Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
Through a TikTok post, it was claimed that the start of the second semester of school in Kosovo has been postponed until January 19.
According to the publication by "bbvip.Kosova4"on January 7, the postponement was made "due to teacher strikes and rainfall."
Full claim:
This account published an illustrative image of a classroom with the caption "Important notice” and "The second semester is postponed until 19.01.2026 in all municipalities of Kosovo due to teacher strikes and rain!"
Meanwhile, in the description, the account wrote that the postponement of classes applies to all high and elementary schools. It said that this would be due to teacher pay strikes, but also due to rainfall. And finally, it said that "This decision was made as a request but has not yet been implemented, but there is a great chance that it will be implemented!!!"
Although riddled with spelling and logical errors, the publication has received more than 120 views in less than 24 hours, which proves the large audience.
The truth?
The claim is incorrect.
The start of the second semester has been postponed until January 12th due to the situation created by the floods. So far, there has been no new official announcement, whether it has been decided that the start of the second semester has been postponed for another week, to January 19th.
Also, the claim that there are strikes by teachers over the issue of salaries is not based on official facts.
Facts about postponing the start of classes:
In one notification published on January 7, the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MASTI) announced that it has decided to postpone the start of the teaching process until January 12 due to recent rainfall and difficult conditions in some areas of the country. The lessons were scheduled to start on January 8 (today, Thursday).
In the same YOUR Where the announcement of the two-day postponement was made, there was no other announcement stating that the lesson was postponed to January 19th.
A Google search with the words "The start of classes is postponed to January 19th” does not result in real media articles confirming the claim published on TikTok.
Facts about the alleged teachers' strike:
In one REACTION published on January 7, the United Union of Education, Science and Culture said that it supports postponing the start of the second semester to January 12. However, it assessed that this is not sufficient if it is not accompanied by concrete actions, urgently requesting immediate and detailed inspections in all schools.
"UNION WARNING: SBASHK will not allow a return to the teaching process without guaranteeing safe working and learning conditions. If the responsible institutions fail to act in a timely and serious manner, SBASHK will take union action, in defense of the life, health and dignity of its membership", it is said in reaction.
Even if requested with the words "SBASHK warns of strikes" to "Google", in the last week no articles have appeared that could support the claim on TikTok.
So, in the last announcement up until the moment of treatment by hibrid.info, SBASHK did not mention the possibility of strikes due to teachers' salaries.
Analyze:
The claim by the TikTok account "bbvip.Kosova4" that the start of the second semester of school in Kosovo has been postponed until January 19 is incorrect.
Even the claim that one of the reasons for postponing the start of classes is the teachers' strike over salaries is untrue.
The Ministry of Education has announced a postponement until January 12 due to flooding. There is no official decision on another postponement, nor any teacher strikes over salaries.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the content as "Fake News".
Reasoning:
The “Fake News” rating is given to informational content that is entirely fabricated or that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be defined as having been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.