The Albanian government will not strike a deal with protesting teachers over salaries, instead suggesting they can work in private institutions and stating vetting of salary declarations will take place.
Lecturers and other teaching staff have been protesting since the start of the academic year on Monday, demanding a 50% pay rise, despite a government increase to their salaries of 17%. Staff in Tirana were joined in solidarity by those in other major cities like Elbasan, Shkodra, and Vlora.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Edi Rama said he would not enter into an agreement with the teachers over the matter.
“You cannot go out and protest and not teach at a time when the salary has increased. Teachers have second chances by working in private universities,” he said.
He added that the government would start vetting salary declarations as teachers are working in private universities and not declaring income.
“Some of the lecturers are not declared by private universities; we will do vetting on this issue.”
Teachers are unhappy that they only get paid for ten months of the year, leaving two months without a salary. Teachers’ annual salary is spread over 12 months in many countries, including the UK, despite having most of the summer as leave.
They said they would continue striking and boycotting classes until their demands were met.
On Sunday, Education Minister Evis Kushi said the government and the ministry have given scholarships and exempted several categories from the annual fee, such as students who choose priority subjects, excellent students and those who have won medals in Olympiads.
“This new academic year coincides with a difficult situation when the whole world, including Albania, is suffering the consequences of a crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. The Albanian government has undertaken a series of measures to support every family, including yours, to mitigate the effects of the price crisis as much as possible. But our support for you doesn’t stop there,” she said.
She also said standards in universities have increased along with infrastructure, and she wished teachers the best for the year ahead.
