Ndrec Ndue Gjoka

Ndrec Ndue Gjoka (1919 – 17 February 1946) was an Albanian educator, school organiser, and anti‑illiteracy activist. He is remembered for opening 52 primary schools and 47 literacy courses in the remote highlands of Mirditë and Kosovo after World War II, dramatically expanding access to secular education. He was posthumously awarded the titles Mësues i Popullit ("Teacher of the People") and Dëshmor i Atdheut ("Martyr of the Fatherland").

Early life and education Ndrec Ndue Gjoka was born in 1919 in the village of Bisak, in the Fan region of Mirditë, into a poor peasant family. At age seven, he entered the boarding school dormitory in Orosh, the region's only educational institution at the time. Teachers soon noticed his intelligence, particularly in arithmetic and writing. With their encouragement, he enrolled at the Shkolla Normale e Elbasanit (Elbasan Normal School), the country's premier teacher‑training institution, then directed by the patriot and scholar Aleksandër Xhuvani. At the Normal School, Ndrec Ndue Gjoka became an active member of the patriotic society "Naim Frashëri". He graduated as a certified teacher in 1939.

Teaching career in Kosovo and imprisonment by Italian fascists In 1940, Ndrec Ndue Gjoka had a brief first posting in Linaj, Shkodër. The following year, the Albanian Ministry of Education under Minister Ernest Koliqi sent him to teach in Albanian‑populated areas of Kosovo. In 1941, he was assigned to the historic stone school in Zllakuqan, Istog municipality – a village where Shtjefën Gjeçovi had opened the first Albanian school in 1897. Ndrec Ndue Gjoka quickly became a beloved figure, teaching literacy, national history, and patriotic songs, accompanying himself on the çifteli. His classes grew to over 100 pupils, and he hired local assistants such as Zef Pernoka.

Return to Mirditë and post‑war school expansion After his escape and following the liberation of Mirditë district on 26 October 1944, Ndrec Ndue Gjoka was appointed head of education (përgjegjës i seksionit të arsimit) for the Mirditë district. He collaborated closely with partisan units and resistance figure Bardhok Biba. At the time, the region had only 201 pupils in a handful of schools, and about 90% of the population was illiterate.

On 13 December 1944, Ndrec Ndue Gjoka initiated a formal resolution through the district's National Liberation Council to launch an emergency mass literacy campaign. Lacking state funds, textbooks, or dedicated school buildings, he traveled from village to village, persuading families to lend rooms in their stone towers (kulla) for classrooms. He recruited literate youth and former Orosh boarding school students, providing them with accelerated pedagogical training. Within three months, his initiatives had established:

Assassination Ndrec Ndue Gjoka's campaign for secular state education encountered fierce resistance from armed anti‑communist paramilitary groups and conservative traditionalist factions. On 17 February 1946, while travelling through the Qafëvorres pass near Kaçinar (Fan region) to inspect a local school, he was ambushed and assassinated. At the time of his death, he was carrying a bag of school supplies – books, notebooks, and chalk – for his pupils. He was 27 years old.

Several educational institutions were named after him, most notably the "Ndrec Ndue Gjoka" Pedagogical High School in Tirana (now defunct) and a unified secondary school in Fan, Mirditë. Ndrec Ndue Gjoka's legacy was further honoured in 1973 when the distinguished singer Xhevdet Hafizi recorded a song in his praise. His inclusion in the 1978 government publication *New Albania* under the heading "People's Teacher" confirms his formal recognition as a national pedagogical figure.