Draft law on high education postponed in parliament

TIRANA, May 14 – Parliament postponed for one week its debate of the draft law on the higher education bill after considerable opposition from the two main political factions and also that of the rectors and deans in the country’s education system.
The opposition opposes the draft, claiming it violates the autonomy of the universities in the country, giving much too free a hand to government authorities to involve themselves in university decision-making.
A member of the governing coalition, the Christian Democrats and also Bamir Topi, head of the governing Democratic party parliamentary group, opposed the draft from the start, thus managing to suspend the procedure for further debate at a time when the Education Minister, Genc Pollo, said the draft has been debated for over 15 months with all the groups of interest. He seemed, however, alone in the political fight.
University rectors had sent to the parliamentary groupings a letter asking them not to pass the draft law.
Pollo’s New Democratic Party is a minor ally in the governing coalition that does not have any great impact to impose its stance in the group.