QUALITY EDUCATION PROGRAM

This project started in the summer of 2000, in order to meet the immediate needs of Kosovo schools for training and teaching tools. Twenty schools were involved in the first phase of the project, which ended in December 2000. Schools that participated in this phase of the project have established the Association of Quality Schools, which is registered as NGO and received funds from KEC. The first phase of the project was co-funded by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and KFOS. In the second year of operation, the project has been expanded to 13 new schools with a slightly different concept from the training one, while in the third phase of the project, 10 new schools were included. Funding is provided by the UK’s Save the Children organisation and KFOS. In early 2003, it was decided to organize a regional roundtable on children’s rights, analyzing the impact of the professional development activities of teachers on respect for the rights of the child and would try to draw lessons from regional experiences. To this end a study was organised involving over 2,000 students from all communities, both those from the schools involved in the project and from schools not involved in the project. The regional roundtable was held in late May 2003 with the financial support of the Soros Foundation East-East Programme and Save the Children UK. This roundtable was attended by experts from other countries in the region, as well as a considerable number of Kosovar education workers. Some of the conference’s recommendations served as the starting point for a new project in the field of child rights.