which emerged from having to completely rebuild the education system in Kosovo. They introduced curriculum reform, quality assurance mechanisms, communication tools and equipment also in part due to the support of the international and donor community heavily present in Kosovo at the time. Most importantly, however, for Gojani, there was the new found enthusiasm from students due to the sense of freedom of a newly founded homeland.
Gribben refers to the need in war and post-war settings to successfully manage the relationship between the international and donor community and the local community during and to ensure consensus and the best outcomes. “So a message for the international environment in any post-war scenario is to get the conversation going first at the international level” he concludes.
Integration with others
The displacement during the war in Kosovo impacted neighbouring countries like Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro, which helped to integrate young people into their education systems. Nevertheless, Gojani points to the added benefits of the EU’s large scale effort supporting Ukrainians, and their integration into the education and training systems of the EU's member states. Meanwhile, Gribben stresses the need to enable the school systems in the EU to accommodate Ukrainians and for this he advocates making the most of the expertise of teachers from Ukraine who have come to the European Union.
Find out more on this podcast and other ETF podcasts here.