TIRANA, Dec. 27 – As the university student protest that gathered thousands and lasted for more than two weeks in the capital at the start of December demanding drop of education tariffs and improvement of university conditions died down during the holiday season, the country’s governing Socialist Party and the opposition kept clashing on the students’ eight demands.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Edi Rama gave a press conference announcing the government’s decision regarding the eight demands the students have been putting forward throughout December.
Meanwhile, the country’s main opposition Democratic Party and its leader Lulzim Basha have insisted that none of the government’s proposals meet the students’ demands and have warned they will be resuming student protests in January.
A busy week for the Socialist Party
Since early in the week, Rama held a number of meetings with Socialist Party MPs focused on what he called necessary “self-amendment” after the slap the students protest caused the Socialist government.
On Monday, after a SP meeting that lasted over five hours, Rama told the media that “in the context of the vacuum created from the lack of a credible opposition, the SP needs to self-amend.”
During the press conference on Wednesday, Rama, highlighting the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers, said the government had gone beyond the completion of the students’ eight demand to also dealing with the educational content.
“These are the four government decisions put bluntly. We will have funding for blind, quadriplegic and paraplegic students as well as those who are treated with economic aid. Secondly, students with a grade average over 9 will benefit 100 percent funding from the study and will benefit a 1,000 albanian lek scholarship each. Thirdly, we will give equal opportunities to all students by paying 50 percent of the studying fee. So all students will pay 50 percent of the fee.”
The students’ demands and the government’s response
Among the government measures claimed by Rama in face of the student demands was also the ousting of all incompetent administrative staff.
Rama promised a complete review of the administrative titles, a number of which have been proven to be plagiarized throughout December. In this context, Rama said an anti-plagiarism law is put in place, as well as a draft law on the conduct law and research integrity in Albania.
According to Rama, the draft law will analyze the situation of professors holding undeserved academic titles completely.
Concerning the administrative board, the PM said they are dismissed de facto and that they will only hold their current posts temporarily, until their replacements have been appointed. He also promised the new appointments will be fully transparent.
Some of the other student demands Rama addressed during the press conference was the inclusion of students in decision-making, for which he said he would allow students to propose a name noteworthy in the field to become a government member, the student card, for which he said an agreement was signed that will include albania in the network of countries to benefit from a student card and the need for a digital library, which he said will be established until March.
Meanwhile, the students’ eight demands since the beginning of the protest in front of the country’s Education Ministry have focused on tariff cuts, increased state budget for education, participation in faculty management and faculty election and concrete steps to fighting endemic corruption and low teaching standards.
Opposition: “Rama is recycling his claims”
Leader of opposition Democratic Party Lulzim Basha said Rama’s new promises are nothing but lies and the only way to make Rama’s promises credible is to double the budget on education.
“The creations and deceptions he announced today are just recycled claims he has been using over the last days and they will not solve any of the real issues the students are facing,” Basha said.
According to Basha, only two solutions can resolve this situation and the first consists of completely abolishing the Law on Higher Education.
“The first step is dropping the law altogether and drafting a law on higher education in consultations with pedagogues, incorporating European standards. Democratization rather than centralization, more autonomy, greater role for pedagogues and students. A re-conceptualization of how the quality of teaching in universities will increase. Financial growth does not lead to quality improvement. Support for the academic infrastructure that is today in its darkest day, rankings of universities. They are the column for a law of higher education,” said Basha.
Students’ protests in Albania were triggered by an announcement that the University of Tirana issued to introduce extra fees for students who decided to sit exams again. Considering this as unfair and unaffordable, students launched a series of protests and prepared the government a list of 8 demands. The head of the government invited students for dialogue, but students did not agree, asking the Prime Minister to deliver their demands without the need for talks.
