Today’s meeting between the representatives of the academic staff of the University of Tirana (UT) and the Minister of Education Besa Shahini regarding professors’ demands was unsuccessful.
Last week, the academic staff of the UT demanded the government to meet all student demands before February 2nd, otherwise they would call for a general strike of all universities in the country.
Lecturer of Faculty of Journalism Mark Marku said that no agreement was reached in the meeting, and that they will wait for a response from the government until tonight.
“We discussed the situation in the university. Our demands were in focus. No clear statement was made by the minister of education. Through general rhetoric, she tried to sidestep the topic and move toward a discussion with no outcome. We’ll wait until tonight to see if they will come with a clear answer. Later on, the assembly of professors will hold a meeting to decide on our stance.”
Marku added that despite the long conversation, Minister Shahini didn’t have the will to deal with the demands of the students and professors.
“The minister tried to convince us on how good the Pact on University is, which was an insulting attempt by her, as we understand it [the Pact] better than she does.”
The pact was government’s answer to student demands, which they have deemed unilateral, partial, distracting and unacceptable. Meanwhile, the student protests, occupation, and boycott are entering their third month.
Academic staff’s list of five demands included support for students demands, an increase to 5 per cent of the GDP for the education budget, the repeal of the law on higher education and of several controversial decisions of Prime Minister Rama which allegedly violate the autonomy of universities.
Adding more insult to the situation, Minister Shahini said that the meeting was called with the aim of informing some of the professors about the Pact, given that they had misunderstood it. She added that it was completely normal not to agree.
“I invited them to explain the Pact on University and our common goal to improve the quality of higher education. It’s completely normal that we didn’t agree. The meeting also served to clarify some misunderstandings of some of the professors about the pact. We will continue to listen to everyone but we will also continue to lead toward a final contract between the government and students.”
