The new school year has begun with higher costs for families that have chosen private education. At the start of the new school year, some private schools raised school fees by 15 to 20%.

The fee increase has been applied to all three study cycles: primary, 9-year and secondary. The stated reason is the announced increase in teacher salaries and transport costs ahead of the fee hike.

But the consequences of the price increase have been felt mainly in family budgets. In some private schools, the fee increase has also pushed a considerable number of students toward public schools.

Teachers say that even though they carry out their work with love, the main reason is the rising cost of school.

In private schools, the total fee consists of three items: tuition, food and transport.

For example, at one private school, the total monthly fee paid for a child in the primary cycle was 15,000 lekë for tuition, 5,000 lekë for transport and 6,000 lekë for food. The total was 26,000 lekë per month.

After the increase, the monthly tuition fee reached 19,000 lekë, transport 6,000 lekë and the food fee 7,000 lekë. In total, the fee reached 31,000 lekë per month. The increase is 5,000 lekë, or 19% per month.

For a family with two children, with fees like these, the cost of schooling becomes unaffordable.

This has led some private schools to see the departure of 3 to 7 students per class. In private schools, class sizes range from 15 to 20 students. In a class of 20 students, 7 departures account for nearly 35% of the class.

At one private primary school, teachers say the annual fee increase of 500 euros, or 15% more, is pushing families to move their children to public schools.

Another factor is the expansion of the “after-school” service in public education, which allows parents to leave their children at school even after lessons end. This is a pilot project being implemented in some classes.

This service also includes study time and has become one of the advantages that private schools used to have, which led many parents to choose them because of longer hours.

However, the public program does not require the provision of lunch, a service that added an expense to the budget.

The Ministry of Education estimates that if the program were applied to the entire 9-year system in the country, from first grade to ninth grade, the annual cost would reach around 203 million euros per year. /Monitor

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