Emergency Reconstruction of Primary Schools in post-conflict context: the case of Kosovo

The post-war situation in Kosovo after 1999, in most cities and especially in rural settlements, was immensely difficult due to completely or partially burned public facilities, among which, school buildings suffered the most. To recover such a state, emergency interventions from many international organizations besides reconstruction of residential buildings being the priority of the programs were mainly focused in the improvement of the primary school buildings’ infrastructure, as it was an important factor to return residents in their settlements. The purpose of this study is to analyze the process of emergency design and construction of primary schools in the post-war period in Kosovo, from 1999 and afterward, also to investigate the impact of the used standards on the reforming of the educational system. The study was performed on following case studies: primary schools "Idriz Ajeti" - Shalë (Lipjan), "Ramiz Sadiku" – Gllarevë (Klinë), Abri e Epërme in Glogovac, "Kongresi i Manastirit" – Studençan (Suharekë). Outcomes have shown that post-war Kosovo design standards, used for the design and emergency construction of primary schools, have contributed to the easy and informal transition from traditional school to new school architecture and were suitable for application of new teaching methods.