Press statement by the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth Besa Shahini on completion of the 2019-2020 academic year for the higher education system:

Dear students!

Since the completion of the academic year was announced on Tuesday, we have received hundreds and thousands of text messages from you, rightly asking for a similar guidance on ending the academic year for the higher education institutions too, so that you can plan the work you are doing this year.

The universities enjoy an academic autonomy and it was the university officials the ones who should have reorganize work in the higher education institutions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

All universities have acted to cope with this new challenge by launching online schooling.

But not every university has responded to this challenge equally and in the same way, given their differences in terms of infrastructure, training and the professors’ readiness to provide online lessons, as well as the infrastructure or the students’ readiness to work from home and engage in online schooling methods.

Even regarding online taught subjects only, which have seen satisfactory students participation, your text messages hint that you haven’t always applied same work standard you would have adopted when in the university classes.

Taking notice of that, there is a need for students to spend some time in their classrooms ahead of the exams and other students need to attend laboratory-based learning sessions, or the academy of arts students need to have a hand in sculpture and picture studio works.

How to make this happen in the circumstances of the current pandemic?

The Deputy Education Minister Rrumbullaku has kept regular contact with all public university rectors, a number of deans and with certain private universities to have a track record of the online schooling and coordinate the work being done this year.

The university rectors have also forwarded their proposals on closing the academic year, saying such a move would ensure equality opportunities and access to education, provide additional support to students who have been unable to take part in online learning sessions, and, first and foremost, it helps the efforts to protect the health of students and whole community.

Based on these proposals, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth today issued a directive, ordering all public universities to take proper measures ensuring fair and successful end of the academic year.

The order contains four main elements:

First element calls for making work with students graduating in all study levels and degrees.

Taking notice that the online schooling has made it impossible for every student to learn on an equal footing, measures need to be taken to allow students return to their classrooms attend workshops and laboratory demonstrations for a three to four—week period during June 2020.

The exams and the re-exams for the graduating students at all study levels and degrees will take place in July and the first week of August.

The second element concerns all first to third year students at all study degrees, who will return to school on August 25, 2020, for a three to five-week period until end of September, depending on the needs for repetitions, or laboratory-based teaching sessions.

Meanwhile, the online schooling will continue until whole curricula programs complete.

The exams and re-exams for these students will be held on October 2020.

Such students’ grouping is a must in the efforts to minimize the number of students in the classrooms, lecture halls or laboratories, while absolute hygienic and sanitary conditions must be provided in university venues, with every student strictly observing the social and physical distancing rules.

Public universities, in the aftermath of the last year’s earthquake in particular, have organized their work in shifts, bringing also together a large number of students in one classroom.

However, such mass gatherings in classrooms should not take the place in the current circumstances.

The new regulation on the university students’ conduct compiled by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth – their health protection, social and physical distancing, regular disinfection of the university and dormitory venues – should be rigorously enforced should the universities gradually open, allowing students to return back to school in June.

The first year students should not plan to return to school prior to end of August. I believe this is important information for every student currently living in dormitories or rented homes so that they can plan housing for this or the upcoming academic year.

If you have any question regarding the payment reimbursements, please address them to the dormitory staff and not the Ministry of Education.

Third element of our order concerns the online schooling, which will continue until scheduled programs complete. The Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth is completing regulations that would standardize the online schooling in Albania, always based on the proposals we receive from the universities and the best locally-implemented models.

In the meantime, we have forwarded a survey to every public university student, to express opinion on their own experience about online schooling. I am confident that the findings of the survey would provide us detailed information on the potential success of this process and help us find ways how to improve it in the upcoming academic year.

I invite everyone to provide answers and complete the survey. It is a very short survey, but it would help us a lot in our efforts to prepare for the next academic year. As always, everyone will find this survey in your e-mail addresses.

The fourth element of our directive concerns the completion of the academic year, which will be postponed by two more weeks, whereas the new academic year will start in November 2020.

The four elements apply to public universities that have a higher student density and have failed to organize online learning for all students equally.

Private universities are steps ahead in online schooling and they have a smaller number of students and therefore can adapt a more flexible approach in implementing this scenario, sticking to their schedules on exams and graduation programs. However, private universities are obliged to heed the social distancing rules and hygiene and they can resume work once we made a decision on partial reopening of the education institutions in June.

For all this to work, all universities without exception must submit to the Ministry of Education by May 15 their detailed plans on the students’ return for repetition or laboratory learning sessions, detailed plans on the exams, and detailed plans on the implementation of the hygiene regulation. These plans should include the exact number of students expected to attend the university each month, starting in June, the attendance groups, the social distancing and safety rules.

Dear students of public universities!

As you already know, your exams are subsidized by the state budget and it is whole society the one paying for your education.

Under the Pact for the University, you have benefited a lot more under this subsidy program. The scholarship payment has increased, whereas the tuition fees have been halved as a way to help your families support your education.

Despite the tremendous pressure on the state budget, given how many private sector employees have lost their jobs due to pandemic and today benefit the wartime salary from this budget, we have decided not to change anything concerning your benefits under the Pact for the University.

Your welfare is the most important thing to us right now and that’s why we are making a great sacrifice to make sure you receive all these benefits, you have earned through your activism.

I would urge everyone to do whatever you can so that we successfully complete this academic year and do not succumb to the great challenge that the global coronavirus pandemic we are facing.

Let’s take advantage of the obligation we have to participate in online schooling by increasing our digital capacities, because students will not return to their classrooms in large groups.

Let’s demonstrate that united we can succeed.

Concluding, I will again reiterate the main elements of the today’s directive.

All public university students at all study degree programs may return to universities, if necessary, on June 2020.

All graduating students will complete final exams during July and first week of 2020, whereas lower degree program students are not expected to return to school prior to August 25 and they will sit their exams in October.

Completion of the academic year may be postponed by two weeks only and the online schooling will continue during this period.

Thank you and goodbye!