Led by Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, the Government of the Republic of Kosovo decided in last week's meeting to increase the pay of the university professors of the University of Prishtina by 100 percent.

At the start of the meeting, Prime Minister Thaçi informed the cabinet on the case of students taken ill at three schools in the Municipality of Fushe Kosova, and he praised the hard work of the Ministry of Education and Technology and the Ministry of Health in dealing with this situation. 

Prime Minister Thaçi appealed to the public to refrain from rushing to conclusions which may cause confusion and panic in public opinion. At the same time, he assured all citizens that competent bodies are researching all the causes of the illness of these students, and that the situation is under full control. Mr. Thaçi also expressed his wishes for a speedy recovery and a swift return to good health and to school for all students that have been affected by this health condition.

The Government of the Republic of Kosovo decided that the basic pay of ordinary professors should be raised to a total of 1,000 euros, and that of new assistant professors to 500 euros. Wages of other categories of academic personnel will be calculated within the 500 to 1,000 euro framework. Non-academic personnel will benefit from a wage increase of 30 percent.

With this increase, the pay of university professors in Kosovo is now harmonized with that of their counterparts in the region, and this ensures a better material basis upon which to improve the quality of higher education in Kosovo.

In accordance with the recommendation of the National Quality Council of the Kosovo Agency for Accreditation, the Kosovo Government decided to accredit the “Dardania” private educational institution as a ‘College’. This College has the right to register 500 new students in its bachelors program and 50 in its masters program this year.

The Government of the Republic of Kosovo also decided to allow higher education institutions accredited as Colleges to register 200 additional students and those accredited as Institutes to register an additional 100 students.