More Than 130 Students in Lismir Boycott Classes Over Poor School Conditions
Parents refuse to send children back to a deteriorating school building after sanitary inspectors find conditions unsuitable for teaching, forcing the municipality to begin emergency repairs and reconsider longer-term plans for the village.
More than 130 pupils in the village of Lismir, in the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë, failed to begin the 2026–2027 school year on September 1 after their parents refused to accept the conditions inside the local school. The boycott represented an unusual form of parental intervention (ndërhyrje) in which families effectively stopped the educational process until authorities addressed the building’s condition. Parents described the situation as untenable (i papërballueshëm) after seeing the state of classrooms and sanitary facilities. Their action quickly developed into a wider dispute over municipal accountability (llogaridhënie) for maintaining safe educational infrastructure.
The dispute did not emerge unexpectedly when pupils arrived for the first day of school. In June, Kosovo’s Sanitary Inspectorate had already concluded that the building was unsuitable (i papërshtatshëm) for normal teaching. Inspectors identified serious deficiencies (mangësi) involving toilets, floors, windows, doors and the general condition of the building. Their recommendations also included eliminating persistent dampness (lagështi) and mould smells from walls and improving insulation on the ground floor.
Parents argued that these warnings should have resulted in repairs before children returned in September. The beginning of the school year therefore exposed what families regarded as institutional inaction (mosveprim) during the summer. Their demand was straightforward: the school needed urgent renovation (rinovim) so children could study in acceptable conditions. The Parents’ Council formally communicated this request (kërkesë) to the education authorities in Fushë Kosovë.
The situation became more serious on September 3 when the Sanitary Inspectorate ordered the temporary suspension of the school’s activities. The decision transformed parental concerns into an official prohibition (ndalim) on continuing normal operations in the building. Authorities were now confronting a formal health-related intervention (ndërhyrje) rather than only complaints from families. The measure confirmed the seriousness of the building’s deterioration (përkeqësim) and made a rapid institutional response unavoidable.
An external performance evaluation obtained by KALLXO provided further evidence of the poor physical environment. The report described the school as lacking even minimal infrastructure (infrastrukturë minimale) required for ordinary educational work. It also referred to inadequate hygienic facilities (pajisje higjienike) and insufficient cleanliness. The damaged state of the premises suggested years of degradation (degradim) rather than a sudden maintenance problem developing immediately before the school year.
The municipality initially responded by proposing that pupils temporarily attend classes elsewhere rather than immediately renovating the old building. Officials suggested transferring the children to the Hivzi Sulejmani gymnasium in Fushë Kosovë, creating a temporary relocation (zhvendosje) of the educational process. Municipal authorities offered to cover transportation expenses through subsidies (subvencione) for affected families. Parents nevertheless rejected the proposed arrangement (zgjidhje e përkohshme) and continued demanding that their village school be repaired.
The rejection reflected more than simple resistance to travelling several kilometres for classes. Families were concerned about the practical disruption (çrregullim) associated with transporting more than 130 children to another school every day. Parents also wanted to preserve the village’s educational continuity (vazhdimësi) rather than allowing the local institution to disappear gradually. Their opposition demonstrated the strong attachment (lidhje) that small communities can develop toward schools serving as important local institutions.
Municipal authorities, however, argued that the location of the existing school created a much more complicated long-term problem. Fushë Kosovë Mayor Valon Prebreza explained that a major wastewater-treatment plant is planned near the area, creating potential land-use constraints (kufizime të përdorimit të tokës) for the school. Regulations require an appropriate perimeter (perimetër) between educational facilities and such infrastructure. The planned treatment facility therefore complicates the feasibility (fizibilitet) of investing heavily in a school building that may ultimately need to be relocated.
Prebreza acknowledged publicly that the condition of the school was extremely difficult and that the building did not meet elementary requirements. He said the municipality possessed enough money for a limited refurbishment (rikonstruksion i pjesshëm) that could allow classes to continue temporarily. However, investing heavily in the existing location could become financially inefficient (joefikas) if the school must later move because of the wastewater project. The municipality therefore faced a difficult trade-off (zgjedhje mes alternativave) between short-term repairs and a permanent replacement.
A permanent solution would require identifying suitable land for a new school building. The municipality said it currently lacked an appropriate publicly owned site (truall) in the village. Prebreza invited residents to help identify a legally acceptable location (vendndodhje) and even indicated that the municipality could purchase land if necessary. This search for property became an additional bottleneck (pengesë) in resolving a problem that initially appeared to concern only building maintenance.
The disagreement continued into the second week of September, leaving pupils without normal lessons for approximately two weeks. By September 10, the prolonged interruption had created an increasing educational deficit (mangësi mësimore) because students were losing instructional days at the beginning of the academic year. Parents nevertheless maintained their opposition (kundërshtim) to relocation at Hivzi Sulejmani. Their continued boycott increased pressure for a local remedy (zgjidhje korrigjuese) rather than a transport-based temporary arrangement.
The municipality ultimately changed course and began repair work at the Lismiri school. Officials redirected remaining maintenance funds (fonde) that had been budgeted for schools, healthcare facilities and administrative buildings. Repairs included painting and restoring damaged walls (mure) and interventions involving doors and windows. The emergency work represented a pragmatic compromise (kompromis) allowing pupils to remain in Lismir while longer-term planning continued.
Sanitary inspectors returned to the school after the work had progressed. Following another inspection, the authorities gave the necessary approval (miratim) for teaching to resume. Representatives examined the completed interventions (ndërhyrje) and the general condition of the building before classes restarted. This additional inspection provided an important safeguard (garanci mbrojtëse) by ensuring that the school did not reopen solely because of political pressure to end the boycott.
Classes finally resumed on September 14, two weeks after the official beginning of Kosovo’s school year. The return marked the end of the immediate standoff (ngërç) between parents and municipal authorities. School management also faced the task of recovering the lost instructional hours (orë mësimore) through a revised timetable. The governing council was expected to determine an appropriate compensation schedule (orar zëvendësues) according to available days and educational regulations.
The episode illustrates how physical infrastructure directly affects the right to education. A school can formally have teachers and enrolled pupils while remaining functionally inaccessible (i papërdorshëm) if the building is unsafe or unhealthy. Persistent mould, damaged sanitation and inadequate insulation can create serious health hazards (rreziqe shëndetësore) for children and staff. Educational quality therefore depends on basic habitability (përshtatshmëri për përdorim) as much as on curricula, textbooks and teaching methods.
The boycott also demonstrates the role parents can play in holding public institutions responsible for educational conditions. By acting collectively, families created greater leverage (fuqi ndikuese) than individual complaints might have produced. Their decision imposed immediate political pressure (trysni) because an entire local school was effectively unable to function. Such collective action can become an important form of civic oversight (mbikëqyrje) when administrative problems remain unresolved for long periods.
At the same time, stopping classes creates costs for the very children whose interests parents are trying to protect. Every missed day produces some degree of learning loss (humbje në mësim) that teachers must later recover. Younger pupils can be particularly vulnerable to prolonged educational discontinuity (ndërprerje e vazhdimësisë) at the beginning of a school year. This makes rapid institutional mediation (ndërmjetësim) particularly important whenever disputes over school safety result in boycotts.
The case also reveals the difficulty municipalities face when infrastructure planning overlaps with education policy. Spending significant money on an old building may be short-sighted (dritëshkurtër) when authorities already expect the location to become unsuitable. Refusing to invest at all, however, creates unacceptable interim conditions (kushte të përkohshme) for children who may continue using the building for months or years. Effective public planning therefore requires greater foresight (largpamësi) so replacement facilities are prepared before existing buildings become unusable.
Wastewater infrastructure itself is essential for a growing urban region such as Pristina and Fushë Kosovë. A treatment plant can improve environmental sanitation (higjienë mjedisore) and reduce pollution affecting communities and waterways. Yet major infrastructure projects require careful spatial planning (planifikim hapësinor) when schools, homes or other sensitive facilities are located nearby. Better coordination could prevent the kind of institutional collision (përplasje institucionale) that complicated decisions surrounding the Lismir school.
The events in Lismir also raise questions about preventive maintenance across Kosovo’s school network. Repairing buildings only after conditions become unacceptable represents a reactive maintenance model (model mirëmbajtjeje) that can ultimately cost more than regular preventive work. Periodic inspections should identify structural defects (defekte strukturore) before they become serious enough to interrupt education. A more systematic asset-management (menaxhim i aseteve) approach would allow municipalities to plan repairs years in advance rather than responding through emergency spending.
For students, the eventual reopening provided an immediate solution but not necessarily a permanent one. The repairs restored enough functionality (funksionalitet) for teaching to resume, but the municipality still intends to address the school’s long-term location. Building a replacement school will require land, financing and regulatory clearance (autorizim rregullator). Until those issues are resolved, the current building remains part of a transitional arrangement (zgjidhje kalimtare) rather than the final answer to Lismir’s educational infrastructure problem.
The September boycott therefore achieved one of the parents’ immediate objectives by forcing repairs before their children returned. It also exposed a deeper planning failure (dështim në planifikim) that had allowed a school already criticised by inspectors to reach the beginning of a new academic year without a satisfactory solution. The subsequent repairs demonstrated institutional responsiveness (aftësi reaguese) once pressure became unavoidable. The longer-term measure of success will be whether authorities turn that emergency response into a durable infrastructure solution (zgjidhje infrastrukturore) for the children of Lismir.
Key Albanian Vocabulary
ndërhyrje intervention
i papërballueshëm untenable
llogaridhënie accountability
i papërshtatshëm unsuitable
mangësi deficiencies
lagështi dampness
mosveprim inaction
rinovim renovation
kërkesë request
ndalim prohibition
përkeqësim deterioration
infrastrukturë minimale minimal infrastructure
pajisje higjienike facilities
degradim degradation
zhvendosje relocation
subvencione subsidies
zgjidhje e përkohshme arrangement
çrregullim disruption
vazhdimësi continuity
lidhje attachment
kufizime të përdorimit të tokës land-use constraints
perimetër perimeter
fizibilitet feasibility
rikonstruksion i pjesshëm refurbishment
joefikas inefficient
zgjedhje mes alternativave trade-off
truall site
vendndodhje location
pengesë bottleneck
mangësi mësimore educational deficit
kundërshtim opposition
zgjidhje korrigjuese remedy
fonde funds
mure walls
kompromis compromise
miratim approval
garanci mbrojtëse safeguard
ngërç standoff
orë mësimore hours
orar zëvendësues compensation schedule
i papërdorshëm inaccessible
rreziqe shëndetësore health hazards
përshtatshmëri për përdorim habitability
fuqi ndikuese leverage
trysni pressure
mbikëqyrje oversight
humbje në mësim learning loss
ndërprerje e vazhdimësisë discontinuity
ndërmjetësim mediation
dritëshkurtër short-sighted
kushte të përkohshme interim conditions
largpamësi foresight
higjienë mjedisore sanitation
planifikim hapësinor spatial planning
përplasje institucionale collision
model mirëmbajtjeje maintenance model
defekte strukturore structural defects
menaxhim i aseteve asset-management
funksionalitet functionality
autorizim rregullator clearance
zgjidhje kalimtare arrangement
dështim në planifikim planning failure
aftësi reaguese responsiveness
zgjidhje infrastrukturore infrastructure solution
