"450 schools have been rebuilt in the country"/ Manastirliu: We are adding an after-school program for students

2025-04-02 18:38:00, Politikë CNA

"450 schools have been rebuilt in the country"/ Manastirliu: We are

The Minister of Education and Sports, Ogerta Manastirliu, was present at today's meeting with teachers at the "Besnik Sykja" high school in Tirana. Prime Minister Edi Rama was also part of the meeting. Manastirliu emphasized investments in educational infrastructure, where 48 schools have been reconstructed and rebuilt in Tirana alone, creating better opportunities for about 38 thousand students and teachers.

"450 schools have been rebuilt, rehabilitated and reconstructed throughout the country. In Tirana alone, there are 48 new schools that today serve more than 38 thousand students in Tirana. This year alone, we will make it possible for 40 other schools to be rehabilitated or reconstructed from Shkodra, Kukës, Dibra to the south of the country, in Saranda, Gjirokastër, and there will be 40 new construction sites that will be opened, which will allow us to not only improve the school infrastructure, but also to offer a new quality of educational service, because all these schools have modern parameters: not only classrooms, not only laboratories, but also sports fields and gyms. There are 200 gyms and sports fields that have been added to the educational infrastructure throughout the country", said Manastirliu.

Minister Manastirliu also spoke about the new after-school program for students.

"We have already started working on a new program that is directly related to the parents' request, a request that is a school meal program and an after-school program for all children, but also for parents who want to have convenience and are busy with work. This program will initially start in the district center municipalities and will then continue in other municipalities," said Manastirliu.

Likewise, the government, said Minister Manastirliu, is committed to strengthening the image of teachers, not only through improving working conditions and increasing salaries, but also through their professional development.

"The pillar of our education system is teachers, so support for teachers has been continuous. The average salary for teachers today is 950 euros, but what we have enabled is the new system of professional development for teachers, which will completely re-dimension the way a teacher approaches the new curriculum, new skills and competencies that are required today in the function of teaching and learning. We were able not only to reorganize the teacher qualification system, doubling the benefits for teachers who receive the degree of qualified teacher, specialist or master, and on the other hand, for the first time to guarantee that the system of training and credits obtained for teachers can be certified by universities," declared Manastirliu.

Finally, Minister Manastirliu focused on school safety as one of the main priorities of the Ministry of Education and Sports' program for creating a safe and inclusive environment for students.

"We are continuing to support the entire school network by increasing the number of school security officers. For the new school year, we will have 130 more security officers, bringing the number of school security officers to 400 and improving the standard for security officers, based on the number of students in the school. We will enable the start of the program for monitoring smart cameras in schools. Road safety is also important, so we are working on a program to establish a public school transport company, so that children who are far from their homes can be part of this program," said the Minister of Education and Sports, Ogerta Manastirliu./CNA