BDI opposes agreement for Albanian students in Butel: A discriminatory and conditional solution

BDI has reacted to the agreement made public by Deputy Minister of Education Driton Sulejmani concerning Albanian students at “Petar Zdravkovski–Penko” Elementary School in Butel.

According to the party, the agreement between the Ministry of Education and the Municipality of Butel stipulates that children from Chair who live near the school may enroll in the first grade only if they have a brother or sister attending the same institution. BDI emphasizes that, at the same time, no provision has been made for opening a new Albanian-language class.

“This is not a solution, but a mechanism for limiting and conditioning Albanian children’s right to learn in their mother tongue,” BDI said.

The party asks why an Albanian child must necessarily have a brother or sister attending the school in order to gain the right to enroll.

BDI considers that the right to education in the Albanian language cannot be determined by a student’s family circumstances and demands to know the basis for such a criterion, which, according to the party, is being used to reduce the number of Albanian students.

If the number of applicants is sufficient to establish an Albanian-language class, the institutions must ensure the conditions for opening one. According to BDI, imposing filters and additional requirements that are not applied equally cannot be a solution.

BDI emphasizes that the issue concerns children who will attend first grade and that the start of their education must be guaranteed as a right, rather than subjected to an exclusionary, discriminatory or conditional procedure.

The party calls on the Ministry of Education and the Municipality of Butel to make public the exact number of Albanian children who applied for enrollment, as well as the criteria used during the selection process. It also calls for enrollment to be guaranteed for all students who meet the legal requirements, for an Albanian-language class to be opened if the number of students justifies it, and for any practice that directly or indirectly limits the right to education in the Albanian language to be halted.

“Education is not a privilege granted through political agreements. It is a right,” BDI said in its reaction.