A New Albanian School in a European Prespective: Towards Decentralization and Essential Autonomy

Abstract

After the 90s, education in the Republic of Albania underwent changes which nowadays are found sanctioned in the Constitution, Pre-University Education Law, normative provision, and regulation of schools. But, despite these important changes, a complete reform has not been done in the pre-university educational institutions, to conceive the institutional, teaching and management problems closely related to each other. The transition from the totalitarian state to the rule of law, in the first phase, imposed a concentration of competencies in the hands of the central government, in running, administering, and financing the school. Without this focus, a package of legislative-administrative and conceptual changes could not be initiated, which would constitute the premise of a useful and comprehensive reform in the outlines of the European profile in the tradition of Albanian education. At the current stage, the decentralization of political power, the increase of self-government autonomy of local government bodies must necessarily be accompanied by increased social participation and decentralization of the management of the education system in the administrative, financial, and pedagogical plan. First, in addition to the central education development policy, local projects and plans should be considered, which in coherence with the national education strategy, provide the school with the problems of the community in which it belongs; second, the green light for horizontal decentralization must be given, which means expanding public participation in decision-making.

Received: 30 October 2021 / Accepted: 2 December 2021 / Published: 9 December 2021