TIRANA, Jan. 17 – University life remains paralyzed in Albania as students have continued their massive class’ boycotts, although some of the faculties are now reportedly resuming lectures.
Groups of students from public universities in Tirana and other cities have been boycotting classes and lectures for about six weeks now, continuing the protest that began during the first days of December and focused on eight economic and educational requests.
In addition to having interrupted the normal flow of lectures and organizing different gatherings, a big number of students have also continued the protests by remaining inside their faculty environments day and night.
Meanwhile, authorities have asked protesters not to bother students who want to attend lectures as per usual and officials have announced that information on the government’s new decisions to meet the students’ demands can be found at the faculties’ secretariats.
Students clash with police trying to continue protests inside faculties
Videos that went viral on social media on Friday, Jan. 11, showed state policemen physically clashing with the smaller groups of students that have decided to continue the rallies in quest of the improvement of education by closing themselves inside their respective faculties.
The video specifically showed policemen being violent towards students of the Faculty of Economics in order to push them away from the university environments, but without success.
A group of students first stayed inside Tirana’s University Faculty of Economics on Thursday night, persisting on their eight economic and academic demands.
Police physically intervened when protest groups were changing in the morning to continue the protest and verbal exchanges between the students and the policemen testify to the violence.
At the same time the police was under conflict with the protesters, Prime Minister Edi Rama was holding a meeting concerning student demands and the government’s decisions.
Education Minister Besa Shahini asked protesting students not to interfere with the faculties’ secretariat and those students who want to attend the lectures and fill out the new scholarships and fees forms.
Students, however, have said they have decided to escalate the protest because they claim the 11 government decision undertaken by Rama by the end of December do not fulfill their demands, that the government is regarding this protest with arrogance and indifference, although they have been protesting for a month on the streets and boycotting classes.
According to them, the essence of their demands is the abolition of the law on higher education as a cause of the crisis – a law the government regards as one of its highest achievements.
Images that have circled the internet show the protest and boycott at the faculties of philology and economics, but the situation is similar to the faculties of law and medicine. Protests and boycotts are also reportedly simultaneously taking place in the universities of Shkodra, Durres and Elbasan.
Since the rallies are now taking place inside faculties, there is still no clear picture of where the classes are taking place, but only partial notifications on the state of the education.
Yet a part of the students are reportedly going to lectures and seeking the normalization of academic life, waiting for the problem to be solved step by step.
