Corruption-risk assessment in the Kosovo education sector: findings and recommendations

This report presents the major conclusions of the Corruption-Risk Assessment in the Kosovo education sector carried out as part of the Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts in Kosovo project (SAEK, 2013-2016) with the support of UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning. This assessment consists of a desk review of existing documentation on Kosovo's education system and in-depth interviews conducted with the major stakeholders active in the education field in Kosovo, from the central level, down to the municipal and university/school levels. An analysis of corruption risks in the education sector at central, municipal and school - university level highlights that at ministry level, major risks relate to procurement of textbooks; that given the absence of school autonomy, risks are low at school level; and that major risks relate to discretionary power of Directorates for Education at the municipal level, particularly in the area of recruitment of school personnel and of school construction and maintenance. It also emphasizes the existence of major risks at university level. A detailed analysis of corruption risks in three major domains, namely: formula funding, teacher management, and procurement is provided in this report. For each domain, a distinction is made between pre-university and higher education, since the risks associated with these two levels are quite different. The report recommends to build on recent, on-going or currently-discussed initiatives that may have an indirect but positive impact on the reduction of corrupt practices; and to focus future interventions on school financing, recruitment of school directors and teachers, school actors' behavior, and school construction, renovation and equipment.