TIRANA, July 27 – President Bujar Nishani on Monday held a round table with professors and deans of public and private universities after the Parliament voted a new law on higher education.
The law is contested by a group of public university professors and students who say it favors private universities and also prevents the poor from going to college due to higher costs.
They say the law deprives public universities of their independence, especially concerning research work, which the state had previously funded only for public universities and now will finance for private universities as well.
The government denies these claims and adds the law will give an end to the low quality education in the country’s universities, be they public or private.
The law was voted by the majority left-wing Socialist-led coalition, while the opposition Democrats boycotted the vote after taking part in a lengthy debate beforehand.
The Democrats also said they will take the law to the Constitution Court and called on the president, who has been one of their senior leaders and ministers before, to veto it.
Nishani met with the group of professors and listened to their concerns, pledging to respect the constitution.
Nishani can veto it once. That is allowed by the constitution. But then the majority could put it again into a vote which is final and the president is obliged to decree it.
