BY ILDA HOXHA
Only 2.2% of GDP is allocated to education, falling short of the promised 5% for consecutive years. The latest PISA data clearly showed a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in Albania. This alarm bell didn’t start with the pandemic but many years ago. Over these three decades, as education curricula have changed several times, students opting for teaching are accepted with an average grade of 6.5, and school infrastructure remains problematic. The Ministry of Education has been justifying for years that it has strategies and mechanisms to improve this sector, which operates with a minimal budget compared to international standards for pre-university education.
During the speech at the May 2nd plenary session, Democratic Party deputy Ina Zhupa raised concerns about what she called the ‘collapse of the pre-university system in Albania.’
‘Albania had the largest decline compared to the region, but also to itself. PISA assesses the abilities of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics, and science. It has respectively declined by 47 points, 69 points, and 50 points, and we rank lower than Palestine and Uzbekistan,’- Zhupa declared.
Following the comments of the Democratic Party deputy, Minister of Education and Sports Ogerta Manastirliu acknowledged a decline in the performance of Albanian students.
‘We cannot hide behind a finger; we cannot say that PISA was a performance that progressed as we would have liked, but we have conducted an analysis, which in the international context has been interpreted by the best experts. Our performance was on the decline, but it was influenced by several factors; we have analyzed to take measures. There have been factors that have influenced it, such as the pandemic, the earthquake,’ said Manastirliu.
What does the PISA report say?
The results of the Programme for International Student Assessment ‘PISA 2022‘ were published in December 2023.
According to the assessment, Albania ranks 62nd out of 80 countries that participated in the test.
In mathematics, Albania scored 368 points out of 472 possible points. Compared to the performance assessment of students in mathematics compared to the “PISA 2018” program, Albania has experienced a decline of 69 points, the highest among the 80 countries tested.
For reading skills among 15-year-old students, Albania was assessed with 358 points out of 476 possible points. Similarly, in reading compared to the results of 2018, there is a decline of 47 points.
For science skills, Albania was assessed with 376 points out of 485 possible points. The assessment for science skills shows a decline of 41 points compared to the results of “PISA 2018”. In comparison to regional countries, Albania ranks lower, with only Kosovo behind.
Education Experts: Education Budget Remains Low
Rigels Xhemollari from ‘Civic Resistance’ raises concerns about the quality of education in our country based on the PISA test results.
‘Just by measuring the effectiveness and productivity of learning in Albanian schools through the analysis of PISA results, it turns out that 73.2% of students are stuck in reading, in other words, functionally illiterate, students who read but cannot understand what they read. Similarly, 67% of students are stuck in science, and 74% of students are stuck in mathematics. These indicators demonstrate the real quality of education in Albanian schools.
The main problem remains the inconsistency in the development of curricula, where frequent changes bring difficulties not only in adapting for students but also for teachers in implementing the changes’, argues Xhemollari.
According to him, there cannot be development in this aspect when the budget for education remains low.
‘There cannot be development in education when only 2.2% of the Gross Domestic Product is allocated to education, when in the distant year of 2018 promises made to students spoke of a budget that would reach 5% of GDP levels, in the agreement made with the students,” he emphasizes.
Manastirliu: Measures to Improve Education Quality
Minister of Education, Ogerta Manastirliu, presented a new strategy to Parliament on May 2nd to improve the quality of education in Albania and increase performance in international tests, as part of the preparation for the PISA 2025 test.
‘The first is raising teachers’ salaries and motivating them. The second is modernizing the curriculum framework related to technological skills. The third is investing in school infrastructure and digitization. We are determined to implement these measures so that the dream of having a more quality education for Albanians becomes a reality as soon as possible. Albania in the ’20s-’30s is guaranteed to have a much more quality education, which meets the demands of the 21st century,’ said Manastirliu.
Regarding the International test ‘Pisa 2025’, the Minister of Education said that firstly, teachers and students have been provided with assessment materials and question models for the main fields of reading, mathematics, and sciences. Also, training sessions for teachers in these fields have been organized, involving 1442 teachers nationwide.
In an article published in August two years ago, Faktoje raised concerns about functional illiteracy in Albania and the fact that the pandemic had further exacerbated the problem. However, although at the time the DPAP argued that MAS had changed the teaching strategy to improve the situation, in fact today it is entirely the opposite.
