Authorities in Pristina did not allow delivery of the school books in Serbian language to the schools in Kosovo and Metohija. Pristina Education Minister Arsim Bajrami has threatened not to allow the delivery of Serbian books until pupils in Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja receive books in Albanian language, which were sent as a donation from Pristina. He claims that about 100,000 school books wait at customs, although import was approved from the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development.
In the Ministry, however, officials claim that this donation was not approved: “The Ministry does not approve the import of books and there is no practice of giving approval to donations and gifts.” They also explained that teachers can use additional teaching material even if there is no approval from the Ministry of Education, but for regular classes are required only books that are approved in Serbia.
On the other hand, even though all the rules were fulfilled, Serbian children in Kosovo began the school year without school books. Even books that were sent by the Ministry of Education as donation were late. That was, however, only one part of the Students’ literature, and most was supplied by publishers and distributors. Some schools confirmed that distributors were repeatedly rejected by Pristina and could not receive the necessary approval for the delivery of books. As stated, they were managing in different ways, so that the children would not be damaged. Some editions arrived only this week, even though the school year lasts nearly a month.
