The cost of children education has become a heavy burden for the budgets of the Albanian families, worsening their standard of living. The official data show that the Albanian families spend 3.5 times more than the EU families for their children education.

According to Eurostat, an average family in the EU pays only 0.6% of the budget for children education needs.

In Albania, INSTAT says the figure goes to 2.1%.

The high cost the Albanian families pay for the education is a direct result of the government politics for the education. While in the EU countries the educational system is financed mostly by the government budget, the Albanian government has thrown the biggest part of costs over the citizens’ shoulders.

Eurostat says the governments of EU countries pay for education an average 4.2% of their GDP, while in Albania it is only 3%, forcing the families to pay the remaining cost.

In the recent years, the government has increased significantly the education tariffs for the university students, while the price of book and other school materials for the low levels of education has increased significantly, up to 33% for the first class of the elementary school.   

Albania is among a few European countries that makes families pay for their children’s books of the compulsory education, which has made it almost impossible for poorer families .

SYRI.net