Students‘protest shrinks in numbers, they demand support from the US and EU embassies

The number of students that participated yesterday in a protest held in the capital has shrunk. In contrast to Monday, fewer students gathered in front of the government’s offices on Tuesday. They were about 50 students with placards in their hands, repeating their 8 demands for the government, adding that they insist on not engaging in dialogue. During their protest, students have marched toward the US embassy, where they have delivered a letter which was also addressed to the EU. In this letter they asked for support about their 8 demands and also made a ninth demand for the abrogation of the law on Higher Education. “This was a spontaneous decision that we had not predicted. I believe that embassy officials will support us”, one of the students said. Protesters in front of the Prime Minister’s office said that they will not give up until their demands are met. According to them, the low participation was due to the low temperatures that have swept the country. Prime Minister Rama has reacted by addressing a message to all those skeptic students who still don’t believe in the decision taken by the government to cut tuition fees by 50% this academic year for all students and to cut tuition fees by 100% for all of those students who have excellent grades.

“Those who decided to be involved in ugly scenes of brutality and ignorance, are trying to misinform students about the tariffs. Nobody will pay more than 50%”, Rama said.

Ministry of Education

On the other hand, there’s also been a reaction by the Ministry of Education following the announcement made by the head of the government, Edi Rama regarding tuition fees for students. The ministry declared that it will allocate the necessary fund which will subsidize the fees that the government will pay for students and scholarships, adding that this institution is working to identify the number of students who benefit from the government’s decisions.