TIRANA, June 21 – Shocking video footage featuring a kindergarten teacher violently beating a three-year-old child has sparked massive public anger in Albania. The footage was aired Monday evening by investigative show “Stop” broadcast at national Klan TV channel. The footage shows the violent abuse a three-year-old boy has to endure at a private unlicensed kindergarten.
Diren Kindergarten was administered by former reporter Anjeza Shabani. The woman was filmed, beating, pinching, smacking up the boy who could not stop crying. Other kindergarten teachers and children who were present during the violent beating are shown being indifferent to what was going on in the facility. As soon as the footage was aired Monday evening, prosecutors issued an arrest warrant against Shabani and accused her of child abuse.
Minister of Education Lindita Nikolla denounced the violent act carried out by the former reporter, describing it as “unacceptable and scandalous.” She admitted that Diren Kindergarten was not licensed by the state and urged parents to denounce all violent cases in educational institutions and collaborate with state authorities. “ We are determined to deliver justice on the case. The administrator of the kindergarten will be punished accordingly by the law,” Minister Nikolla said. She explained that the government “ cannot knock on every door to identify private illegal kindergartens” although recently officials have fined and closed down 20 private kindergartens. Minister Nikolla also announced the launch of a national inspection campaign for all private kindergarten facilities.
Earlier in May, Albanians were outraged over the child abuse in an orphanage in Shkodra. An investigation revealed that three girls aged six, eight and eleven were sexually abused while other children up to 14 years old were physically abused and obliged to engage in hard labour. A recent report published by the World Vision charity has shown that violence against children in Albania is widespread. According to the report, 70 percent of Albanian children living in the outskirts of many towns have systematically been subject to brutal physical and psychological abuse, which they don’t report for fear of their domineering fathers. The report also revealed that child protection structures in many municipalities have been dismantled or neglected by central and local government.
