Children spotlight teachers at Global Education week celebrations in Albania

Hundreds of children, parents, teachers and representatives of local and International NGOs got together and spoke about the importance education in children’s’ lives. At a series of activities organized across Albania during the Global Education week at the end of April 2013 participants highlighted the need to have trained teachers for every child and to invest in school approaches that help children develop their potential.

This awareness campaign was organized and supported by local and International NGOs including: Save the Children, World Vision, CRCA, ADRA, ADRF, ALO 116, SHKEJ, Partners for Children, Education Unions, La Casa nel Cuore, RVSH and MEDPAK.

Through open forums with politicians, workshops and meetings with education specialists and through children’s activities in schools, children, teachers, parents and representatives of civil society organizations called upon authorities to increase efforts and investment for children’s education and development. They called for teachers’ capacity development, strengthening the school management structure and the  the establishment of school management committees that include students, teachers, parents and members of local communities.

This Global Education week campaign was a great opportunity for all children to get involved and speak about their needs, their hopes and deliver key messages related to Education. Some of the children, participating in the campaign events, were also beneficiaries of Save the Children projects implemented by Social-Educative and Integration Center(FBSH), the Tirana Drop-In Center for street children, the Minors Institute of Kavaja and Child-Led Groups Voice16+. They displayed paintings, drawings, posters and read their essays at children’s open exhibition arranged in the “Youth” park of Tirana. “Without teachers, a school is just a building. Without trained teachers, schooling is not education-Without trained teachers for all, education for all will never be a reality” - this was one of the main messages presented in the Global Education week banner. Other messages presented through artworks and essays produced by children included: “Education can change the world”, “Education is knowledge, culture and freedom”, “Education is development, support and entertainment” “An Ideal teacher can make ideal future citizens” and “An ideal teacher should teach us the way to the solution not the solution itself”.

According to Save the Children’s Child Rights Situation Analysis 2012, although initiatives taken by the government have resulted in improvements to the Education situation, Albania still ranks as one of the countries with the lowest quality of education in Europe. Education is not equally accessible to all children. Disadvantaged groups, such as Roma and children in the rural north, have lower access and the quality of education remains variable, with rural areas showing worrisome trends, in part due to inadequate infrastructure and unqualified teachers.

In response to this situation, Save the Children Education program 2013-2015 will focus on quality and inclusive basic education for marginalized Roma children, children with disabilities, as well as children living in rural areas. Further legislative and policy changes in education and effective implementation of the new pre University education law will be advocated for on behalf of children and adolescents.

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27/05/2013