The Minister of Education and Sports, Ogerta Manastirliu, said today in the Parliament that new policies are being implemented for the financial treatment and professional development of teachers, which have brought the salary of teachers to over 950 euros. Minister Manastirliu also spoke about the new system of financial support for teachers related to the new qualification system.
“We promised to increase teachers’ salaries by 40% within this mandate, and we have done so. We will continue the policy of increasing salaries and supporting teachers. 30,000 teachers in the education system will benefit from this policy, along with 7,368 educators in nurseries and kindergartens, as well as teachers in vocational education. When we talk about the new salary system, we consider not only the increase for job positions or seniority but also for qualification and support throughout their career. We have established a new system of continuing education and a new system of qualification levels. With the new qualification system, it takes 3 years of experience to become a “Qualified Teacher”, 8 years for a “Specialist Teacher”, and 15 years for a “Master Teacher”. This system comes with increased financial rewards, doubling the rewards for Qualified Teachers and Specialist Teachers, and increasing the reward for Master Teachers by 50%. The additional funding for teachers to improve their qualifications amounts to 4.8 million euros. The Minister of Education and Sports, Ogerta Manastirliu, made these statements during the interpellation called by MP Erisa Xixho in the Assembly.
The minister also focused on modernizing the national curriculum and integrating information and communications technology (ICT) into schools. There are already 200 schools that are part of the Element IT program, with 216 new Smart Labs, involving more than 40,000 children in coding programs.
“We are working on modernizing the national curriculum and assessing student performance concerning new and effective teaching methods. The need to reflect technological and digital developments, foster critical thinking and increase students’ competencies is a priority. The integration of technology and information is one of our priorities for the development of an education that empowers students in the field of technology,” said Manastirliu.
One of the priorities of the Ministry of Education and Sports is financial support for students who choose priority branches, with scholarships that reach the value of the minimum wage.
“This year, the government’s decision has re-dimensioned the program to support students of priority branches with scholarships equal to the minimum wage, giving importance to areas such as teaching, agriculture, natural sciences, naval engineering, etc. This includes not only the entry and support with scholarships but also the maintenance of the students’ achievements, so that the students supported with these scholarships are the best professionals. The remodeling that we are doing this year to this mechanism will not only increase interest, but we will guarantee that those students who enter the system will increase their results and maintain these results at all levels of study. during the time that these scholarships benefit,” said Manastirliu.
The minister emphasized that the reforms carried out have led to an increase in salaries, improved working conditions, and a more transparent and merit-based employment system for teachers.