PUBLIC STATEMENT - PRE-UNIVERSITY EDUCATION “MISSION UNATTAINABLE” OF THE ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT

Tirana 7 March 2017

In Albania there are over 470 000 children attending pre-university education and over 35 000 teachers that every day with dedication transfer their knowledge to every child across the country.

Although the 2013-2017 governance program considers education as one of the best economic policies and as an essential system that guarantees the sustainable development of the country, the figures demonstrate the opposite. In the last 3 years the budget of the Ministry of Education and Sports has decreased, affecting directly the teaching quality.

The low percentage of GDP that Albania invests in education, is under the minimum standard of international and regional levels, and this is contrary to the state's obligation to take the appropriate measures to fulfil the objectives of Sustainable Development Goals Agenda in ensuring the provision of quality, equitable and inclusive compulsory education for all. The EU 2016 Progress Report states that Albania needs to ensure that the Pre-University Education Strategy and the Law on Higher Education should be implemented effectively and improve teachers’ development and training.

According to the report conducted by the Institute of Education Development on the results of the instrument to identify teachers’ needs, it shows that 50% of teachers need to be trained in the following areas: planning; teaching; climate and classroom management; communication and professional development.

Various studies conducted in the field of teaching appreciate the role the teacher plays in the lives of students. Teachers are considered as key actors in teaching children from early childhood along the trajectories of the process of learning

Despite reform in pre-university education system and ascending 21 places in the International Assessment Report (PISA 2015), there is still much to do. The report "Professional Development and Teacher Evaluation in Albania", conducted by ACCE highlights that Albanian education system needs a visionary education policy equipped with adequate institutions that will improve the status, authority and quality of teachers across the country.

Today, in the framework of the National Teachers Day, Albanian Coalition for Child Education urges to the Government and the Ministry of Education and Sports:

• To increase by 5% of GDP the public funding for education, as promised in the government program in order to ensure that quality, inclusive and equitable education is provided to every child. Increased funding would provide the increasing number of well trained teachers;
• To invest significantly in increasing teachers’ salaries and invest in their professional development, as urged to the governments of all countries during the Oslo Summit of Education in 2015. In the framework of the competency-based curricular reform, there is a need to draft and adopt standards for teacher competencies, by focusing on roles and duties of a teacher in the classroom, and systematically reviewing teacher professionalism on several levels: individually, school-wise, in community, and professional networks;
• Albanian authorities must draft a Strategy on the Development of the Teaching Profession to coordinate the reform of teacher preparation in universities, the development of the system of practical training of teaching candidates; the consolidation of the system of professional development and the improvement of the system of teacher performance evaluation;
• To establish the National Teachers’ Guild, that will take over duties and responsibilities on regulating the teaching;
• To establish the National Council on Teaching Quality as an independent body that should foster reforming of the teaching profession, help draft policies on teacher professional development, and give advice to the Ministry of Education and Sports on ways and methods to improve the quality of teaching;
• To ensure quality teaching at all levels, professional treatment of the role of teachers and the establishment of adequate learning environments and motivation for all teachers across Albania.