On this day, 20 September 2022, Arbëre Nagavci – the Minister of Education of Kosova – announced that the Kosova Accreditation Agency (AKA) has once again become an associate member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). This news was conveyed through a letter sent to the AKA director by the ENQA director. In the letter, ENQA granted AKA the “affiliate” status in ENQA during a Board of Directors meeting. Nagavci praised this outcome, stating that it will benefit students, graduates, the academic community, and the state of Kosova. ENQA’s decision is seen as a credible assurance of higher education quality in the country and will aid in the recognition of students’ and graduates’ qualifications in Europe. Nagavci emphasized that this decision will facilitate student and faculty exchanges with European countries. He also highlighted the importance of quality policies promoting institutional independence and underscored efforts to rectify damage caused by past political interference. With this decision, AKA is now close to becoming a full member of ENQA.

It is noteworthy that in 2014, AKA was previously admitted to ENQA and in 2015 to the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), but was later expelled due to political interference, primarily by former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and former Minister of Education Shyqiri Bytyqi. In January 2020, while still serving as prime minister, Haradinaj influenced the agency by requesting attention to the handling of requests from colleges, leading to the dissolution of the State Quality Council and the interim director of the agency, at the request of Bytyqi.