Education home, that their state language skills were low, and that they had little opportunity for inter-ethnic interaction. Additionally, the country’s curriculum for teaching the state language was not adapted to the needs of children of another mother-tongue language. Many ethnic-minority students, therefore, were unable to learn the state’s majority language at schools. This meant they often did not have the language skills to participate in higher education in the country or to be employed outside of their linguistic communities. Most of the students wishing to attend university had to pursue higher education abroad. This contributed to a further segregation along ethnic lines within the country as well as to the inequality and isolation of certain communities. At the same time, the situation created another challenge as diplomas earned abroad were not recognized by the country’s authorities. With the help of the international community, an agreement was finally reached to accept foreign diplomas under certain conditions. The OSCE encouraged a compromise on all sides to find a solution for the recognition of diplomas so as to avoid punishing the students for political conflicts. In light of this situation, the OSCE began supporting the establishment of a multi-ethnic higher education institution in the area by commissioning an expert-led feasibility study and raising funds. The study identified some of the challenges that needed to be addressed to establish multi-ethnic higher education, such as that more outreach was needed to the non-majority population. The study also established that a bilingual faculty would bring students together across ethnic groups, raise awareness among parents 57