On December 12th2018, 24 NGOs in Albania released a statement to express their support for the ongoing student protests in the country. Supporting the student’s requests, the Civil Society organisations demanded that 5% of the GDP of the country be spent on Education.
At the moment, Albania only spends 3.3%of the GDP on education, a figure far less than other international and regional standards. This low investment rate undermines the rights of children and young people, as well as the provision of free, quality, and inclusive public education for all.
In middle-income countries such as Albania, each dollar that is invested in education generates an additional $5 in gross earnings annually. For years, the Albanian Coalition for Education and NGOs have urged the Albanian Government, Parliament, and political party to allocate 5% of the annual GDP to education.
5% of Education GDP ensures:
– Provision of inclusive and equitable quality free of charge education for all children and young
people across Albania.
– Increase investment in school infrastructure, in laboratories, classrooms, gyms and quality
libraries.
– Improves teaching quality by translating this into an increase in academic achievement
comparable to European Union countries.
The statement released by the coalition added that:
“We express our conviction that the right of every person to free of charge, quality, and public education for all is a basic human right that must be respected. In this context, we invite the Albanian Parliament, the Government and all institutions, political parties and social partners to jointly do their utmost to respect and guarantee this right.”
NGOs that signed the public statement include the Albanian National Youth Network, The Child Rights Centre in Albania, PINK Embassy in Albania, Down Syndrome Albania, World Vision Albania, Albanian Helsinki Committee, and Save the Children Albania, amongst others.
The statement comes on the 9thday of student protests in the city of Tirana, two days after Prime Minister Edi Rama threatened all protestors, and the same day that 25 peaceful protestors were arrested for exercising one of their fundamental human rights.
This article was originally published on The Balkanista.
