Students protest university fee hike

Government decision had hiked registration fees by
30 percent, asked for more money upfront
TIRANA, Oct. 27 – A large crowd of students have protested a registration fee hike in public universities, following a government decision earlier this month to hike registration fees by 30 percent and to ask that students pay a larger percentage of their tuition fees upfront.
The students held the protest in Mother Teresa Square in front of the Tirana Polytechnic University and the dean’s offices of Tirana University, blocking access to both for a time.
“We are students, not customers,” they chanted, calling for an “occupation” of the square. The students demanded the reduction of the tuition fees and changing school rules to allow more students to apply for a master’s degree.
The students also opposed the payment of one-third of the students fees at the start of the school year, saying it is impossible for them to come up with the entire sum upfront. They had made made payments in the past.
The government approved a series of new regulations relating to private universities earlier this month, increasing the burden on the students, including a doubling of the fee for students who failed and had to retake a a final exam.
Students also said they were surprised to find out that a higher grade average would be needed to go on to get a master’s degree. Under Albania’s Bologna system rules, a B.A. can be gotten in just three years and two more years are needed to get a master’s degree.
Public university students are also angry that the new rules only apply to public universities and not to private ones.
University authorities told local media they agreed with the students and called on the government to review the changes in regulations.
The government retreated later in the week on this point, saying each public university can set its own rules relating the grade average required to move to a master’s program.
But the government has yet to react on the issue of higher fees, and opposition representatives said Prime Minister Edi Rama’s administration was trying to make it “impossible for poor students to attend university.”
All post-communist govern-ments have always been very careful in dealing with student protests, which have served as catalysts for greater social protests since the student protests in 1990 that tumbled the then-communist regime.
However, some analysts argue that giving in to all student requests has come at the detriment of the quality of the education system.