MESTI–UNICEF Partnership Advances Education Reform: New Early Childhood Education Curriculum Presented

Pristina, 27 November 2025 – The Ministry of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI), in partnership with UNICEF Kosovo, officially launched the new Early Childhood Education (ECE) Curriculum for children aged 0–6 years.

The event was opened by the Acting Minister of Education in Kosovo, Ms. Arberije Nagavci, who emphasized: “This document represents the greatest step toward modern, quality, and inclusive education for future generations. We express our gratitude to the professional teams, UNICEF, and the Government of Luxembourg for their selfless support. Together, we are building the path to our children’s success.”

Evidence shows that early childhood development and education is the smartest investment that can be made: every dollar invested in quality early childhood services returns up to $16 through better school readiness, reduced dropout rates, improved health, higher earnings, and increased participation of women in the workforce.

This important step comes after two years of joint work by institutions, experts, and partners in Kosovo to develop, pilot, and approve the curriculum, ensuring significant progress in strengthening early learning and education as the foundation of human capital development.

“Our joint efforts have expanded access to early education, improved service quality, and supported policy-making that guarantees every child’s right to learn and succeed,” stated Mr. Eric Dietz, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in Pristina.

The new curriculum promotes equality, inclusion, and gender-sensitive practices, ensuring that every child—girl or boy—has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

As part of preparations for nationwide implementation of the curriculum, last week MESTI, UNICEF, and the Center for Human Services and Development (QSHHZH), with the support of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, completed an intensive five-day training for educators, from which official trainers of the new curriculum will be selected.

Starting at the end of 2025 and throughout 2026, early education specialists, as well as inspectors, municipal officials, and institution directors, will deepen their understanding of the child’s perspective, learning through play, and the application of this approach through inclusive practices, inquiry, continuous observation and documentation, and active parental engagement in preschool life.

Equally important is the development of a framework for ensuring the quality of early education, providing adequate professional development, mentoring, and monitoring to support the quality, learning, and development of children.

The Head of UNICEF Kosovo, Veronika Vashchenko, stated: “UNICEF welcomes the government’s efforts to prioritize early learning within Kosovo’s development and sectoral strategies and to increase investment in this area.”
“Strong early education systems are essential for long-term well-being, resilience, better educational outcomes, and productivity growth—which directly contributes to economic development,” she added.