Sulejmani: No fifth Albanian class will be opened at “Penko” school, enrollment of students from Çairi with conditions

Following protests by parents and teachers over the opening of a fifth Albanian-language class for first-grade students, Deputy Minister of Education Driton Sulejmani clarified that at the “Petar Zdravkovski Penko” primary school, four Albanian classes are foreseen, just like a year ago. According to him, this planning was done automatically based on existing data.

Sulejmani supports the stance of the Municipality of Butel, according to which only those children from the Municipality of Çairi who already have siblings enrolled there are accepted in this educational institution. Consequently, a significant number of students who live near the school but do not meet this criterion remain excluded.

When asked if such a practice exists anywhere in the world, the deputy minister admitted that there are no precedents, but stressed that the measure taken is a practical solution. He explained that, according to the school catchment area plan approved by the Municipal Council of Butel, students belonging to other municipalities have no right to enroll in this school. However, due to accommodations made in the past and in order not to penalize these children — both for geographic proximity and for family ties with existing students — it was decided not to cut off this opportunity.

On the other hand, councilors of the Alliance for Cultural Integration (AKI) in Butel accuse the deputy minister of spreading inaccurate information regarding this matter. According to them, the problem remains completely unresolved and children’s enrollment has been completed only partially, based exclusively on whether they had a sibling in that school. They demand the implementation of Article 7 of the decision on school catchment areas, which clearly allows enrollment of students from other municipalities, provided they reside in the area where the school is located.

Meanwhile, the situation remains tense and opposition movements are calling for a review of the decision and full respect of the existing legal framework.