Government Spokesperson, also State Minister for Relations with Parliament, Elisa Spiropali, announces the government’s position on countless student and parent complaints against blocking classes in several faculties:

For more than two weeks, countless messages have been forwarded to the Prime Minister, cabinet members and parliament members by students, voicing concern over being unable to normally attend classes in their faculties.

Unfortunately, in this case, the Prime Minister and the government could not do and cannot to the extent the girls and boys, who have been taken hostage in their own right, want us to do.

The university is autonomous and it is duty-bound to ensure teaching process.

The law doesn’t allow the government to intervene and forcibly unblock the university premi3ses, but, on the other hand, the law stipulates that the top university official, namely the university Rector, should ensure normal conduct of the learning and teaching process and call for the police intervention.

With the exception of one case, when the university administrator asked the government to act, we have never intervened in the administration of the university and we do not say this to be justified in front of the students, but to make it clear that the government has never been asked for help to unlock university venues.

And we are here to explain to the boys and girls that the existing legal framework makes it impossible for us to intervene. Of course, we are willing to dialogue with all stakeholders and factors on finding a right solution for the students.

Sadly, we are no longer dealing with a student protest.

The true student protest cleared the way for the Pact for the University and the true transformation of the university quality and life.

The Pact provides for the reduction of tuition fees as well as the transformation of the university infrastructure, establishment of the digital university library, creation of a partnership between the ministries and faculties in the scope of their activity, project on employment of best performing students in the public administration and setting a standard on the academic degrees and the education as a whole.

We are committed to bring about this change and do for the university what has not been done over the past 27 years combined.

What remains from the true student protest is a leftover caricature from the protest, with the direct involvement of the Democratic Party, the SMI and Sali Berisha himself, who is totally committed, along with some segments within the university, small, yet nourished over the years with undeserved titles and shameless employment exactly where they have their known nepotism, militant and clan networks.

This is an extreme demonstration of brutality by an opposition lacking vision, ideas and a leadership, but ready to turn everyone into a cannon fodder and let out all their inconsolable despair.

Fortunately, most of the faculties and universities have been liberated from the clutches of these groups including students and not students who have hijacked the university facilities. This has turned into a wound, especially at the Faculty of Law and has deteriorated into a physical conflict.

We express our solidarity to parents and students who want to attend classes and call on the Rector to respond to these students, or if there is any other solution, let it announce publically.

The reason I am issuing this statement today is to express our concern over the blockade of classes in the Faculty of Law and any other faculty and emphasize that the university autonomy as stipulated by law provides not only the freedom, but also the responsibilities and duties that they must exercise!