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Dropulliti Jani Zhupi, a respected figure in Albanian education

2026-02-13 08:00:39Histori SHKRUAR NGA XHEVDET SHEHU
Jani Zhupi teaching at the "Asim Zeneli" high school in Gjirokastra

It is never too late to write about teachers, these torches of light and knowledge. Gratitude for them remains boundless and travels through generations as a beautiful memory to all those who were educated by them. Respect for these educators becomes even more beautiful and precious after their departure from life.

One of these respected and unforgettable teachers is Jani Zhupi, I learned about his life and passionate work in education a few days ago, while drinking coffee with some Gjirokastrians.

The renowned master of Albanian music, Naxhi Kasoruho, told me:

- Since I was little, I used to pass by the “Asim Zeneli” Gjirokastër high school, the pantheon of Albanian education, whose centenary was celebrated with great fanfare two years ago. In a century, entire generations of culture and knowledge were prepared in that high school, who would serve with devotion in all four corners of the country. Passionate and honored teachers would teach many generations of students with girls and boys who, since morning, would descend the alleys of the neighborhoods to the classes of this school that is a symbol of our national education. These names were mentioned with respect and adoration in dozens of writings published by various authors, former Asimzenelas, now among the most prominent names in our national culture.

These days I was in Gjirokastra and I met Nestor Zhupi by chance, the son of the honored teacher of the Gjirokastra high school, Jani Zhupi. I was with my colleague and friend, the teacher and director of this high school, Muhamet Sinani, together with the musicologist and our friend Kosta Loli, we were collecting impressions and memories from the School of Music, to prepare a book with impressions and memories from former students and teachers over the years.

During the conversation with Muhameti and Nestor, I learned more about the passionate work of teacher Jani Zhupi, although I also knew something about his life during the decades of work in Gjirokastra. When we talk about the teachers of the Gjirokastra high school as a symbol of this school and our education, we mention with respect and gratitude Basho Thoma Papapano “Teacher of the People”, “Honor of the Nation”. Among the dozens and hundreds of teachers of this school was also teacher Jani Zhupi.

Although I was not a student at this high school, I feel it is a loss that I was not lucky enough to sit on the benches of this school. But let us dwell more broadly on the valuable contribution of this teacher in the field of education and beyond.

The journalist Jorgo Qirko gives me some interesting information about Jani Zhupi's life.

- It is a life that is constantly on the rise, -Jorgoja tells me,- starting from Dropulli i Poshtëm, in Gjirokastër and Tirana. What can you tell or write about this commissar of light? He was a Greek minority, but he fought with weapons in his hand for the liberation of Albania, while he devoted his entire life to Albanian education.

Jani Zhupi was born in 1919 in the village of Dhuvjan in Lower Dropulli, in the region of the Greek minority in Albania. He received his first primary education in his native village, while he continued his 7th grade education in the village of Sofratika, also in Lower Dropulli.

In 1943, after completing his 7th grade, Jani joined the partisan formations that operated in the minority areas of the Gjirokastra district. After the war ended, having a desire to be educated, he went to Elbasan to study at the city's "Normale" as a school that prepared future teachers from all districts of the country. The desire for knowledge and culture led Jani Zhupi to go to study in Tirana at the Faculty of Biology-Chemistry, studies that he completed with high results.

At the end of his studies with a teaching diploma, he returned to Gjirokastra and was appointed a teacher of the subject "biology-chemistry" at the "Asim Zeneli" high school in Gjirokastra. Thus began the beautiful journey of the passionate teacher, where for decades he would prepare entire generations of students who, together with the entire wonderful team of teachers of this school, would place him in the Pantheon of Albanian Education.

Scientifically prepared teaching materials, passionate work in the school laboratory, differentiated work with less active students would be the motto of Jani's work. Seeing the results of his work as a high school teacher, he was appointed Inspector of the Education Section in the Executive Committee of the Gjirokastër District.

During his years as a teacher, he has had a constellation of teachers with high methodological and scientific training, giving this district a high rating at the district level. His career then continued in other positions, where he was appointed Director of the Industrial School of the city of Gjirokastra, where his work was appreciated as a teacher but also as a leader, which was reflected in the high results and the preparation of students in the various branches of the school as mechanics-electricians, who would be equipped with technical knowledge and work in various sectors upon graduation.

The passionate teacher's last stop was "Eqrem Çabej" University in Gjirokastra, continuing his mission as a torch of light in the noble duty of a missionary of education in our country.

I sat down to write this appreciation for the passionate teacher Jani Zhupi in continuation of my writings about various characters from the great city who have modestly contributed generously to the progress of this region with inalienable values ??in our heritage that comes from the distance of centuries to our days.

Meanwhile, Muhamet Sinani does not hide his adoration for teacher Jani Zhupi, adding and underlining that:

-To preserve, enrich and inherit this value in the next generations, it is up to us, the people of Gjirokastra today, together with the surrounding areas, to take forward this value and heritage as part of our national identity by enriching it with new values. Let us be modest and kind and grateful by appreciating these personalities of Gjirokastra education with gratitude from the Municipality, the Region and the Prefecture by memorizing them in the popular memory as symbols and values ??that we should refer to in order to inherit this heritage.


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

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