Girls from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities are being forced to drop out of school because of misinformation from their families. The same ones are not even able to finish compulsory schooling, as their parents think they should get married.

This was said in today's training, where about 20 school teachers in Gjakova were trained on media education. In addition, it was emphasized that the girls of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities are also falling prey to fraudsters on social networks.

Today, the first phase of teacher trainings was completed, while last weeks they were organized in Fushë Kosovë, Mitrovica and Prizren.

Sevdije Haxhibeqiri teaches at the largest school in Gjakova. Among the two thousand students, in the "Zekirja Rexha" lower secondary school, as she says, there are large numbers of the three Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.

She tells KosovaPress that there are a large number of girls who are not able to continue their education.

"Considering that these communities have to do with their families who do not have a lot of information, especially about their schooling and education. For this reason we also have big problems, I am also part of the field where we have the abandonment of schools, especially of girls who drop out of school. There are a large number of girls who drop out of school...Usually girls drop out of school because of misinformation from their families, where it is still their traditional way, where their families think that girls should be banned when they have a longer body because she has to get married and they ban her in the family", she emphasizes.

During Saturday, many teachers in Gjakovë participated in the training on the topic "Misinformation, disinformation and malicious information", within the project "Media education for teachers of students from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities".

Haxhibeqiri says that these trainings help teachers to raise students' awareness.

Kreshnik Gjoklaj, who has been an ICT teacher for three years, at the "Selman Riza" school, shows that among the 600 students that the school has, there are also a large number of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.

"Students use technology a lot, it is the digital age where they are influenced by technology. Often times misuse or misinformation from these technologies or the Internet negatively affects students. For example, online games or some of the students. Because the information that they should have is not fair or sufficient for them. The students of the communities lack more information, because it is not only the school that should inform the students about these things that technology or the Internet in general can bring," he emphasizes. .

Even in cases where students visit websites to get information, Gjoklaj emphasizes that they are being misinformed.

"The information they receive from social networks affects the general information they receive or do research on the Internet. Anyone can share that information, but the source from which they receive it may be incorrect... The communication they often make through applications with unknown people, that is the point that needs to be addressed the most. Because we always know who is in front of the computer, but who is behind the computer we never know because of the profiles they may have with someone's first and last name that they don't know", he declares for KosovaPress.

These are not the only cases where students suffer from misinformation.

The teacher of the subject "Biology" and "Chemistry" at the "Zekirja Rexha" school, Diana Gaxha, says that many students have not been vaccinated with the anti-Covid dose, as a result of misinformation.

"Our school has a large number of minorities and the importance is to break the stereotypes of these students and to receive media education, because we are noticing that some of these students who belong to these communities, do not have good information or bring them into situations that are not good things. For example, leaving school, different situations they had. Or the issue of vaccination among those who said it affects their reproduction and that they did not respond to the call for vaccination," she concludes.

With the financial support from the American Embassy in Pristina, the "KosovaPress" News Agency, together with the non-governmental organization "Young Community Leaders Center/YCLC", is organizing these trainings within the seven-month project, which aims to raise the awareness of communities against disinformation. as well as strengthening the role of civil society activists from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.

The project includes two phases. In the first phase, there are primary school teachers from the sixth to the ninth grade.

Meanwhile, the second phase will start from December, which includes professors and secondary school students from grades 10 to 12.

The project "Media education against disinformation for teachers, students and civil society activists from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities", is supported by the United States Embassy in Pristina.

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