The day at the “Pavarësia” school in Prishtina began with a two-hour strike, as a response to the actions of some students during the educational process, including physical violence, insults, swearing, and verbal abuse against teachers.

Teachers at the school protested by not holding the first two class periods, while warning that they would interrupt the teaching process if institutional measures are not taken.

Today’s strike followed the circulation of a video showing a teacher beating a student at the school, after which the student is seen kicking the teacher. According to the version of the teachers’ collective, the video cuts off part of the incident and does not show the entire event. The teacher involved has been detained for 48 hours.

The representative of the school’s trade union association, Ardit Ukaj, said that violence has no place in schools and called for protection for teachers.

“We want to clearly emphasize that we, as a trade union association, are against all forms of violence, whether physical or verbal. There is no place for it in schools, and it cannot be justified by anyone. This strike is not organized to justify violence, nor to defend it. On the contrary, it is a reaction against violence that undermines the safety and dignity of teachers in the educational process. Our goal is to protect a safe and professional environment where teaching takes place normally and where the authority of teachers is not questioned through insults, abuse, swearing, and humiliation. We are calling for a serious and coordinated institutional approach against this phenomenon, because the current legal system and existing disciplinary mechanisms are not providing effective solutions in cases where a student insults or physically attacks a teacher. This situation creates a sense of insecurity and lack of protection for educational staff. This is not an isolated problem only in our school, but a phenomenon that is also troubling other schools. Therefore, we demand concrete, clear, and enforceable measures to protect teachers and guarantee order in educational institutions,” he said.

He added that the lessons lost due to the strike will not be made up, stressing that they are not asking for the student to be transferred to another school, but only that measures be taken.

“I am not asking for the student to be transferred to another school, but for appropriate measures to be taken by the competent authorities and for the case to be handled properly in accordance with legislation, as well as for a review of the legislation so that it is adapted to the reality we live in,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to Ymer Ymeri from the United Education, Science and Culture Union (SBASHK), judicial authorities must urgently review the case, establish the truth, impose measures, and release the teacher if it is determined that the detention is unjust.

“As SBASHK, once we received the news of what happened and saw the reaction of the Trade Union Association and their decision to suspend classes for two hours, we immediately supported them and today we are among the teachers, our members, to support their action regarding the incident that occurred at this school. This is not the first time such an incident has happened; similar cases have occurred in other schools as well. In addition to psychological violence exercised against education workers and teachers by students, and often by parents as well, there have been cases of physical attacks, as we saw yesterday. We are very sorry that this scuffle happened, but what is worse is that the incident was not presented in its entirety, only a part from the end was taken and broadcast in the media. Then perhaps even the security authorities, influenced by these edited and partial depictions, reacted accordingly. We therefore call on the justice authorities to urgently review the case, establish the truth, release the teacher, and take measures against parents whose children use violence in schools,” he said.

SBASHK supports the decision of teachers to limit the protest to only two hours and not to suspend classes entirely, Ymeri said, adding that other schools have also shown solidarity through symbolic class interruptions. He warned that if the case is not clarified quickly, union actions could escalate.

“We support the teachers of this school and thank them because, despite the serious incident that occurred, they kept the students and teaching process in mind and decided to hold only a two-hour protest and strike, rather than completely suspending classes. Other schools have shown solidarity by interrupting classes for one hour. If the events are not clarified quickly and the teacher is not released, this form of union action may escalate starting tomorrow. We hope that the justice authorities will review the case as soon as possible, release the teacher, and once again take measures against parents who bring children to school in this manner, organizing dozens of students to come and attack a teacher. This has ceased to be a school and has become something else. Responsibility lies from the Ministry of Education onward,” he said.

It was also announced that the “Ismail Qemali” Primary and Lower Secondary School has shown solidarity with this protest. One of the teachers there said that his colleague was attacked during a break, adding that the student had organized a group of ten students to attack the teacher.