Pact for the University
First student demand:
Increasing the state budget spending on education to five percent of GDP in order to allow for the tuition fee ratio charged on bachelor, master and PhD study programs to be halved, infrastructure and teaching upgrade (universities and dormitories).
Present situation:
The estimated cost for each Higher Education Institutions’ student varies depending on the study program and the Higher Education Institution, ranging from the lowest tuition fee of 55,000 ALL at Durres University to the highest fee ratio of 470,000 ALL at the University of Arts in Tirana.
The state budget’s contribution to the program cost varies from 54%, the lowest, to a maximum of 91%.
As a result, a university student pays a tuition fee ratio of 25,000 ALL for the lowest program cost and around 40,000 ALL for the highest program cost.
What we decided today:
Four Council of Ministers decisions were approved in view of the abovementioned:
On determination of the categories of individuals who meet the eligibility criteria for Master’s (2nd cycle) degree programme in the public higher education institutions, who will benefit annual tuition fee cut;
On several amendments to the Council of Ministers Decision No. 903, dated 21.12.2016 “On determining the criteria for providing scholarship support for excellent students who achieved high grades in the secondary and tertiary education; to support the students enrolled in study programmes designated as priority areas and students from disadvantaged social groups,” as amended;
On amendments to the Council of Ministers Decision No. 288, dated 21.5.2018 “On setting the maximum annual tuition fee ratio for the students attending public higher education institutions for first cycle study programmes, as well as for integrated and full-time professional programmes,” as amended;
On amendments to the Council of Ministers Decision No. 269, dated 29.3.2017 “On determining the categories of individuals who fulfil the admission criteria to a first cycle study programme, to an integrated study programme or in a professional studies programme exempted from the annual tuition fee,” as amended.
Explanation for the decision-making:
The tuition fees for the first cycle of studies (Bachelor’s degree programmes) will be paid by the government for the following categories:
Students from families benefiting economic assistance, as well as persons with disabilities, blind people, paraplegic and tetraplegic persons benefit a 100% coverage of the tuition fee.
Students from families receiving economic assistance, blind people, paraplegic and tetraplegic persons will benefit a scholarship of 10.000 ALL per month.
Student excellence:
Students of every degree programme with grade point average over will benefit a 100% coverage towards the tuition fee from the full fee rate that was paid prior to this decision.
Students of every degree programme with the grade point average over 9 benefit a scholarship of 10.000 ALL a month, while this amount was estimated 8,100 ALL per month and it was granted to students with grade point average 10 only.
A fair opportunity provided to every student:
Every other student, who paid full tuition fee rate prior to this decision, will benefit a 50 percent cut of the tuition fee upon the university enrolment.
Students will lose this opportunity should they fail to maintain a grade point average over 6 in the coming academic years.
The tuition fees for the Master’s (2nd cycle) degree programme will be paid by the government for the following categories:
Students with grade point average over 9 upon university admission, students coming from families receiving economic assistance as well as the blind students, paraplegic and tetraplegic people, orphans, children of police officers who have died in the line of duty and every other groups defined under this decision benefit a funding of up to 50 % of the tuition fee, categories that prior to this decision paid a full fee rate.
Student dormitory system in the Higher Education Institutions
Present situation
As many as 8 student accommodation companies operate namely three in Tirana, and five others in the universities of Vlora, Shkoder, Elbasan, Gjirokaster and Korça.
Problems:
The estimated 350 million ALL in budget support for this companies will be revised upward as it is very low and it refers to the prices set out in the 2003 directive.
Solution:
The 2018 normative act on the state budget, due to be approved soon, foresees an additional 300 million ALL in funding to support accomplishment of the investments to upgrade the student dormitories in 2019.
A maximum of 13 out an estimated total number of 37 student accommodation buildings in Tirana will be rehabilitated through a total funding of 16.8 million euro provided by the German government.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy is already negotiating with the German government-owned bank KfW to further support rehabilitation of student dormitory buildings under a project worth 27 million euro, namely a grant of 7 million euro and a loan of 20 million euro.
The deadline for completion:
Within a 3-year period for reconstruction works.
Second student demand:
Transparency over the Ministry of Education and the Higher Education Institutions’ transparency, online disclosure of all spending.
Present situation:
The Higher Education Institutions are eligible to:
Establish internal financial regulations and rules, distribution and use of revenues according to the activity and the institution’s needs;
Set the tuition fee rates in accordance with this law.
The Higher Education Institutions draft their own budget starting from each department and faculty level and the budget is then consolidated at the Higher Education Institution level.
The budget is initially endorsed by the Academic Senate and the drat is then forwarded for approval to the University Administrative Board.
Problems:
Students and a significant part of the academic staff are provided limited budget information, either in regards to the drafting and approval of the budget, as well as on spending.
What we decided today:
A Council of Ministers decision was adopted today to ensure financial transparency in public higher education institutions.
Explanation over the decision:
The transparency and complaint tackling portal will be created with the aim of ensuring transparency in the public higher education institutions.
The Portal will accessible to all and online information will be disclosed on it, including:
Detailed data on revenue and financial spending of each higher education institution;
Starting from the 2019 budget year, the administrative board of the Higher Education Institution, through the Administrator, should forward and disclose detailed data on income and spending expenses every three months as determined in this letter.
Medium-term budget data (MTBP), annual budget, state budget grants and other income, all operating expense, spending on scientific research and capital expenditures of any public institution of higher education;
Information on public procurement procedures or competition procedures of public and private partnership;
The decisions made by the Administrative Board, the Academic Senate and other decision-making and executive bodies.
The projected quota for each academic year;
Student exchange instruments and programmes and related procedures;
Research funding instruments and related procedures (public and specific scholarships for each university);
Two or more multilateral agreements at university level;
Data on scholarships and financial incentives provided to students;
CVs of university professors;
Results of scientific degree verification process;
Claims and complaints filing procedures and mechanisms concerning actions or inaction of the officials and executive bodies of higher education institutions, the procedure through which the interested individuals can present their opinions or influence in a way or another in the process of drafting laws, public policies or exercising the functions of the higher education institution.
A relevant structure tasked with controlling the higher education transparency will be created to examine the complaints filed via the online transparency platform.
The deadline for completion:
April 2019
Third student demand:
Increasing from 10% to a 50% share of the students’ votes in the election process of the running candidates for deans, rectors, whereas each faculty should be represented by a student at the academic senate.
The present situation:
The Higher Education Law regulates the student participation through four elements:
Participation in the Senate;
Participation in Elections;
Participation in Permanent Commissions;
Student councils.
The Law recognizes the students’ rights to be represented in every permanent commission.
Permanent commissions are collegial bodies, operating at university and faculty level.
They perform functions in areas defined in the statute, mainly related to scientific qualification and academic promotion, to guarantee quality standards of the institution and study programs, to the progress of its activity and to the relations with students in accordance with the institution’s mission and policies.
The law recognizes the students’ right to join and create student councils at the unit level, (faculty) of the higher education institution, as well as at the national level.
The student councils promote the students’ participation and coordinate their representation in the executive bodies of the higher education institutions.
The problems:
To a large extent, the Student Councils and Permanent Commission are yet to be established.
Such institutions are designed to be the nearest and most frequent meeting point for the students’ problems.
The lack of these institutions has stirred a feeling of underrepresentation and consequently the demand for an increased student representation.
What we decided today:
Regarding this issue, today I have signed the Prime Minister’s directive on establishment of the inter-institutional working team tasked with drafting the status of the public institutions of the higher education.
The status model will facilitate work of the higher education institutions to adopt their own statuses, marking then the launch of the election process for the Student Councils and the Permanent Commissions.
The solution:
Completion of the status process at the public higher education institutions.
Provision of legal assistance if needed.
Launch of election process for the Student Councils.
Monitoring the Permanent Commission and the students’ representation in these bodies in line with the status.
The deadline for completion:
June 2019.
Fourth student demand:
Review of academic degrees and verification of doctoral plagiarism and textbooks.
The present situation:
The verification process of the legal criteria for every higher education institution has found:
Failure to respect the standard stipulating one supervisor for no more than 5 doctorate students as one supervisor has had an average of 15 doctorate students, even one supervisor for 41 doctorate students in one case.
Failure to respect the duration of at least 3 academic years for the doctoral studies to be finalized with the scientific degree of ‘Doctor’. The Albanian Studies Academy has awarded doctoral degrees during a duration of three months only.
No plagiarism verification reports have been issued.
What we decided today:
Regarding this issue, the Council of Ministers adopted the decision on the anti-plagiarism control over the academic degrees.
Meanwhile, draft law on the code of conducts for integrity in scientific research in the Republic of Albania will be subject to public consultation.
Explanation for the decision:
Creation of a digital archive of all doctoral studies in the Republic of Albania at the relevant Education Ministry.
Higher Education Institutions as well as any other state institution keeping original copies of dissertations should submit to the relevant Ministry of Education the copies equivalent to the original and the material electronically within 60 days after this decision enters into force.
The relevant Ministry for education conducts the digital antiplagiarism verification through an automatic verification software program or other programs and equipment.
The Ministry of Education will forward the antiplagiarism verification results on the basis of which a revaluation on the academic degrees obtained via alleged non-academic practices will take place.
The higher education institution, within 90 days from making the antiplagiarism verification findings available, should inform the relevant Ministry of Education about the final revaluation decision about every reviewed academic degree.
The Code of Conduct for Research Integrity in the Republic of Albania, hereinafter called the Code of Ethics, contains the basic principles and norms of the conduct of higher education institutions and their academic or research staff in compliance with the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity.
The purpose of the Code of Ethics is to serve as a framework for self-regulation and it holds legal, institutional, professional, moral and social responsibilities for the institutions and members of the academic and scientific communities.
The Code of Ethics at safeguarding, guaranteeing and defending the academic, professional, institutional and moral integrity of academic and research activity in the Republic of Albania in accordance with international contemporary standards of academic activity and scientific research.
Fifth student demand:
Based on the Article 99 on the Student Councils, the Higher Education Law, Item 2, we demand that the administrative boards of the higher education institutions include an equal number of votes from the Ministry of Education and Science and the Higher Education Institute, while a student representative adds to this board.
Present situation:
According to the law the administrative boards composed of seven part-time members.
The members, the higher education institution representatives are elected by the Academic Senate.
The members representing the Ministry of Education and the local government are leading experts in the academic, managerial, economic and legal area of expertise and are respectively appointed by the minister responsible for education and the head of the local government.
Problems:
Administrative Boards have kept a low public profile and their role has not been well understood by the university and the public alike.
Although they have significantly improved the financial management of the public higher education institutions, the Administrative Boards have failed to improve the public perception over the financial mismanagement by these institutions.
Students call for their representation in the Administrative Boards of the higher education institutions.
What we decided today:
A Council of Ministers decision “On determining criteria and procedures for selecting the Administrative Board members in the public institutions of higher education representing the Ministry of Education” was approved to tackle this issue today.
Explanation for the decision:
Discharge of all board members appointed by the Ministry of Education.
The new nominations to the Administrative Boards should take place through an open process under the public attention.
One of the Ministry of Education representatives in the Administrative Boards will be proposed by the students, on the condition that the proposed member is a public figure as stipulated by law.
The Senates will be legally free to propose one of the student members in the senate or heads of Student Councils to fill the positions they hold in the Administrative Boards.
If this is set in the University Statute, the presence is definitely settled.
The deadline for completion:
April-May 2019.
Sixth student demand:
Providing the student card to every student during the academic year 2018 – 2019.
Present situation:
Albania has no tradition of providing favourable services to students.
Therefore, since February 2018 onward, a series of communications have taken place with the European Commission over this issue, not only to include Albania in the European Student Card, but also provide continued assistance from the French authorities for this project.
In November 2018, a bilateral agreement has been signed with the French authorities on preparation and implementation of the European Student Card in Albania.
Problems:
The implementation process has taken a long time as it requires involvement of local, central and private business institutions.
The lack of experience and culture of favourable services to students.
The lack of institutions’ readiness to ensure provision of dedicated services.
Solution:
The Ministry of Education and Science will make public the signed agreement and the list of services students are entitled to benefit from state entities, local government and the private entities.
A technical guide on how to apply and other technical issues related to the format and the card’s data, the online application, etc., is being drafted, and it will take legal form upon completion of the card application software.
Deadline for completion:
Adoption of two Council of Ministers decisions within January 2019.
Issuance of the student card by September– December 2019.
Seventh student card:
Building free online university libraries in Albanian language in line with the European standards.
Present situation:
To date, the access to scientific journals and magazines has been an activity directly linked to the autonomous decision-making by higher education institutions.
The lack of accessibility to the latest scientific publications has also incurred an additional economic cost, as this shortage turns the buying books and physical titles into a must.
What we decided today:
A Council of Ministers decision has been made to set up a commission tasked with the identification of the international academic literature that will be translated into Albanian;
The decision will mark a major step towards improvement of the academic degrees in the country’s higher education institutions.
Solution:
The digital library will become operational by March and it will be accessible to every student and academic personnel all over the country.
Deadline for completion:
May 2019.
Eight student demand:
Assessment of teaching and research performance of every university professor, online disclosure of their publications and lecture registration.
Present situation:
A new standard has been set in the Albanian higher education system as all universities have been internationally accredited by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). However, as the accreditation report noted, several institutions of the higher education failed to show due seriousness during the accreditation process due to internal conflicts among the executive bodies, as well as a result of the lack of institutional culture from the authorities of the higher education institutions in reporting their activity.
Another major step towards evaluation of teaching performance in the higher education institutions is the adoption of the Higher Education Quality Code as a summary of state quality standards.
This Code has been endorsed by the Council of Ministers recently.
What we decided:
I have already signed the directive on “Setting up the Working Group on Amending the Council of Ministers Decision on the Higher Education Quality Code to ensure that the legislation addresses many of the concerns expressed by the students.
The Council of Ministers also adopted the decision on “Evaluation of teaching performance by academic personnel of the higher education institutions through the National Student Survey.”
Explanation:
The student control and evaluation instrument will assess the teaching and research performance of the academic personnel through the National Student Survey.
Package 8+:
As I have already stated in a series of previous meetings, there is today a much longer list of problems beyond the 8 student demands.
These are not final issues and others will add up in January following a tour I and cabinet members will launch to every public higher education institution across the country.
To date, the package includes:
Employment of 1000 excellent students in the public administration.
To this end, the government approved the following decisions:
The Council of Ministers Decision No.142, dated 12.3.2014, “On Description and Classification of the job positions in the public administration institutions and independent institutions,” as amended.
The Council of Ministers Decision on employment of excellent students in the public administration institutions that are part of the civil servant service for 2019.
Tirana university campus:
Regarding this issue, I have signed the directive on setting up the working group for preparations to build and operate the Tirana university campus.
Establishing systematic contacts between the higher education institutions and the ministries to increase:
Funding for scientific research;
Hiring faculties to provide consultancy to the state;
Creating systematic mechanisms for practice, internship and student employment programs.
Establishing a solidarity fund that will aim to allocate 20% of the social responsibility fund from the concession contracts for higher education.
