The case of violence at the “Pavarësia” school, Shahini: Consequence of a wide-ranging institutional failure

The Director of Education in the Municipality of Pristina, Samir Shahini, has reacted after yesterday's incident of violence that occurred at the "Pavarësia" school where a teacher beat a student.

He writes in a Facebook post that violence in schools is unacceptable and will not be relativized under any circumstances.

Shahini emphasizes that school principals and municipal education directorates are being burdened with responsibilities that do not belong to them and that exceed any real capacity.

Full post:

From my position as the director of education in the capital, I strongly condemn the incident that occurred yesterday at the “Pavarësia” primary school. Violence in schools is unacceptable and will not be relativized under any circumstances. Security institutions are already handling the case and we expect swift and complete action from the justice authorities.

This case, however, is not isolated. It is a direct consequence of a wider institutional failure. For years, schools have been left alone in the face of serious social problems, without real support and without minimal capacity for intervention. Today, teachers and students are unprotected, while schools are being unfairly treated as the institution that must absorb every other failure of the state.

School principals and municipal education departments are being burdened with responsibilities that do not belong to them and that exceed any real capacity. Without sufficient psychologists, without social workers, without protective mechanisms and without institutional support, schools are expected to manage violence, delinquency, addictions and family crises. This approach is unfair and dangerous.

The Ministry of Education bears direct responsibility for this situation. Instead of taking serious action, it continues to produce administrative instructions disconnected from the reality on the ground, which only complicate the work of schools and leave the system even more exposed. This is not reform – it is evasion of responsibility.

In this chain of failures, the media also has a responsibility. Sensationalizing, snap judgment, and labeling schools and teachers, without facts and context, does not help anyone. The media should inform responsibly, not deepen panic and look for the easiest culprit.

As Director of Education, I refuse to treat schools and municipal directorates of education as the scapegoats for the structural failures of the central level, social services and other state institutions. We have neither the competences, nor the means, nor the sufficient staff to replace the missing links.

I stand strongly with the schools, teachers, students, and principals who are working under extraordinary pressure and often without minimal institutional protection.

I demand urgent, coordinated and measurable action from all levels – including the Ministry of Education, social services, security agencies, parents and the media. Not formal statements, not bureaucracy, not silence, but action./Indeksonline/