Problems of Higher Education in Albania

Despite significant reforms and progress over the past two decades, the higher education system in Albania still faces several challenges that hinder its ability to fully meet the needs of students, employers, and society in general. These challenges are related to issues related to quality, governance, financing, and internationalization, and they must be addressed if the country is to develop a competitive economy based on skills, knowledge and competencies.

Some of the main problems facing higher education in Albania today are described below.

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1. Quality.

One of the most urgent issues in Albanian higher education is the quality of education. There are significant concerns about the completeness of university curricula and the quality of teaching. Many academic programs in Albanian universities are outdated and do not adequately prepare students for the labor market. The curriculum often lacks practical elements, leaving graduates with insufficient skills, knowledge, competencies, and experience to meet the needs of employers. Furthermore, there is a gap between academic research and the demands of the economy in general and various sectors and industries in particular, which further limits the employability of graduates. Moreover, Albanian universities often lack the infrastructure and resources to provide quality education. Many institutions compete in the market with outdated facilities, limited access to modern technologies, and incomplete or outdated lists of books in their libraries, often without virtual libraries and with inadequate research tools. These problems are compounded by the lack of investment in teaching staff, where many professors and lecturers receive relatively low salaries, which affects their motivation and the quality of teaching.

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2. Governance and Institutional Autonomy.

The governance of higher education in Albania is another important issue. Universities in Albania are often subject to political interference and decision-making processes may lack transparency and accountability. The Ministry of Education and Sports should play a central role in the regulation of higher education, but the changes to the higher education law in the country brought a centralized control, which reduces the ability of universities to act effectively. independent and to innovate, while MAS waves the flag of the independence of universities, when it comes to the complaints of applicants for scientific titles, when their rights are violated by the universities. While there has been some progress in promoting autonomy, the system is still overly bureaucratic, with universities often unable to make timely or effective decisions regarding curricula, staffing, and strategic planning. Furthermore, the lack of coordination between universities and other sectors, such as business and government, leads to inefficiencies. The lack of a clear strategy for the development of higher education means that higher education institutions in the country, instead of working together towards common national goals, struggle like Don Quixote.

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3. Funding and financial stability.

Another key issue in the higher education system in Albania is the insufficient funding allocated to public universities. The Albanian government's investment in higher education remains relatively low compared to other European countries. As a result, many universities face financial constraints that limit their ability to upgrade facilities, attract and retain talented faculty, or invest in research. This lack of funding causes universities to rely on tuition fees as their main source of income, which can make higher education out of reach for students from lower-income families. Furthermore, the public funding system is often inefficient, with limited financial autonomy for universities. The budgeting process can be slow and cumbersome, and the allocation of funds is often based on outdated models that do not take into account the changing needs of the higher education sector. As a result, universities struggle to maintain and improve their services and there is a risk that they will increasingly rely on private funding or tuition fees, which could exacerbate inequalities in access to education.

5. Brain drain and emigration.

Albania also faces a significant problem with "brain drain" – the emigration of highly educated individuals seeking better opportunities abroad. Many Albanian graduates, especially those with advanced degrees in fields such as engineering, medicine, and law, leave the country in search of higher-paying jobs and better living conditions in Western Europe or North America. This outflow of talent creates a shortage of skilled professionals within the country and further weakens the potential for innovation and economic development. Lack of attractive career prospects, low salaries, and limited opportunities for professional growth are some of the main reasons driving this trend. Furthermore, many Albanian graduates see studying abroad as a way to gain access to higher-quality education and more prestigious institutions, further reinforcing the cycle of brain drain.

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6. Limited internationalization.

Albanian institutions of higher education remain largely isolated from the world academic community. While Albania is a member of various international organizations such as the Bologna Process, its universities are not yet fully integrated into global academic and research networks. Student mobility is limited and many Albanian universities have few partnerships with foreign institutions. This lack of internationalization hinders the exchange of ideas, research collaborations and the development of a more competitive and globally recognized academic system. Furthermore, the low levels of foreign student enrollment in Albania reflect the limited attractiveness of the country as an educational destination. Without a clear strategy to promote its higher education institutions internationally, Albania risks missing out on the benefits of a more globalized education system, including greater academic diversity, improved quality, and increased opportunities for research funding.

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7. Academic career.

Regarding the academic career in Albania, it can be said that it is under the form of a very sophisticated nepotism. If you look at the academic staff of the public sector of higher education in Albania, you will understand that the majority of them who are employed in this sector are the children of those who were employed during the period of the previous regime, or scumbags of today's regimes, spouses of ministers and deputies, their children and grandchildren. This academic body in which those who are within the system support and support each other does not allow those who are outside their system, if they meet the conditions for obtaining scientific and academic titles, to have no opportunity for titles beyond Doctor of Science, while alone they have the opportunity to obtain the highest scientific and academic titles, as they give each other, or even alone, as they are employed in public HEIs. Based on the higher education law in Albania, scientific and academic titles are awarded only by HEIs that are universities, and now only two or three public universities have this right, while European practice shows that if someone meets the conditions, it is enough to transparently show that you meet these conditions and the title is automatically won. Applying in e-Albania for scientific titles would be a well-accepted solution, since everything is transparent and easily verifiable, compared to the successive commissions that are set up on this issue. These commissions are manipulated by whoever will not give them the scientific and academic title to the one who belongs to it, starting from a simple pedagogue up to the highest instances in the university, just because they don't want to give the scientific title. They say that "we don't like the article" when the article is published in international scientific journals at the request of VKM for this purpose. They say that we don't like the scientific paper of the conference" even though this is completely by the requirements of VKM for this purpose. They say that "there are no funds for the review of the monograph" when it is known that the monograph is converted at least with an article or a conference. They know what they want even without reviewing the monograph. They say "I don't like this post-doctoral study of yours", even though they have no right to comment on this issue. They say "You have many articles and conferences in a short time and this damages the scientific level", when this parameter cannot be measured.

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In conclusion, the higher education system in Albania faces several interrelated problems that must be addressed to ensure its future development and global competitiveness. These challenges include issues related to the quality of education, governance, financing, labor market expansion, brain drain, internationalization, and the academic career, etc. Addressing these issues will require comprehensive reforms aimed at improving the educational experience, increasing investments in universities, increasing institutional autonomy, aligning higher education with the needs of students and employers, transparency in obtaining scientific and academic titles, etc.