The new school year has now started in school districts across the country.
Euronews Albania has closely followed the situation in Shkoder and Vlora. These cities are faced with various problems, the main one being the low number of students enrolled in school this year.
Euronews Albania journalist Ebrieta Macaj, in a report from Vlora, informed that a lower number of students was noticed this year, compared to the previous one.
“12,300 was the number of students registered in schools for this new year, a number that is decreasing compared to the previous one”, reported the journalist.
While she also focused on the problems of education in Vlora, Macaj also noted that another concern remains in regards to how learning will continue for students with disabilities, since an official answer has yet to be posted in the state’s official, and the shortage of teachers has yet to be addressed.
Another concern expressed by students and parents is the issue of teaching in shifts.
The head of the Education Union in Vlora has also confirmed that teaching in shifts continues to be a problem in his district.
Furthermore, Macaj reported that after a brief communication with the director of the Education Office, she was informed that this year there will be no schools closures.
“The director of the Education Office has informed us that this year there will be no closed schools in Vlora. In fact, the schools with a small number of students in Vlora are thinking of merging with bigger schools that are close by, but so far, we this has yet to be applied”, said Euronews Albania’s journalist.
As for Shkodra, the chairman of the Education Union, Arjan Perja, said that not only this year but in the last five years, the education system has faced a ‘hemorrhage’, due to the high number of students dropping out.
Perja also added that the decline in the number of students enrolled in schools has become ‘a gangrene’, adding that the education platform is a problem in and of itself.
“What we have asked the minister is that no teacher who is a member of the trade union alliance be penalized”, he said, adding that he hopes it will be done by the Minister of Education.
