Prime Minister Edi Rama called on students to sit down for dialogue and announced new support measures. These include scholarships of 25,000 new lek for students from families facing financial hardship, which will also be extended to master’s students.
The package also provides housing assistance, loans at 0% or 3% interest, and employment opportunities for students at half the minimum wage.
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Rama’s remarks:
I want to address students in particular.
I have followed you closely in recent weeks. From time to time, I have spoken with some of you, as well as with lecturers and parents who have written to me or whom I have contacted to better understand the situation.
Let me say this from the outset: it is unacceptable for a violent minority to create an atmosphere of intimidation at schools or through your phones, pressuring the majority to protest or suspend classes. It is equally unacceptable for some politicized lecturers to boycott classes and try to use students as cannon fodder. This is not the first time they have acted this way.
We will amend the relevant law on this matter, following consultations with the forum of rectors. The right to criticize, protest, or strike lawfully is one thing; arbitrariness and forcing others not to attend classes is another.
Beyond that, I want to tell you directly, in front of all Albanians, a few simple things.
I fully understand that the families of many of you are facing difficulties because of the higher cost of living. The relief package I have just presented is proof that we recognize this.
I am also aware of the challenges you face. I do not want to compare you with the generations that came before you, but I want to be candid about one issue.
I do not use or accept the language of force, coercion, or violence. I will not bargain away either the Albanian tradition of listening to others, European civilization, or the democratic principles of coexistence.
When I was a young lecturer at the Academy of Arts, I joined other lecturers and students in rising up against a brutal regime. We demanded freedom, not coercion, and open dialogue, not violence against differing opinions. That courageous but peaceful movement spread throughout the university. The students brought the communist president to the negotiating table, and that is how political pluralism began.
Later, when I was leading the opposition, I sent letters inviting my predecessor to dialogue. He saw talking to his opponent as an affront to his pride.
As prime minister, after the mass protest of 2018, I also worked with students through dialogue on the effort that led to the Pact for the University. Back then, several weeks passed before talks began. As today, some despicable lecturers—from a neo-communist crank to a few blind democrats—were joined by young people following false idols and repeating: “No dialogue, meet our demands”!
But freedom cannot work on the principle of “do as we say, or we’ll smash and burn everything and refuse to attend classes, but we don’t want to be marked absent.” That kind of approach leads to survival in the jungle, not democratic coexistence.
I invite you to meet wherever you wish and whenever you choose. We can talk about what you think we should do more of and how I can do better for you, the university, and Albania.
Do not believe the false claims repeated by some of those involved in the violence and applauded by others on corrupt television screens. They say I did not listen to you during the four months of peaceful protest and that violence was therefore the only way. In reality, I listened to you more than anyone else: the protesters were beneath my window every night while I worked in my office. But from day one, their demand was: “No dialogue, resign”!
I memorized their speeches, but amid that cacophony of anger and nationalist folklore, I found no vision, ideas, or challenging criticism. God help us—the prophets of the Albanian nation must be turning in their graves.
For those who do not know what benefits the Pact for the University provides, and for those who may be swayed by the charming agitators of Instagram and TikTok—adept at mocking, but with no time to look at accounts, figures, and facts—here are some details:
Today, 60%—that is, 6 out of every 10 students—receive at least one form of direct state support thanks to the pact.
4,118 students receive scholarships for outstanding academic results.
4,648 students receive scholarships because they are members of families in need.
434 outstanding students receive a monthly scholarship equal to the minimum wage.
10,152 students are fully exempt from university fees.
The government covers 50% of tuition fees for a further 27,050 students.
These figures show that the government funds three-quarters of public universities. At the University of Medicine in Tirana, where a group of students have suspended classes for two weeks and blocked “Durrës Street,” disrupting the work of others and movement around the city, tuition fees account for less than 20% of the cost per student. Once again, through the Pact for the University, the government covers more than 80% of the cost of medical students’ studies, not counting those who receive a full or partial fee waiver.
This money comes from business contributions, including those of businesses on “Durrës Street,” which remain closed for fear of stones, as well as from other businesses and citizens affected by the traffic disruption. During the weeks of violence and anarchy, many of them have lost their peace of mind and have worked and produced less revenue.
In Tirana, student payments for dormitories cover less than a third of the annual cost. This does not include the investments already made or those still to come to improve dormitory capacity and quality. Another 100 million euros for dormitories is also available; it has long been negotiated and approved. The Pact for the University is not an Instagram or TikTok post, nor a forgotten election promise from parties offering the impossible. It is our agreement with the university and the students of 2018, from which you benefit today as well.
If you want us to review the pact and leave your mark for the students who come after you, you are welcome to do so through dialogue, understanding, and patience. I am at your disposal, at the place and time you choose.
There is also good news for you, made possible by economic growth, just like the other measures announced today. The scholarship for students from families facing financial hardship will increase by 15,000 new lek, reaching 25,000 lek—roughly half the minimum wage. The benefit will also be extended to master’s students.
The new housing bill, which is now before Parliament, includes relief measures for students and young couples: from rents co-funded by the government to loans at 0% or 3% interest, according to the criteria and conditions set out in the law.
We will also introduce a new feature for work placements. Businesses will be required, according to a set formula, to employ students at half the minimum wage.
That is all I have to say to students today.
In the coming days, we will launch a digital channel for dialogue. It will serve those who want to talk to me but are afraid—even in 2027. They claim they can take control of Albania, yet are afraid to exercise their right to speak freely. The platform will also give those who fear online violence an opportunity to express themselves, while helping my colleagues and me listen to and gather as many views from students as possible.
Friends,
Albania is far too small to become an arena for primitive clashes. Further economic growth and the creation of opportunities to distribute more income require stability, security, calm, and work. Work, work, work. Opportunity, opportunity, opportunity. Persistence, persistence, persistence!
The prolonged protest of the flamingos, joined by various groups of crows and ravens thirsting for conflict, power, social and religious division, destabilization, and revenge for Albania’s international success, has harmed tourism. It has reduced the revenue we could have generated during the summer season and redistributed.
The clashes of recent weeks have no chance of bringing down the government, but they have harmed the economy and Albania. For two weeks, the country has been sending out images that drive away tourists and investors and push money out of Albania instead of attracting it.
What goal could justify this blind struggle? Whose interests could it serve?
I do not want to speak again today about those at the forefront of, inside, or behind this dirty mess. But one thing is clear: this confrontation does nothing good for Albania. It does not protect people who live here and want to continue living here through honest work; on the contrary, it harms them. These are people raising their children and wanting them to grow up here, in a shared home that can be better for everyone.
I am here for these people, and the government, together with the governing majority, will remain in office until the final day of its term.
The others will have me to contend with. We can talk whenever and wherever they want, but when they break the law and undermine democratic order, they will face the force of the law and the norms of democratic coexistence.
Sometimes the state is slow, but the state never forgets!
I am not a blogger or influencer, and it is not my job to seek likes. My responsibility is to lead Albania toward its historic goal: a seat at the European Union table. That is why I keep going, and we will keep going; no one will be able to stop us. Who are we? We are the majority of Albanians!
