Education and Sports Minister Evis Kushi, with representatives from the Italian Embassy in Tirana and UNICEF Albania, announced a new project to stop children from dropping out of school.

Figures from UNICEF in 2022 found that some 17% of those aged between 18-24 left school early in 2021, with almost a quarter of those currently between 15-24 not in any education or employment. Additionally, there were some 17,000 fewer enrolled students in 2020-2021 compared to 2019-2020, although this can be partly attributed to migration.

Kushi said the project would not only support educational policies and programmes in schools to prevent dropouts, but it will provide support and better outcomes for students, their families, and society.

“Programmes such as Arts and Crafts, Sports Teams, and Community Centers make the school more attractive by directly influencing those students who tend to drop out, since the school, in addition to teaching, also identifies their talents, engaging, motivating and developing them in the way properly, regardless of success in learning”, said Kushi.

At the end of her speech, the minister emphasised that all institutions, line ministries, educational workers and the whole society should contribute to the early prevention of the risk of dropping out.

The project will last three years and identify those potentially at risk of dropping out. In conjunction with teachers, assistant teachers, psycho-social service workers and security officers, schools must become a more familiar and warm environment for all, Kushi said.

Another issue plaguing the Albanian education system is that of segregation between Albanian students and members of ethnic minorities such as Roma and Egyptian.

On 23 February this year, representatives from Albanian local and central institutions convened in Korça to discuss concrete measures to address segregation in schools and advance the integration of Roma and Egyptian children in education, with support from the European Union and the Council of Europe.

This meeting was organised in response to a recent judgement of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) that found discrimination based on ethnicity and a failure of national authorities to implement desegregation measures in a school in the Korça region.

During the meeting, the State Advocate, Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination, relevant ministries, and local authorities actively discussed and commented on the measures to be undertaken to support the implementation of the ECtHR judgement.

While the ECHR judgement pertained to Korca, segregation is prevalent throughout the country, including Fier, Shkodra and Elbasan. Some 60% of eligible Roma and Egyptian children in Albania do not attend school.

A recent report from UNESCO found that Albania has the highest rate of segregation in schools in the whole of the Western Balkans. But this was not just limited to ethnicity and also included those with disabilities and LGBTI students.

(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)