KOSOVO: Need for experts to tackle higher education

At the end of the war in 1999, the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) administered the country. Consequently, the international body working with provisional institutions of self-government in Kosovo (parliament, president, prime minister, ministers) introduced and applied reforms in almost all the sectors.

Reforms in higher education followed, including reforms to the curriculum, teaching methods, evaluation, assessment and certification standards as well as the accreditation system.

The key objective of the reforms was to change a system that was perceived as unsuccessful in the past and marred by political conflict. Because of a lack of local resources, the country was compelled to rely on international support both for financial reasons and expert advice.

The expert support was provided through different means, but apart from activities such as capacity- and infrastructure-building, research on a wide variety of topics was also emphasised. This involved a relatively heavy involvement of international think-tanks in higher education research.

Around 30 research reports and policy analyses on higher education-related themes undertaken by international actors (NGOs, international governmental institutions, individuals etc) acting in Kosovo have been identified in the course of the last decade, post-war. However, most of it is applied and qualitative rather than basic and quantitative research.

The role of the international community was of crucial importance to the country and it continues to be. But the main aim behind such development aid was creating sustainable capacity on the ground and providing financial support to locally established entities with particular emphasis on non-governmental organisations.

Nonetheless, expertise was not always targeted appropriately due to the lack of international experts' local knowledge about the particularities of the system and the country per se. In addition, there was resistance by some local staff of the University of Pristina, the largest public university in Kosovo, to some of the reforms that were introduced.

As a result, the number of national think-tanks grew rapidly. Most have been established very recently. Other studies show that the role think-tanks assume in post-conflict and post-war countries, particularly during the transition period, is of crucial importance.

The increased corruption and loss of trust in governmental sectors reported in many countries post-war means there is a great need for evidence-based information and evidence-guided policies.

Research reports indicate a constant high corruption rate throughout all sectors and serious difficulties in fighting corruption in Kosovo. Consequently, think-tanks are perceived as vital in the search to collect evidence, create and generate knowledge and influence policy. Their role is also important in terms of acting as 'channels for local voices'.

The involvement of national think-tanks is relatively high around issues such as perceptions of corruption, economic stagnation versus growth, the political arena, democratisation, inter-ethnic dialogue and reconciliation.

However, there are certain areas that remain under-studied, namely the rule of law, the development of individual economic sectors, social integration, education in general and in particular higher education.

The degree of involvement of national think-tanks in researching higher education is not clear. However, in the latest strategic plan (2011-16) the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has claimed an important role for national think-tanks and other civil society organisations in researching, monitoring, planning and evaluating higher education activities.

Looking at national think-tanks in Kosovo we find that none has carried out more than one research project on higher education. Among eight think-tanks analysed only one concentrates purely on education, the Kosovo Education Centre.

The Balkan Policy Institute has a separate programme dedicated to education, but it is focused more on student training and other similar activities. Only one of the think-tanks indicated more tangible plans for focusing research activities on higher education, more specifically on the evaluation of private higher education provision in Kosovo.

Research also shows that all the main donors of think-tanks and those that finance higher education research are international rather than Kosovo nationals.

Previous studies in developing countries highlight the crucial role of think-tanks in directing the messages coming from society to the government and vice-versa. This is particularly important in post-conflict areas, which are faced with many challenges as part of the transition process.

Kosovo, as a newly independent country, is undergoing many challenges and ongoing changes. Higher education is one of the sectors experiencing major reforms with the main aim being to develop the economy.

On the one hand, to measure and evaluate the outcomes of these reforms research is crucial. On the other hand, research shows that the country's national capacities (that is, think-tanks) for fostering and boosting higher education research are scarce.

Many of the think tanks cover similar themes, but they seem not to be involved in higher education research. There are several potential explanations, such as environmental factors including the lack of experts in the field.

The need for higher education experts is vital, especially considering all the non-evidence-based reforms that the system is undergoing. Although international actors provide constant and intensive advice to government, they are not fully familiar with Kosovo's unique system.

The support they have provided is undeniable and crucial, but building the capacity of locals is imperative and is part of their mission. Further professional training needs to be provided to the think-tanks' existing employees either by international or local experts.

This might involve additional costs, but it will help make their knowledge-base sustainable and spread it more widely.

The challenges that think-tanks and specifically national think tanks face are well documented in other studies on post-conflict contexts. The lack of local higher education experts and other factors means that building evidence-based policy is particularly difficult in such contexts.

* Jehona Serhati is a higher education researcher at the Organization for Higher Education Cooperation, Research and Development in Germany.