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Household spending on education is rising, despite declining quality

Politiko 2024-12-09 14:48:19

Household spending on education is rising, despite declining quality

Educational achievements as evidenced by the international PISA tests have declined between 2018 and 2022, but Albanian families' spending on education is increasing.

On average, an Albanian family spent 2,766 lek per month in 2021 (33,192 lek per year) on the purchase of educational services. This includes transportation fees, fees charged by public schools for logistics (security guards, heating, etc.), and fees related to attending private education, according to data from INSTAT's household budget survey.

In 2023, an Albanian family spent an average of 3209 lekë per month or 38,503 lekë per year. Between 2021 and 2023, education expenditures increased by 16% per family. This increase is averaged for all Albanian families, but the expenditures of families with children have increased by much more than 16 percent. Private schools have applied significant increases in fees in the last two years due to increased costs in human resources, etc.

Albania has fallen behind two decades in the education sector, according to testing conducted in 2022 with 15-year-old students. In mathematics, they scored 368 points, 69 points less than in the 2018 test and 21 points less than in 2012.

In literature, they received 358 points, 47 less than in 2018 and 35 less than in 2012. In science, the decline was similar.

The total number of schools has decreased significantly in recent years, with the exception of pre-school level. Public institutions are the main providers of education, accounting for 88% of schools in pre-university education and 76% in higher education.

But in the context of the overall decline in the number of students enrolled in the private sector at all levels from preschool to higher education, this is affecting the increase in family expenses.

Lack of security and inconvenient schedules are causing more and more working parents to send their children to private schools, even though their quality is not competitive with public schools.

Albania is facing an urgent need to improve funding for the education sector and for a better allocation of resources, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) noted in a special analysis of Education in Albania that was recently published./ Monitor

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