Provocările Educaționale în România 2022

Provocările Educaționale în România 2022

Scris de Réka Gyaraki

 

Introducere

Sistemul de învățământ românesc s-a dezvoltat foarte mult în ultimele decenii, însă încă se confruntă cu multe dificultăți în a oferi tuturor persoanelor dreptul de acces la educație. Potrivit Inițiativei de Măsurare a Drepturilor Omului, România face doar 65% din ceea ce ar putea face cu venitul său național în ceea ce privește asigurarea dreptului la educație[1]. Astfel, România ocupă ultimul loc în clasamentul tuturor țărilor europene. Acest eseu explorează principalele probleme educaționale din România, împărțite în patru categorii principale: accesul la educație, calitatea educației, discriminarea și violența în educație și efectele pandemiei Covid-19 asupra educației.

 

Accesul la educație

Grupurile sociale marginalizate și minoritățile se confruntă cu dificultăți în exercitarea dreptului lor la educație în România. În special, copiii minoritari maghiari și romi, copiii cu handicap, cei din mediul rural și cei săraci, refugiații și copiii care nu au certificate de naștere sunt cei mai vulnerabili și sunt adesea lăsați în afara educației sau au mai puțin acces decât restul societății.

Maghiarii sunt cel mai mare grup minoritar din România și chiar dacă educația lingvistică minoritară este permisă prin lege pentru studenții maghiari, aceștia nu au adesea acces la ea din cauza lipsei de profesori. De asemenea, cursurile despre cultura, istoria și limba maghiară sunt în plus față de curriculumul românesc pe care toți elevii trebuie să îl urmeze, rezultând  într-un număr mai mare de lecții pentru copiii minoritari, volum de muncă mai mare și, prin urmare, lipsa șanselor egale[2].

Potrivit Băncii Mondiale[3], 70% dintre romi trăiesc în sărăcie în România. Sărăcia le limitează accesul la educație, deoarece copiii romi au rate mai mici de înscriere, rate mai mari de abandon școlar și o rată de analfabetism de zece ori mai mare decât ceilalți elevi din România[4].

În mediul rural, 16% (7-10 ani) și 25% (11-14 ani) dintre copii nu sunt înscriși în învățământul primar, în timp ce aceste rate sunt semnificativ mai mici, respectiv 9% și 6% în zonele urbane[5]. Acest lucru este cauzat în principal de lipsa instituțiilor de învățământ din zonele rurale și de infrastructura inadecvată pentru a călători către cea mai apropiată școală.

Copiii cu dizabilități se confruntă, de asemenea, cu dificultăți în accesul la educație în România. 40% dintre copiii cu dizabilități sunt plasați în școli segregate sau nu participă deloc la educație, în timp ce doar 21% din licee sunt dotate cu rampe de acces[6].

În perioada 2019-2020, România a adoptat un nou cadru juridic pentru a spori integrarea refugiaților și a migranților. Cu toate acestea, înscrierea la școală a copiilor străini rămâne o provocare, deoarece procedura este întârziată în mod regulat, iar educația în limba română este greu accesibilă din cauza lipsei de personal[7]. În plus, copiii migranți sunt adesea înscriși în clase sub vârsta lor din cauza lipsei de competențe lingvistice, se confruntă cu probleme psihologice din cauza plecării din țara de origine și nu beneficiază de consiliere sau sprijin psihologic[8].

 


Copii romi la şcoală în România

Sursa: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/break-poverty-cycle-of-roma-children-in-romania/

 

În cele din urmă, chiar dacă înregistrarea la naștere este obligatorie în România, mulți copii încă nu dispun de aceste documente oficiale, ceea ce îi împiedică să acceseze servicii publice precum educația, astfel punându-i într-o poziție defavorizată[9].

 

Calitatea educației

Cu toate că rata generală de alfabetizare a persoanelor cu vârsta de peste 15 ani era de 99% în România în 2021, un studiu național asupra alfabetizării din 2022 a constatat că 42% dintre elevii români din clasele 1-8 sunt analfabeți funcționali, ceea ce înseamnă că pot citi cuvinte și texte, dar întâmpină dificultăți în interpretarea informațiilor[10].

Rata de abandon școlar este cea mai mare în România dintre toate țările UE, cu peste 15% în 2021[11]. Ministerul Educației din România a dezvoltat Programul National de Reducere a Renunțării la Școală pentru a reduce această rată prin acoperirea cheltuielilor educaționale. Deficiența acestei politici constă în încercarea de a reduce ratele de abandon prin instrumente financiare, fără a ține seama de abandonul școlar cauzat de sarcină, căsătorie infantilă, handicap, sau alte motive socio-culturale și de sănătate care nu pot fi abordate doar prin instrumente financiare. 

Condițiile sanitare sunt alarmant de precare în școlile din România. Doar 72% dintre școli aveau apă potabilă de bază și servicii de igienă în 2021, ceea ce a fost cel mai scăzut nivel din Europa[12]. În 2018, mii de școli nu aveau autorizație sanitară și de siguranță împotriva incendiilor[13]. Pentru a asigura calitatea și succesul educației și pentru a reduce ratele de abandon școlar, este esențial un mediu educațional neperturbat și bine echipat.

 


În România, multe școli nu au apă potabilă sau toalete.
Sursa: https://www.unicef.org/romania/press-releases/billions-people-will-lack-access-safe-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-2030-unless

 

Elevii români au obținut în medie 50 de puncte sub media OECD la testul PISA din 2018 la toate cele 3 categorii (lectură, matematică, științe)[14]. Statutul socio-economic pare să fie un indicator semnificativ al scorurilor la testul de citire în România, deoarece variația dintre primul și ultimul sfert al stării economice, sociale și culturale este una dintre cele mai mari dintre toate țările participante[15]. Acest lucru ilustrează inegalitatea în calitatea educației primite de diferite grupuri sociale.

În 2022, în România a fost adoptată o nouă lege care a stabilit că educația sexuală poate fi predată doar începând cu clasa a VIII-a și cu consimțământul scris al părinților. Clasa a VIII-a în sistemul de învățământ românesc corespunde vârstei de 14-15 ani, în timp ce, între timp, proporția de mame adolescente este cea mai mare în România dintre toate țările UE. În 2020, 357 de copii s-au născut din mame cu vârste cuprinse între 10 și 14 ani, în timp ce acest număr este mult sub 120 în toate celelalte state membre ale UE[16]. A face educația sexuală mai puțin accesibilă duce la sarcini și maternitate precoce, ceea ce forțează adesea fetele tinere să abandoneze școala și să își întrerupă educația.

Lipsa profesorilor calificați, salariile mici și aprecierea scăzută a profesorilor în societate sunt o problemă în multe țări din Europa de Est, iar România nu face excepție. În anul academic 2019-2020, salariul anual brut de pornire al cadrelor didactice din școlile publice era de aproximativ 9000 de euro în România[17], unul dintre cele mai mici din UE. Aceasta înseamnă 750 de euro pe lună, ceea ce nu este suficient pentru a acoperi costurile de trai în România.

Abilitățile în tehnologia informației (IT) și alfabetizarea digitală sunt esențiale în secolul 21. În România, doar 57% dintre elevi între 15 și 19 ani aveau abilități IT de bază sau superioare, comparativ cu media UE de 82%[18]. Acest lucru se datorează în mare parte lipsei de echipamente adecvate și profesori calificați pentru a oferi cursuri de IT de înaltă calitate. Zonele rurale în special duc lipsă de infrastructură digitală și conexiune la internet[19].

Toate aceste lacune ale sistemului educațional pot fi parțial explicate de cheltuielile reduse ale guvernului pentru educație în România. În 2020, cheltuielile României pentru educație au fost cele mai mici din UE, cu doar 3,7% din PIB-ul țării, în comparație cu media UE de 5%[20].

 

Discriminarea și violența în educație

Studenții romi se confruntă cu discriminare în sistemul de învățământ românesc, la fel cum minoritatea este adesea discriminată în întreaga populație. Copiii romi sunt adesea plasați în clase segregate, în ciuda Ordinului Ministerial din 2007 care interzice segregarea lor și care nu a fost implementat. Clasele segregate au adesea un mediu de învățare mai slab comparativ cu clasele mixte[21], le lipsește mai des încălzirea, apa și personalul didactic calificat, și, prin urmare, au rezultate academice mai slabe și rate mai mari de abandon[22].

Un studiu a arătat că 30% dintre studentele de sex feminin experimentează diverse forme de hărțuire sexuală și abuz pe tot parcursul studiilor lor, în timp ce acest procent este de 50% pentru studentele din mediul universitar[23]. Abuzul sexual comis de profesori rămâne adesea nedeclarat din cauza statutului social și a puterii profesorilor, precum și din cauza fricii de consecințe adverse. Hărțuirea sexuală afectează starea fizică și mentală a copiilor, crește șansele de depresie și poate duce la sarcini la adolescență, ceea ce forțează din nou fetele să renunțe la școală.

Un studiu din 2022 a constatat că 82% dintre elevi au fost martori la bullying la școală, ilustrând prevalența problemei[24]. Bullying-ul la școală poate lua forme variate, cum ar fi  excluderea socială, amenințările fizice și răspândirea zvonurilor și poate avea un efect negativ asupra sănătății mentale a victimelor, ceea ce, la rândul său, afectează progresul academic și procesul de învățare.

 

                                                                                                   Bullying în cadrul școlii

Sursa: https://www.romania-insider.com/comment-anti-bullying-law-romania-us-2018

 

Efectele COVID-19 asupra educației

În 2020, pandemia de COVID-19 a lovit lumea, iar școlile din întreaga lume s-au închis și au trecut la educația online pentru a opri răspândirea virusului. Educația online a adâncit decalajul între zonele urbane și cele rurale, deoarece elevii din zonele rurale aveau semnificativ mai puțin acces la internet și echipamente digitale necesare pentru a participa la cursuri. În 2021, 87% dintre gospodăriile urbane aveau acces la internet, spre deosebire de doar 73% în zonele rurale[25]. Ministerul Educației și Cercetării a estimat că peste 250.000 de copii nu au avut acces la educație online în timpul pandemiei din cauza lipsei de energie electrică, echipamente sau internet[26]. Acești elevi defavorizați din zonele sărace au rămas în urmă cu materialele de curs și, fără măsuri imediate, ratele lor de abandon vor crește.

O altă barieră a educației online este lipsa de competențe IT. 50% dintre elevii care nu au participat la cursurile online au raportat ca motivul principal că profesorii nu au ținut cursuri online[27]. Acest lucru se datorează în mare parte lipsei de cunoștințe ale profesorilor cu privire la modul de predare online și lipsei acestora de acces la internet, echipamente și instrumente educaționale online. În plus, 13% dintre elevi au raportat că nu știau cum să folosească platformele online[28]. Pandemia a afectat procesul de educație al copiilor marginalizați într-o măsură mai mare, creând astfel noi provocări în ceea ce privește accesul lor la educație.

 

References

Asproiu, I. (2022). Romanian educational platform aims to reduce school dropout with online courses for students. Romania Insider. https://www.romania-insider.com/romanian-online-learning-platform-naradix

Bîzgan, O. (2020). Equal access to education for unregistered children. https://oanabizgan.com/en/equal-access-to-education-for-unregistered-children/

European Commission. (2020). Education and Training Monitor 2020 – Romania. https://op.europa.eu/webpub/eac/education-and-training-monitor-2020/countries/romania.html

European Education and Culture Executive Agency. (2021). Teachers’ and School Heads’ Salaries and Allowances in Europe – 2019/20. Publication Office of the European Union. https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/ea38b809-3dea-11ec-89db-01aa75ed71a1/language-en

European Roma Rights Centre. (2016). Written Comments of the European Roma Rights Centre, Concerning Romania. http://www.errc.org/uploads/upload_en/file/romania-crc-submission-july-2016.pdf

Eurostat. (2017). Teenage and older mothers in the EU. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/DDN-20170808-1

Eurostat. (2022). Early leavers from education and training. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Early_leavers_from_education_and_training#Early_leavers_from_education_and_training_.E2.80.93_today_and_a_historical_comparison

Eurostat. (2022). Government expenditure on education. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Government_expenditure_on_education#Expenditure_on_.27education.27

Jurnalul.ro. (2016). Save the Children: Over 16% of rural children, between 7 and 10 years old, do not go to school. https://jurnalul.ro/stiri/educatie/salvati-copiii-peste-16-dintre-copiii-din-mediul-rural-intre-7-si-10-ani-nu-merg-la-scoala-725287.html

Marica, I. (2021). Statistics office: Over 80% of households in Romania have access to the internet. Romania Insider. https://www.romania-insider.com/romania-households-internet-access-2021

Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning. (2019). The Hungarian Language in Education in Romania. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED599938

OECD. (2022). Education GPS – Romania – Student performance (PISA 2018). https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?primaryCountry=ROU&treshold=10&topic=PI

Ofițeru, A. (2022). Why are Romanian students functionally illiterate? Education of bottomless forms and timeless eternity. Europa Liberă România. https://romania.europalibera.org/a/analfabestism-functional-scoli-romania/31854547.html?nocache=1&fbclid=IwAR3gI8adpB8xq0xPE4CLNYZ7u9Ux2GlljDLRHwPluJSDqN_4wSaspSECgdk

Right to education – HRMI Rights Tracker. (2022). Human Rights Measurement Initiative. https://rightstracker.org/en/metric/education?region=europe-central-asia

Romania Insider. (2018). School year starts in Romania but many schools don’t have necessary permits. https://www.romania-insider.com/romania-many-schools-dont-have-permits

Sârbu, E. A., & Oneț, R. (2020). Violence, Gender and Ethnic Discrimination in Two Romanian Cities. Identities in Globalization. Intercultural Perspectives, 134–138.

Terre des Hommes. (2021). Access to education for migrant children and youth in Romania. https://www.tdh.ro/sites/default/files/2020-09/Access%20to%20education%20for%20migrant%20children%20and%20youth%20in%20Romania.PDF

UNICEF. (2020). Rapid assessment of the situation of children and their families with a focus on the vulnerable ones in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak in Romania – round 1. https://www.unicef.org/romania/documents/rapid-assessment-situation-children-and-their-families-focus-vulnerable-ones-context

United States Department of State. (2021). Romania 2021 Human Rights Report. https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/313615_ROMANIA-2021-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf

van Kline, M. (2022a). Journalistic project aims to document the sexual harassment in Romanian schools. Romania Insider. https://www.romania-insider.com/rise-project-sex-abuse-map-romania

van Kline, M. (2022b). Save the Children Romania survey shows bullying is a widespread issue in Romanian schools. Romania Insider. https://www.romania-insider.com/save-children-romania-survey-bullying-schools

WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. (2022). Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in schools. https://data.unicef.org/resources/jmp-wash-in-schools-2022/

World Bank. (2021). Roma Inclusion in Romania. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/video/2021/01/26/roma-inclusion-in-romania

 

[1] Human Rights Measurement Initiative. (2022). Rights to Education

[2] Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning. (2019). The Hungarian Language in Education in Romania

[3] World Bank. (2021). Roma Inclusion in Romania

[4] Sârbu & Oneț. (2020). Violence, Gender and Ethnic Discrimination in Two Romanian Cities

[5] Jurnalul.ro. (2016). Save The Children: Over 16% of rural children, between 7 and 10 years old, do not go to school

[6] United States Department of State. (2021). Romania 2021 Human Rights Report

[7] Terre des Hommes. (2021). Access to Education for Migrant Children and Youth in Romania

[8] Ibid.

[9] Bîzgan, O. (2020). Equal Access to Education for Unregistered Children

[10] Ofițeru, A. (2022). Why Are Romanian Students Functionally Illiterate?

[11] Eurostat. (2022). Early Leavers from Education and Training

[12] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. (2022). Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools

[13] Romania Insider. (2018). School Year Starts in Romania But Many Schools Don’t Have Necessary Permits

[14] OECD. (2022). Education GPS – Romania – Student Performance (PISA 2018)

[15] Ibid.

[16] Eurostat. (2020). Teenage and Older Mothers in the EU

[17] European Education and Culture Executive Agency. (2021). Teachers’ and School Heads’ Salaries and Allowances in Europe – 2019/20

[18] European Commission. (2020). Education and Training Monitor 2020 – Romania

[19] Ibid.

[20] Eurostat. (2022). Government Expenditure on Education.

[21] European Roma Rights Centre. (2016). Written Comments of the European Roma Rights Centre, Concerning Romania

[22] Ibid.

[23] van Kline, M. (2022). Journalistic Project Aims To Document The Sexual Harassment in Romanian Schools

[24] van Kline, M. (2022). Save the Children Romania Survey Shows Bullying Is A Widespread Issue in Romanian Schools

[25] Marica, I. (2021). Statistics Office: Over 80% Of Households In Romania Have Access To The Internet

[26] Asproiu, I. (2022). Romanian Educational Platform Aims To Reduce School Dropout With Online Courses For Students

[27] UNICEF. (2020). Rapid Assessment Of The Situation Of Children And Their Families With A Focus On The Vulnerable Ones In The Context Of The COVID-19 Outbreak In Romania – Round 1.

[28] Ibid.

Follow-up to the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls’ country visits to Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Greece, Poland, Honduras, Chad, Samoa, Kuwait and Hungary

Presented by Ariel Ozdemir, Luna Plet and Olimpia Guidi

The Lenca, indigenous to southwestern Honduras and northeastern El Salvador, reside in approximately 50 villages within a 100-km radius of La Esperanza, the capital city of the mountainous Intibucá department. 1 Most of these villages find themselves on the outskirts of the public education system due to factors such as poverty, age, geographic isolation, gender, and ethnicity. These circumstances collectively contribute to the difficulty in accessing education for many inhabitants.
The educational hurdles for Lenca girls in Honduras, especially in regions like San Francisco de Opalaca, are intricate and deeply influenced by socio-economic, cultural, and geographical factors. These challenges are marked by restricted access to education due to economic constraints, particularly affecting girls pursuing primary education. Gender-sensitive education proves to be a critical aspect of the struggles faced by Lenca girls. Prevailing patriarchal norms pose obstacles to their educational opportunities.
Concerns about the quality of education in public schools, notably in regions like San Francisco de Opalaca, are pronounced. Challenges include limited access to junior high schools in most villages and the geographic obstacles that impede education beyond grade 6. 2 Inadequacies in the education infrastructure, such as a shortage of teachers and insufficient facilities, further hinder the provision of quality education for Lenca girls. Furthermore, with a literacy rate of 30-50%, the Lenca population typically spends an average of only four years in school. 3 This low educational attainment contributes to a pervasive sense of inferiority and a lack of confidence in advocating for a democratic and civil society.
The need for revamping the curriculum to address gender equality, stereotypes, and violence is evident. Emphasis is placed on incorporating human rights workshops to create awareness about gender, cultural, educational, and employment equality. 4 This approach strives to foster an inclusive and supportive educational environment, empowering Lenca girls and addressing societal challenges they encounter.

education for disadvantaged communities . 21 Women and girls, already facing obstacles in pursuing education, find themselves further marginalised by the privatisation of schooling . 22
Consider the challenges faced by promising young students in La Esperanza who experience increased fees due to their schools’ privatisation, leading to their education’s abandonment. This educational setback not only perpetuates the cycle of poverty but also underscores the gendered impact of privatisation on educational opportunities for women and girls.
Expanding on the educational aspect, it’s essential to recognise that privatisation can lead to a reduction in educational resources. Privatised institutions may prioritise profit over educational quality, leaving women in poverty with fewer educational support systems. This, in turn, perpetuates systemic disadvantages, limiting the potential for upward mobility through education.
Healthcare Challenges
Privatisation in the healthcare sector can pose significant challenges for vulnerable populations, particularly women. As essential healthcare services become privatised, the financial burden on impoverished women intensifies, limiting their access to crucial medical support. The lack of affordable healthcare options further entrenches gender disparities in health outcomes . 23

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References

1 Susan Stone, “El Maestro En Casa,” El Maestro en Casa, accessed January 20, 2024, https://lencaedu.wordpress.com/
2 Wanda Bedard, “2009 – Honduras,” 60 million girls, accessed January 20, 2024, https://60millionsdefilles.org/en/our-projects/2009-honduras/
3 Susan Stone, “El Maestro En Casa,” El Maestro en Casa, accessed January 20, 2024, https://lencaedu.wordpress.com/
4 Wanda Bedard, “2009 – Honduras,” 60 million girls, accessed January 20, 2024, https://60millionsdefilles.org/en/our-projects/2009-honduras/

21 Edwards Jr, D. B., Moschetti, M., & Caravaca, A. (2023). Globalisation and privatisation of education in Honduras—Or the need to reconsider the dynamics and legacy of state formation. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 44(4), 635-649. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01596306.2020.1852181
22 Murphy-Graham, E. (2007). Promoting participation in public life through secondary education: evidence from Honduras. Prospects, 37(1), 95-111. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11125-007-9013-2
23 Hasemann Lara, J. E. (2023). Health Sector Reform in Honduras: Privatisation as Institutional Bad Faith. Medical Anthropology, 42(1), 62-75. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01459740.2022.2125388

The Legacy of Colonialism, Discrimination, and the High Cost of Living: Areas of Improvement for the Canadian Education System

Written by Enes Gisi

Canada is a wealthy country with rich natural resources and one of the highest GDPs in the world. Behind this wealth, however, lie deep inequalities in access to quality education. These barriers to education are not always confined to school buildings, as Indigenous peoples of Canada experience the impacts of Canada’s colonial past today. Other challenges in education include sexual abuse of kids, food insecurity, and lack of housing for post-secondary students. Addressing these challenges proves difficult as the three levels of the government – federal, provincial, and municipal, are each responsible for some of them. Taking effective and quick action, however, is a challenge for the Canadian bureaucracy. Government levels sometimes pass the responsibility for an issue back and forth, causing confusion among Canadians about who is responsible for what.

Children at Fort Simpson Indian Residential School holding letters that spell “Goodbye,” Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, 1922. Photo by J. F. Moran. Library and Archives Canada on Wikimedia Commons.

Access to Education for Indigenous Peoples of Canada

To understand why the Indigenous education system is especially troubled, it’s essential to investigate the historical injustices they suffered. Indigenous peoples (also referred to as “Aboriginal peoples”) are native to the land that we today call Canada. The colonization of the land began in the 16th century with the arrival of British and French colonizers. Indigenous peoples were called “savages” and were believed to be “less civilized” than the European Canadians (“Lower Education”, 2023). Beginning in the early 17th century, various forms of schooling systems were set up (Gordon & White, 2014). The first systems created by the French settlers aimed to “Francize” the Indigenous peoples. While the British settlers initially formed alliances with the Indigenous peoples against the French and the Americans, later their policy shifted towards the same goal: “civilizing” them. Until 1951, Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families and placed in residential schools, where they were prohibited from speaking their native languages and practicing their cultures, all to “reclaim” them from “a state of barbarism” (Wilson,1986, p. 66, as cited in Gordon & White, 2014). They received low-quality education and experienced physical, emotional, and sexual abuse (White & Peters, 2009 as cited in Gordon & White, 2014). When they returned home, they could no longer connect with their families or the non-Indigenous society (“What Is The Root Cause Of Indigenous Education Issues”, 2015). The last residential school was shut down in 1996, but the legacy of colonialism and negligence on the part of the federal government are still affecting Indigenous children.

Housing

Indigenous people experience a significantly higher rate of homelessness compared to the Canadian average (“Inadequate Housing And Crowded Living Conditions”, 2023). However, the issue of inadequate housing may have a closer connection to student success. Nearly 25 percent of Indigenous children under the age of 15 live in low-income households, which is double the percentage for non-Indigenous children (“Inadequate Housing And Crowded Living Conditions”, 2023). One implication of this situation is that some families are residing in homes that are too small for their needs. Indigenous students living in overcrowded houses may not get enough sleep and be able to study or do their homework in a quiet space. These, in turn, may impact their mental health, school success, and secondary education and employment prospects.

Graduation rates

The rate of high school completion of Indigenous children living on reserves, land reserved exclusively for the First Nations people, is low at 24 percent. This number was initially misrepresented by the Canadian government when it published a report presenting the rate as 46 percent (Coates, 2022). This calculation didn’t account for the students who had dropped out between grades 9 and 11. According to a report by the Auditor General of Canada, the Canadian government had also neglected its reporting responsibilities concerning Indigenous education, reporting on only 6 out of the 23 education results it had committed to report on (Office of the Auditor General of Canada, 2018).

While Indigenous children living off-reserve generally had better educational prospects compared to those on-reserve, their graduation rate from off-reserve provincial schools was still lower than that of non-Indigenous children. According to a 2021 report, the rate of on-time high school graduation from provincial schools in Saskatchewan was 88.7 percent. Among these students, the on-time graduation rate of Indigenous students was 44.7 percent (Clemett, 2023).

When it comes to post-secondary education, the data also highlights disparities. First Nations people, one of the three groups within the Indigenous population, have a post-secondary completion or recent attendance to a post-secondary institution rate of 37 percent, whereas the rate for non-Indigenous individuals is significantly higher at 72 percent (Layton, 2023).

Students, a former premier of British Columbia, a former British Columbia minister, and an Indigenous leader gathered around a bonfire. Image via Flickr by @bchovphotos.

School Funding and Resources

Many Indigenous students go to school in difficult circumstances and need extra support from the education system. Most on-reserve Indigenous students are not able to continue their studies without some, in some cases extensive, school-provided support or direct intervention (Coates, 2022). In most Canadian schools, perhaps 80 percent of students can succeed without school-based services or intervention. A significant number of on-reserve Indigenous students, sometimes one in three or more, however, require extensive support from their schools to succeed.

The ability of reserve schools to provide services to their students is, however, limited due to insufficient funding from the federal government. First Nations schools receive 30 percent less funding per student compared to other schools (Dart, n.d.). This leads to one obvious thing: Indigenous children are disadvantaged. They don’t have access to as many social workers, mental health professionals, and special education instructors. Alethea Wallace, a (former) principal of the Alexis School, a First Nation school, describes how inadequate funding impacts the school (Hampshire, n.d.). She says that the school is not able to offer art, drama, and music programs due to lack of funding. It also does not have a science lab or a computer lab. Parts of the school are utilized for unrelated purposes: the library and the janitor’s office as classrooms. Kristina Alexis, a student from the school, says her classroom hosts two classes at the same time where two teachers teach different subjects. Classes are overcrowded, and most classrooms are split among two grade levels.

Evan Taypotat, a former principal of Chief Kahkewistahaw Community School, and the current chief of the Kahkewistahaw First Nation, says “The average funding for a reserve kid is about $6,800 (Dart, n.d.). The funding for a kid in Broadview, which is about 10 minutes away, is $11,000.” Federal funding increases for reserve schools are capped at an annual 2 percent, which is lower than the inflation rate in Canada. There are two main issues that Indigenous leaders are currently seeking to resolve: gaining control over how federal education funding is allocated and advocating for more funding to match the funding other schools receive. Granting First Nations control over how the money is spent may allow them to implement more culturally appropriate systems.

A student bullying a classmate who’s sitting at her desk. Photo by RDNE Stock project from Pexels.

Racism, Exclusion, and Violence in School

A comprehensive 2023 report published by Children First Canada shows that bullying and violence among Canadian children have become serious threats to children’s well-being (Children First Canada, 2023). Students avoid visiting washrooms where they would get bullied, even if it means soiling themselves. Bullying mainly occurs at school or in online environments. The report highlights that 7 in 10 students between the ages of 15 and 17 experience bullying. Violence and hate speech remain pervasive problems in school and sports settings.

Most disabled students experience discrimination and exclusion. According to a 2022 report from the New Brunswick Office of the Child, Youth, and Seniors’ Advocate, only 1 in 5 disabled students feel like they belong, and they often feel unsafe at school (“Advocate Releases Office of the Child Report, 2022). Their participation in sports is also lower compared to their peers.

Jacqueline, a Jewish-Canadian high school student in Toronto says she experiences antisemitism as some people make references to Hitler or draw swastikas (Wong, 2023). She says that these acts are seen as funny among these people. She finds the Holocaust education at school insufficient in countering the hateful content that young people share online.

Sexual violence statistics are alarming. According to the 2022 report by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, between 2017 and 2021, “at least 548 children and youth” in kindergarten to grade 12 “experienced an act of sexual nature made by 252 school personnel”, and 38 school personnel were criminally charged for offences related to illicit digital content involving minors (Children First Canada, 2023).

Religious students from Quebec who practice their faith face a discriminatory challenge due to a directive from the Quebec Education Minister, Bernard Drainville. This directive prohibited “any practice of religious activity” in schools and other education centres (Feith, 2023). According to a legal challenge in response to the ban, Muslim students had been praying in a designated area in a school for months with no issues. The father of a Muslim student in Quebec says that his child is now forced to pray in secret, without knowing the consequences if he’s found praying at school.

Workers handling food hampers. Image via Flickr, by @bcgovphotos.

Food Insecurity

Canada is the only G7 country that doesn’t have a national school food program (Alphonso, 2023). Many Canadian students rely on food programs that are funded by provinces and charities. One in five, or roughly a million students, are receiving assistance in the form of meals and snacks. An educational assistant in an Ontario school says that some students would not be able to come to school if the school didn’t provide food hampers. The charity working with the school says the increasing demand strains their budget. Black and off-reserve Indigenous children are more likely to live in food-insecure households than their White counterparts (Children First Canada, 2023).

Post-secondary affordability

The rising cost of living is leaving university students unable to afford food and rent. More than 60% of university students reported earning less than 20,000 dollars a year, and almost 3 in 4 students (72%) reported allocating 30% or more of their income to paying rent (Cameron et.al., 2023). Centre for Addiction and Mental Health states that there’s a “critical” lack of affordable housing in Canada (“Housing and Mental Health Policy Framework”, 2022). Mateusz, a University of Calgary Student’s Union representative, says that the university is being irresponsible by admitting too many students without supplying housing (Tran, 2023). He says that rents are skyrocketing and argues there’s a housing crisis (Kaufmann, 2023). There have been students who lived in their cars in Calgary due to the housing shortage, he adds. Some students were only able to find housing in remote areas, where commuting to the campus became an issue (Derworiz, 2023). In addition, two in five university students experience food insecurity, more than half of them reported they could only afford low-quality food, and 1 in 6 students said they had days where they couldn’t eat at all.

Concluding Remarks and Recommendations

Indigenous peoples’ rights are protected by international law, most prominently under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was an important step in the right direction. It was a government initiative that was mandated to collect testimonies from the victims of the Residential School System. It helped create public awareness and encouraged further action to reconcile with the Indigenous peoples. Jack Harris, a former National Democratic Party Member of Parliament, cites Canada’s poor Indigenous rights record as one of the potential reasons why Canada lost its 2020 bid for a temporary seat at the United Nations Security Council (Harris, 2020). Providing Indigenous communities with the necessary legal and material tools to offer culture-appropriate and high-quality education should be Canada’s priority.

Another significant challenge seems to be the increasing cost of living. More post-secondary students experience food and housing insecurity, two things people shouldn’t have to worry about when pursuing higher education. From students living in their cars to students living in overcrowded houses, the high cost of living in Canada is taking a toll on students’ well-being. Better student loans and grants and more student residences provided by the universities can help.

References
  • Alphonso, C. (2023, March 15). With food costs soaring and no national program, Canadian schools struggle to feed students. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-school-food-programs-rising-costs/
  • Cameron, A. C., Grant, R., Kemle, A. (2023, August 16). Living in the Red. Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. https://assets.nationbuilder.com/casaacae/pages/3587/attachments/original/1692213033/LivingInTheRed.pdf?1692213033
  • Center for Addiction and Mental Health. (2022, February). Housing and Mental Health Policy Framework. Center for Addiction and Mental Health. https://www.camh.ca/-/media/files/pdfs—public-policy-submissions/housing-policy-framework-pdf.pdf
  • Children First Canada. (2023, August). Top 10 Threats to Childhood in Canada. Children First Canada. https://childrenfirstcanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Raising-Canada-2023_V1d.pdf
  • Clemett, T. (2023, June). Report of the Provincial Auditor to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan. https://auditor.sk.ca/pub/publications/public_reports/2023/Volume%201/2023-report-volume-1.pdf
  • Coates, K. (2022, May 18). Indigenous education can and must be fixed: Ken Coates for Inside Policy. Macdonald-Laurier Institute. https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/indigenous-education-can-and-must-be-fixed-ken-coates-for-inside-policy/
  • Dart, C. First Nations Schools Are Chronically Underfunded. CBC Docs. https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/first-nations-schools-are-chronically-underfunded
  • Derworiz, C. (2023, August 26). University students struggling to find housing amid affordability crisis. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/9921724/university-students-housing-affordability-crisis/
  • Feith, J. (2023, June 13). Quebec’s school prayer ban infringes on religious rights, groups argue. Montreal Gazette. https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/groups-challenge-quebec-school-prayer-ban-in-court
  • Gordon, C. E., White, J. P. (2014). Indigenous Educational Attainment in Canada. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 5(3). DOI:10.18584/iipj.2014.5.3.6
  • Hampshire, G. Alexis School. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/gradingthegap/alexis.html
  • Harris, K. (2020, June 18). Canada loses its bid for seat on UN Security Council. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/united-nations-security-council-canada-1.5615488
  • Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. (2015, April 8). What Is The Root Cause Of Indigenous Education Issues. Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/what-is-the-root-cause-of-indigenous-education-issues
  • Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. (2023, February 28). Inadequate Housing And Crowded Living Conditions – #3 Of 8 Key Issues. Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/inadequate-housing-3-of-8-key-issues
  • Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. (2023, January 31). Lower Education – #2 Of 8 Key Issues For Indigenous Peoples In Canada. Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/lower-education-2-of-8-key-issues
  • Kaufmann, B. (2023, July 12). ‘Living in cars’: U of C students face worsening housing shortage. Calgary Herald. https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/living-in-cars-u-of-c-students-face-worsening-housing-shortage
  • Layton, J. (2023, June 21). First Nations youth: Experiences and outcomes in secondary and postsecondary learning. Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/81-599-x/81-599-x2023001-eng.pdf?st=r2KEXQZ0
  • Office of the Auditor General of Canada. (2018, April 11). Report 5—Socio-economic Gaps on First Nations Reserves—Indigenous Services Canada. Office of the Auditor General of Canada. https://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_201805_05_e_43037.html
  • Office of the Child, Youth and Seniors’ Advocate. (2022, 21 June). Advocate Releases Office of the Child Report. New Brunswick Canada. https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2022.06.0328.html
  • Tran, P. (2023, July 12). University of Calgary Students’ Union pushes for affordable housing as rents rise. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/9825799/university-of-calgary-students-housing-insecure/
  • Wong, J. (2022, November 3). Antisemitic conspiracies are rampant online. Students, experts share how to combat them. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/education-antisemitism-socialmedia-1.6636739

Albania’s Enlargement Package: Education as a Keystone for Accession to the EU

As Albania continues its path of accession to the European Union (EU), the European Commission annually assesses its readiness for full EU integration. This process is called the enlargement package and is ongoing for all of the Western Balkans and Türkiye regions. In the 2021-22 enlargement package, the European Commission pledged to accelerate the integration of the Western Balkans as a whole, including Albania. The European Commission’s Albania 2022 Report (hereafter, “the Report”) details Albania’s many positive reforms, but also identifies many areas that are still below EU standards. Several of these areas affect and interact with education policy; some even explicitly derive from the Albanian education system. With a critical lens focused on education and human rights, this article will summarize and explore the Report’s findings and recommendations on Albania. Firstly, this article will focus on Albania’s readiness for EU accession before diving into the primary political and economic concerns.

Secondly, the education system as described in the Report, including its shortcomings regarding COVID-19, technological capacity, and minority incorporation. Finally, the current state of the rights of the child in Albania will be discussed.

 

Context

  1. Political Concerns

Many areas of the Report may not directly impact education or human rights but are still worth noting to contextualize Albania’s current political climate. Overall, the Report finds that Albania is “moderately prepared” for integration. The Parliamentary elections in 2021 revealed significant internal conflicts within the largest opposition party (DP) as well as the gridlock that characterizes the Albanian Parliament. The Report notes that these untimely and unfortunate barriers to consensus resulted in Parliament delaying and even abandoning certain reforms that would have furthered EU criteria, notably including electoral reform. Ultimately, the Parliament found common ground on several critical issues, passing nine laws aimed at EU integration.

 

Albania is also suffering from economic and political consequences associated with the triple shock of the 2019 earthquake, the COVID-19 pandemic, and, more recently, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. In particular, public administration remains in disarray as the establishment of agencies subordinate to the Prime Minister without a comprehensive framework detailing their purpose and limits raises questions concerning the standards of public administration. Nonetheless, Albania is making progress in public administrative reform, anti-corruption reform, the fight against organized crime, judicial reform, and migration. Although it is moderately prepared in economic criteria and competitive growth, it is still below EU standards and struggles to manage fiscal policy. This is a special concern given that Albania needs to generate and appropriately manage a more diversified revenue in order to implement the large expenditures necessary for adequate public and social services, as further explored below.

 

  1. Economic Concerns: Educational Funding and Employment

The Report notes that Albania is not fully prepared for the competitive pressure of the EU job market, but it is making advancements to this effect. Albania made progress through the National Strategy of Education and Action Plan 2021-2026, but a lack of financing has impeded this Plan—only an estimated 3.6% of GDP was directed toward this Plan. The funding of education is significantly below Albania’s needs. The allocated budget for the main ministries responsible for education, among other social services, remains below 1% of GDP. Individual schools lack financial autonomy and remain vulnerable to corruption. Anti-corruption measures that have recently resulted in criminal prosecutions of some high-level officials have had little effect on social services, including healthcare and education.

 

These financial issues are particularly acute because Albania heavily lacks human capital. Notably, human capital acquisition continues to be stifled by skill and education gaps, especially in technological and entrepreneurial know-how. This area is a blend of skilled labor and academic theory, and thus an area that would require greater communication and collaboration between the discrete institutions within the broader education system. The Report notes that “[e]fforts are still needed in the development of innovative policies aimed at promoting better links between academia, industry and government….” Albania is engaged in many projects to further human capital acquisition, including the Horizon 2021 program, the EUREKA network, and the “EU for Innovation” Tirana project, but few are producing results. The Report emphasizes that Albania will not be able to accede to the EU without improving its human capital gains. Among other reasons, the Albanian job market in its current state would be shocked after integration by the high human capital present in other EU countries. The resulting shocks would depress the employment of native Albanians and incentivize native Albanians to seek education in other EU member states.

 

Graduates and post-graduates in Albania are entering a recovering job market. Employment growth is steadily advancing after the COVID-19 economic downturn. However, the gender gap in employment remains wide. Structural changes in the labor market also reflect the increased need for graduates with higher education; the unemployment rate of tertiary educated persons dropped markedly, while it increased for workers with primary education and persons 15-24. These market distortions incentivize young people and other primary-educated people to seek higher education in order to increase their value in the job market. This dynamic is already taking shape, as the share of people aged 20-24 in tertiary education programs has increased from 12.3% in 2016 to 14.9% in 2022. However, as more young people seek an academic lifestyle, fewer seek vocational training, leading to shortages in skilled labor. These shortages contribute to higher pay for skilled laborers, thus incentivizing young people to seek labor-intensive jobs. These two competing incentives—the first for higher education and the second for skilled labor—create skill mismatches in Albania’s labor market as some workers with higher education are seeking more lucrative jobs in skilled labor, and vice versa.

 

Many youths without skills or education continue to struggle; the percentage of young people neither employed nor in education or training was 26.1% in 2021. To attempt to give direction to many of these young people, Albania created the Youth Guarantee scheme to give advice to and coordinate opportunities for floundering Albanian young people. In February 2022, the Parliament established an inter-ministerial working group to oversee the implementation of the Youth Guarantee scheme, including by allocating human and financial resources seconded from the ministries themselves. The Report again emphasizes the importance of incorporating these youth into the formal job market either through education or skills training in order to build human capital in anticipation of EU accession.

Tiran Univercity
Polytechnic University of Tirana – Source Wikipedia

The Education System

  1. Basic Characteristics and Current Initiatives

In 2021, Albania implemented a new competence-based curriculum for the grades 1-12 pre-university education system. Of 286,486 students currently enrolled, 260,953 received free textbooks under this new initiative. For reference, 158,528 students are in primary education, and 127,958 are in lower secondary education. The simultaneous attempt at preschool reform was not successful, however. Due to a lack of resources, the new policies passed for preschools could not be implemented. The Report notes that partnerships with local authorities are essential to ensure cooperation and avoid disrupting the everyday goings on in schools as new standards begin.

 

Albania’s Vocational Education and Training (VET) system is also being revised. Participation in the VET scheme remains low, with only 17.7% of upper secondary students enrolled in 2021 (18,279 out of a total of 103,467). In 2017, Parliament adopted a VET Law that established the National Agency for VET and Qualifications and attempted to standardize VET programs. The implementation of this Law is not yet complete, however. The National Agency requires further organizational clarification, especially in the human resources department. Legislation regarding VET providers is also lacking. The Report states that Parliament must adopt a law guaranteeing the financial autonomy of VET providers in addition to the Optimisation Plan endorsed by Parliament and VET providers in 2020. Both legislative efforts would require certain standards of learning and training, organizational strategies, functions, and activities from VET providers while simultaneously allowing them the independence to determine how to achieve these measures. In other words, these legislative efforts would regulate the VET providers while ensuring their discretionary rights and privileges. The Report states that this VET scheme must be implemented by 2023 to ensure the modernization of the VET.

 

  1. COVID-19

2021-2022 was a “year of adjustment and planning” after the shocks caused by the 2019 earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic. The earthquake sent the education system into immediate turmoil as 21,000 children from 11 municipalities were forced to move to host schools or temporary facilities. Students attended classes in shifts, thereby straining already scarce resources, negatively impacting the quality of teaching, and negatively affecting students’ capacity to absorb information amid a stressful and constantly changing environment. 87 schools damaged by the earthquake have returned to normal operations. The problems derived from the earthquake are distinct from the problems that arose under COVID-19, but both exposed the same skills and resource gaps in the education system.

 

Already struggling with remote, hybrid, or part-time school due to the earthquake, teachers and students were forced to revert to fully online methods for which they were not prepared. Prior to the earthquake, most teachers had never even received IT training, much less training on how to effectively teach an entirely digital class—many were technologically illiterate. Albania began training 2,362 teachers on digitization in 2021, but this excluded the majority of a total of 30,000 teachers in need. This skills gap was compounded by a lack of digital resources available to both teachers and students for a free or reduced cost. Albania provides only one computer per 26 students, which is inadequate to ensure that all students have access to digital education. The Report compares this to the EU average of one computer per five pupils. As a result of these complications, enrollment rates 2019-2021 dropped considerably to 72.9%. Even more concerningly, enrollment in preschool education for children aged five to six decreased by 9%. The Report states that even as the COVID-19 pandemic eases, the government should continue to provide digital training to teachers and technological literacy courses to students in anticipation of a future emergency.

 

  • Minority Incorporation

On the flip side, changes to the education system related to the COVID-19 pandemic have generated increased inclusion of vulnerable populations, most notably Roma and Egyptian minorities. These groups suffer from a lack of access to certain socioeconomic benefits, lower income levels, and structural barriers to upward mobility. Strategies such as distance learning, remote teaching, and part-time education aligned with these groups’ needs by leaving room for flexibility in scheduling. This allowed parents of lower school children to guarantee their children’s quality of education even while struggling with the economic downturn. Similarly, this allowed older students to maintain their employment and living standards while simultaneously accessing higher education. As COVID-19 has dissipated, schools have reduced many of these measures. The enrollment rates of Rome and Egyptian children in pre-university and early childhood education have dropped. Inclusion efforts include scholarships, free textbooks, complimentary transportation, and part-time education programs. Measures that, in theory, facilitate Roma and Egyptian access to universities, such as a quota system and fee waivers for university applications, are generally not enforced in practice.

 

Nonetheless, the Report emphasizes that the inclusion of vulnerable populations within the Albanian education system is lacking. Some schools continue to segregate Roma and Egyptian children, resulting in a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights in May 2022 ordering the Ministry of Education and Sports to implement desegregation policies. Roma and Egyptian graduates are systematically discriminated against in the workforce as well. The low employment rate of these groups worsened due to COVID-19, health insurance coverage for these groups is sparse, and the digitization of many public services during COVID-19 (including healthcare and employment) impeded technologically illiterate members of these groups from accessing much-needed protection.

 

Ethnic minorities are not the only groups discriminated against in public service delivery, however. The Report notes that “no progress” has been made with regard to the incorporation of disabled persons in the Albanian education system. Already scarce resources are simply not being allocated to solve this problem. Teachers and other educational professionals receive slim to no training on the complex challenges and functional strategies of including disabled persons, alternative methods of teaching, or early detection of disability. Those teaching assistants qualified to assist disabled students are very few and not sufficiently dispersed throughout educational institutions. The Report highlights that “additional efforts are also needed to shift from a system with dual education towards a system where children with disabilities are integrated into inclusive mainstream schools.”

 

Written by Rowan Scarpinoagainst LGBTIQ persons is also rampant in Albania. A lack of knowledge and awareness about queerness and queer rights, especially in rural areas, drives high levels of intolerance. Physical aggression and hate speech, particularly on social media against LGBTIQ people are routine. This creates a hostile environment for LGBTIQ students in schools, thus disincentivizing them from engaging with the curriculum or creating bonds with teachers and other students. Further, discrimination prevents LGBTIQ students from fully accessing future educational opportunities, such as higher education, thus depressing their capacity to enter high-paying employment. Generally, LGBTIQ persons face discrimination in public services, including barriers to healthcare and housing. Albania lacks legislation authorizing cohabitation or same-sex marriage, thus perpetuating the social stigmatization of LGBTIQ persons. In November 2021, Albania did implement a new 2021-2027 action plan for LBGTIQ persons. However, Parliament has failed to implement the policies associated with this plan due to a lack of financing and political will. The Report stresses that Parliament must enact this action plan and other inclusive policies in order for Albania to meet EU criteria governing fundamental rights and freedoms.

 

Rights of the Child

Albania ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992 and has since implemented a legal framework protecting children. The Report notes that progress continues in institutional capacity-building to effectively execute the Convention. However, malnutrition and physical activity continue to be critical issues for children and pregnant women in Albania. The Report recommends that Albania develop a national nutrition plan that includes an awareness campaign in schools and community centers. Additionally, Albania remains a “country of origin, transit, and destination” of human trafficking. Institutionalized and minority children, including Roma and Egyptians, are more vulnerable to trafficking than adults or their peers. Fortunately, the number of Albanian victims significantly decreased in 2020-2021, but this may be due only to border closures associated with COVID-19.

 

The Report also finds that “the practice of child marriage still exists, and is primarily driven by gender inequality, poverty and social exclusion.” Because of a lack of official data, it is unclear how prevalent child marriage is, but laws protecting adolescents from child marriage are clearly ineffective or applied inconsistently. To remedy this fundamentally abusive practice, the government addressed child marriage in the national policy framework in 2021 for the first time in history. It continued to prioritize the issue by enacting the 2021-26 National Agenda for the Rights of the Child. Further, the Albanian National Deinstitutionalization Plan allocated funds to develop childcare services as an alternative to institutionalized social care, which has violated and exploited children. Despite this progress, violence against children, especially sexual violence, remains a problem. Child Protection Units received 2,389 cases of children in need of protection in 2021; a large amount made even more difficult by the lack of child protection workers. Albania needs programs and legal frameworks that prioritize social work and incentivize students to become social workers.

 

Conclusion

Overall, Albania could advance its moderate level of preparation in most EU accession criteria to the next level by increasing its focus on education. In order to meet economic standards, for example, skills and resource gaps must be remedied through higher and vocational education. Similarly, in order to meet standards relating to respect for fundamental rights and freedoms and social cohesion, Albania must increase the incorporation of minorities into society and formal markets, which begins with the incorporation of minority and migrant children into education. The list goes on; the areas in which Albania is most unprepared for EU accession, including public administration and economic competitiveness, all negatively impact the education system and yet can be solved through increasing funding, awareness, and participation in the education system. In preparation for the next enlargement package report, Albania should engage in educational reform to accelerate its preparedness for EU integration.

 

 

Written by Rowan Scarpino

References

European Commission. (2022). (rep. num. SWD(2022) 332). Albania 2022 Report. Brussels, Belgium.