Albanian Students Rally Against University Reforms

Students protesting in Tirana on 8 April 2015. The slogan reads “student loan sucks”. | Photo by Ivana Dervishi/BIRN

Protesting students and professors from the University of Tirana staged a  march in the centre of Tirana, urging the government to withdraw a proposed reform of higher education, calling it a sell-out to private sector interests and harmful for public universities.

The protesters said the new law erodes academic freedom by putting universities under control of the government while diverting public funds to private universities and increasing fees for students.

The government denies aiming to interfere in university administration, claiming that the new law will offer equal treatment for all universities whatever their ownership.

The new law increases the tuition fees in public universities in order to increase the total amount of cash that is available to higher education.

“This is an occult act of redistribution, which aims to finance private universities with the money of students,” Viktori Çipi, one of the protesting students, said.

“This process will make public universities poorer and as result, universities will have to increase tuition fees, turning higher education into a space available only for the most privileged,” she added.

Fatos Lubonja, a political commentator and writer, praised the student action, calling it a “good sign for democracy.

“This is an important moment for democracy because this is not just your cause. Our hopes rely on you, your voice should not be broken or suppressed because the general perception is that we are powerless to change the situation,” Lubonja said.

“This reform polarizes society… and has a message of violence within it,” he added.

The For University student movement started last year as a protest movement against repeated rises in tuition fees and the government’s move to prepare a legal basis for the provision of funds for private universities.

The private higher education sector has boomed in Albania over the last decade but has shown signs of crisis during the last few years.

Students protesting in Tirana on 8 April 2015. The slogan reads “It will not pass”. Photo: Ivana Dervishi/BIRN

Students protesting in Tirana on 8 April 2015. The slogan reads “student loan sucks”. Photo: Ivana Dervishi/BIRN

Students protesting in Tirana on 8 April 2015. The slogan reads “It will not pass”. Photo: Ivana Dervishi/BIRN