Students and lecturers protest as University Union announces boycott at all public universities

The University Union has announced a boycott of teaching at all public universities in solidarity with students and school pupils who have taken to the streets in protest, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

The decision to boycott was made the previous day by the Union’s executive board during a protest by students and lecturers, who marched to the Prime Minister’s Office and also rejected the dialogue proposed by Rama.

The boycott begins today and will continue until further notice. As they did yesterday, lecturers will gather every day at 10:00 a.m. outside the Central Building of the Polytechnic University.

“Reasons for the boycott: Students have been protesting for months, calling for quality education, dignified healthcare, the safety of life and property, the right to accountability, and more. The response they have received has not been dialogue, but silence and, since October 13, extreme violence as well. Lecturers cannot continue teaching as usual while their students are being beaten in the streets. Lecturers share the same views as students on political and economic developments, rampant corruption, the lack of meritocracy, and so on,” the statement said.

The Union is calling for an immediate end to the violence against students, an investigation into the police use of force against them, and the fulfillment of their demands.

“The boycott is not an abandonment of the lecture hall. It is our way of showing that the lecture hall, without rights and dignity, loses its meaning. We will return to the lecture hall as soon as our students receive the response they deserve,” the statement said.