The meeting between a group of lecturers and Minister Evis Kushi, held at the premises of the Ministry of Education, has ended, following requests for salary increases and an increase in the budget for education.
Speaking to the media, the lecturers said that the minister accepted some of their demands, but not the most important one, the salary increase for university employees. He said that the announced protest of October 5 will not be canceled.
"The financial treatment of the profession is not only a matter of salaries. But how to prioritize the development of quality higher education in Albania. For Albanian students to stay here and not go around the world.
We have been minimal in our demands, while the ministry says they are exaggerated. We are waiting for a response to these requests that we agreed with the ministry. In this light, there is nothing left but to continue the protests. The October 5 protest is not cancelled, it will continue.
An agreement has not been reached on the salary increase. The ministry says that 180 euros is an extraordinary increase. We think that 200 euros is a joke. We think we are in conditions of very high inflation. We are not talking about a comparative analysis, but about the position of the teacher and the profession.
We are waiting for feedback on the requests we agreed with the ministry. More specifically, in relation to the transparency of university expenses. The ministry promised that it would demand transparency from the universities, how public money is spent. We agreed on the point with doctorates, regarding the conditions and the number of doctorates that a lecturer should lead. I believe this will be fixed.
We agreed on a redesign of the hours. It was agreed that it will be analyzed in its entirety to establish a coefficient. We agreed in principle that the lectures have a greater coefficient than the seminars, both for the bachelor's and the master's," said one of the lecturers present at the meeting.
He also stated that he supports the protest of the students who are asking for an aid of 100 euros.
"We are determined on the main demands. Our demands are not exaggerated. The exaggeration comes from the wrong perception of the value of money. Every citizen has the right to ask for inflation, refunds. Every citizen is supported by every citizen. The government has possibility to refund something to the students. On October 5, the protest continues. It will be in the form of a rally. It will be a forum with academics and professors." said the lecturer.