Lack of perspective in employment and the will for a better living often pushes parents to “choose” which education track their children follow, and sometimes, parents even choose their profession. Even if there is disagreement, usually children are forced to accept “the only offer on the table.”
A pedagogue at the Center for Social Work in Prishtina says that her enthusiasm to choose an education was killed by her parents.
“When I was young I wanted to study Physical Education (PE). I always loved sports since its energy and adrenaline attracted me. I was physically prepared. I ran very fast, but because back then a woman who was focused on sports was discriminated against, I had to choose another path and today I don`t feel totally complete,” says M.A., who wanted to remain anonymous.
Fitore Zeka, 18 years old, who is about to graduate at “Hoxhë Kadri Prishtina,” also tells KosovaLive that almost every day, she discusses with her parents what is best for her prospective employment.
“I like painting. I enrolled in the Economic Gymnasium because my parents wanted me to do so, telling me that this field ensures a better living in the future. I barely spent these three high school years. My room is full of paintings which give me courage, but on the other side I`m uncomfortable because my parents push me to do something else,” Zeka expresses herself.
The number of students enrolled in the public universities in Kosovo in the 2016-2017 academic year was 15,487, whereas at University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina” (UP), it was 7,806.
According to the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS), the number of graduates in UP alone during the 2013-2014 academic year was 7,621. The highest number of graduates according to KAS, came from the Faculty of Economy, with 1,312 graduates per year. The Faculty of Education has the second-highest number of graduates.
Florentina Dushi, an organizational psychologist at “Kolegji Dardania” (Dardania College) in Prishtina, thinks that parents begin imposing education at an early age, when children are given two separate models of how men and women should be developed.
“There is a tendency to discriminate against women in this aspect. This impacts them by causing them to stagnate in their career and not aiming higher in their profession. This kind of stagnation results in lowering the level of devotion and self-motivation in their workplace,” Dushi says.
Isa Thaçi,, a psychology teacher at “Hivzi Sylejmani” Gymnasium in Fushë Kosovë, shares the opinion. He says that the education is impacted by the family, by the economical conditions of the family, but also by the trends in the labor market. Family`s impact on choosing their children`s education, as Thaçi says, can have further consequences.
“Without will and love in choosing education, one may fail during studies, and may also fail in successful practical work management,” Thaçi says.
Imeri, 40 years old, a mother of four from Prishtina, wants her eldest daughter to continue studies after finishing high school, but doubts she`ll achieve this.
“I want my daughter to further continue her studies, but since I cannot support her financially by our social assistance, she has to quit school,” she says.
Hundreds of economy, law, sociology, education, pedagogy, and psychology students graduate each year at the universities of Kosovo, but only a small number of them are able to find a job.
According to Kosovo Agency of Statistics, the number of youngsters who searched for a job in 2016 alone was 145,807 of which 64,342 were women.
Mihane Fetahu
