Tirana, December 18, 2024 – The Parliamentary Committee on Education in the Albanian Parliament held today a Hearing session with members and partners of the Coalition for Education in Albania to hear some of the most concerning issues and recommendations that Coalition members had requested to share with the Members of the Commission since the beginning of the new academic year in the country. Three were the most important areas of concern that were raised during the session with MPs: a) access, quality and inclusiveness of public pre-university education; (b) national budget for education; and (c) the rights of students and their support to pursue higher education.
CRCA/ECPAT Albania, on behalf of the Coalition shared the concern, which was supported by all MPs, that despite the efforts made during the last 12 years, the national budget for education continues to remain among the lowest in Europe.
“The lack of investment in education becomes lack of investment in children’s knowledge. It is therefore incumbent on every MP to press the Government to make education a national priority.” – asked during his presentation Altin Hazizaj, Director of CRCA Albania.
Other issues of concern that members of the Education Coalition raised during their presentations were: violence and bullying in schools, support and integration in formal education of children with disabilities and Roma, as well as the funding the Government should provide for major educational programs, student transport, online safety in school of children, etc.
Today’s session was organized after almost two years, where CRCA /ECPAT Albania had asked the Education Commission and MPs to engage more on education issues, stating that this dialogue should be made more frequent, including joint organization of public-school visits. At the end of the session, it was agreed to work together to prepare a draft resolution to address priorities that the Government, Parliament and civil society will have to commit to improving the education situation in Albania.
CRCA/ECPAT Albania
E-mail: crca@crca.al