In this article
The government has approved the Higher Education Bill and sent it to Parliament, but it continues to draw not only reservations but opposition from lecturers and university bodies. Shekulli gathered the views of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aleksandër Kocani, Dr. Zylyftar Bregu and Ervin Goci, M.A. “Within the academic bodies, we demolished the very first version, figuratively speaking… Then, in the version presented before it went to the government, we saw improvements.
Kocani: There is no longer any autonomy
“We saw that a path toward changing it had begun, but the version approved by the government was not like that. This approved version is very bad. Broadly speaking, the bill aimed to improve quality, but I do not know where the indicators for measuring that quality are… This is my field; I teach methodology (the course Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences). There are none… If there are no parameters for measuring this quality, it remains arbitrary, and for me it remains a slogan.
“Measuring quality is very difficult, and leaving it as this general fairy tale is propaganda. Because if you are going to do it, you have to do it properly. How are you going to measure this quality?
“Another aim was to tackle the abuse of autonomy. We (university people) strongly supported this, because for years we have spoken out against the degeneration, or regression, of higher education in Albania. Through various articles, and even various strikes at different universities in 2004, something was won… It was won, but then reduced to nothing, because that is how things are done here, on the premise that ‘History begins with me!’
“It is true that autonomy has been greatly abused, but education ministries, whether of the left or the right, have never exercised their right of oversight.
“They cannot interfere in how university funds are to be spent, but they must check where Albanian taxpayers’ money goes. They have the right to see how the money has been spent, but not to interfere. Rectors and deans must not be allowed, as they have been, to turn into rulers of universities in the name of autonomy.
“The autonomy sought has been greatly abused, and in my view that abuse has been allowed. So the reform’s initial aim of tackling this practice was to be welcomed, and we did welcome it. But now there is a problem: they envisage measures that do indeed eliminate abuse, but eliminate autonomy along with it.
“They are throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” Professor Kocani said.
Bregu: Those who drafted the bill have rushed it
“I would like to focus on the haste, stubbornness and conduct of those who drafted the bill, and of the government in general, in failing to take account of the reservations expressed by the university world. Alongside academic circles, students have also opposed this bill, regardless of how many turn out in the square. It must be said that the square is not the only measure of the response; there are other components too, such as social networks.
“The government’s refusal to consider the observations and reservations that all academic circles have raised about this bill makes me think its purpose is bad,” lecturer Zylyftar Bregu said.
Goci: The state provides no funding
“At the stage it has reached, the bill has many contradictions for me. On the one hand, it says the public sector should have freedom to act; on the other, it creates agencies that do nothing but centralize autonomy. On the one hand, it speaks of educational performance; on the other, there is not a word about increasing funding. On the contrary, with forms of management delegated through boards and things like that, the implication is that the state will withdraw even further financially.
“So the funding problem is not solved; instead, it is played down even further. Today, the situation is catastrophic. We are at the point of publishing the scientific journal with our own money, paying out of our own pockets. That is how far things have gone. There is no money to produce books, and this is not a management problem, because management becomes the issue when you have the money. For me, the principle is simple: the state is not the regulator but the guarantor of public education, which, if it is not free, must be subsidized.
“All Western states are moving toward providing free public education. Albania is the only one moving in the opposite direction. When I was at university, during 2001-2005, the annual fee was 40 thousand old lek, whereas over ten years the fee has increased tenfold. With this bill, fees will rise even further, because once the state withdraws funding, where will the money come from?
“Many universities no longer have part-time study. The Faculty of Philology currently has no doctoral programs. Where will the money lost from these services be made up if no money comes from the state? Naturally, through student fees,” lecturer Ervin Goci said.
Marku and Fuga: Parliament will change nothing in the bill
After government approval, the Higher Education and Scientific Research Bill has gone to the Media and Education Committee, which, after any further consultations it may hold, will send it to Parliament for a vote. But academics appear skeptical about possible changes at this stage. Nevertheless, they invite lawmakers to hear the reservations and demands raised by university bodies and students.
At least this last opportunity should be used to improve the bill as much as possible before it goes to Parliament.
“I hope that the Media and Education Committee will consider not only the text before it but also all the resistance this law has met,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mark Marku told Shekulli. “I say this because there is still an opportunity to improve the law. A law that I believe is harmful to higher education has gone to the committee, but it may be improved along the way to Parliament.
“It would be very good if the committee took… because parliamentary procedure also requires it… if the committee took the stakeholders into consideration, in this case the universities… But I do not really believe it will take them into consideration,” Professor Marku said.
Asked for a further view on whether he believed Parliament would approve the bill, academic Artan Fuga said he was convinced that voting strength would dictate the outcome. “In my view, speaking for myself… I would say Parliament will pass it, because anything can be done with the power of the voting card. But… with all respect to parliamentarians… the problem, I would say, is what legitimacy MPs have when they do not know higher education and lack the relevant expertise. What legitimacy do they have to vote for a law on behalf of citizens when the people who work in this field… when university bodies oppose it? What is the legitimacy of such a Parliament?
“Can parliamentarians listen to the opposition to the law? They can listen, or they can choose not to. But speaking for myself, I would say there is no reason for Parliament to listen, because there is no MP there who can vote against their parliamentary group. Voting is based on the group… So I do not see any democratization there for cases when ‘I disagree,’” Prof. Dr. Artan Fuga said.
Changes made to the education bill before its approval
The government approved the Higher Education Bill after making changes to the proposal, but opposition remained
The process of proposing the Higher Education Bill included consultation with stakeholders, including academic circles. But the latter openly expressed reservations and opposition to the proposals, particularly the creation of 4 agencies which, according to academics, undermined autonomy because they were government-controlled. These reservations led to a second draft proposal, which also failed to meet all the demands of university bodies but moderated the initial opposition to some extent.
However, when the second draft proposal was submitted for approval, it was approved with changes. Some of them are listed below. Compared with the second draft proposal for the Higher Education Law, the approved bill’s Chapter II, Article 7, point “e” adds to the Ministry of Education’s responsibilities the power to “authorize the commencement of activities by higher education institutions.”
The same article removes point “j,” concerning the forwarding to the President of the Republic, for appointment, of the winning candidates in university rector elections.
The National Scientific Research Agency became the National Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation, which is now said to deal not only with education but also with science. Another point was added here too. This agency, under the Ministry of Education and Sport, is now responsible not only for distributing scientific research funding but also for making information available and coordinating applications for international projects.
The Quality Assurance Agency in Higher Education, described in the second proposal as a public institution, has undergone a terminology change in the approved bill and is now described as a public legal entity. Under its point 6, the director’s appointment, previously made on the minister’s proposal by a decision of the Council of Ministers, is, in the final bill, still proposed by the minister but approved by the prime minister on the education minister’s proposal. The power goes directly to the prime minister.
Meanwhile, the bill would allow public, nonpublic and independent public higher education institutions to be suspended or closed, a provision added in Chapter III on the organization and types of higher education institutions. The senate would no longer have the power to approve the strategic development plan for higher education by a 2/3 vote of its members; it would propose it instead. Nor would it elect the members of the board of administration, but rather its own representatives on that board.
As for the academic senate and the rectorate, their members, who under the second proposal had to hold the title of professor, must under the approved bill belong to the “professor” category or hold a scientific degree of “doctor” obtained at a university in an OECD or EU member country.
Published in “Shekulli” on 10/04/2015