On March 7, at Reporting House we hosted a discussion dedicated to the history of Home-Schools during the 1990s – a powerful chapter of resistance in the fight to preserve Albanian-language education.
After Kosovo’s autonomy was revoked in 1989, the education system fell under Belgrade’s control. The use of the Albanian language in schools was banned, and Albanian teachers and students faced violence, mass dismissals, and pressure to assimilate through forced Serbian-language education. In response, a new form of resistance emerged: Home-Schools – private homes transformed into classrooms where knowledge and hope were kept alive through sacrifice and determination.
This event, held in honor of March 7 – Teacher’s Day— brought together personal testimonies and reflections from those who lived and organized education in these underground schools, as well as scholars and artists who explore this period in their work.
Our guest speakers included:
Zijadin Gashi, Chairman of the Education Council of the Municipality of Prishtina (1990–1999)
Linda Gusia, sociologist and former student of a Home-School in Hericë
Gresa Neziri, from the “Home-Schools” project
Vullnet Jakupi, artist
The discussion provided a space for collective memory and reflection on education’s role as a form of resistance, and honored the teachers who defied repression to keep learning alive.