In Albania the education follows a 5-4-3 system, where the primary school lasts for 5 years, the secondary school for 4 years and the secondary school for 3 years. On average, Albanians are expected to have 11.8 years of schooling. 3.2% of the population over the age of 15 are illiterate (UNDP 2015).

• A2zdirectory: Describes prehistory and early history of Albania. Includes history from colony to an independent nation.

Basic education

Primary and secondary schools are compulsory and free for children aged 6-14. The first nine years of school provide students with a basic education with language, mathematics, social sciences, natural sciences, shaping, physical education and practical work. Albanian is the language of instruction, while English, French and Russian are the most important foreign languages.

• TOPSCHOOLSINTHEUSA: Visit to find a full list of ACT testing locations in Albania. Also covers exam dates of 2021 and 2022 for American College Test within Albania.

Major school reforms were introduced in the 1980s and 1990s. All teaching subjects have been tried to depoliticize and made ideologically neutral. In addition, new subjects such as human rights, democracy, European knowledge and environmental protection have been added.

According to the World Bank, 89% start in high school (2011). In primary school, there are 19.1 pupils per teacher, and 3.3% of GDP is spent on public education (UNDP 2015).

Higher education

Higher education is offered at a number of vocational schools and universities. An academic year lasts for 30 weeks and is divided into semesters. In the wake of the Bologna process, bachelor programs last for three years, while master’s programs last for two. Since 2002, Albania has seen a tremendous increase in the number of students and private universities.

• Countryaah: Get latest country flag of Albania and find basic information about Albania including population, religion, languages, etc.

1989-92

When Enver Hoxha died in April 1985, his post as head of state was taken over by Ramiz Alia. In 1989, it began a restructuring to correct some features of the economy and to break its country’s international isolation.

In the following 2 years, this process was accelerated. The barriers to the development of tourism were removed and Alia’s government began discussions with a view to promoting tourism. to reestablish relations with the USSR and the United States. Freedom of religion was restored. The number of crimes that resulted in the death penalty was reduced from 34 to 11 – it was already abolished entirely for women – and civil rights were expanded. Other openings include: Right to private property, opening to foreign investment and election of industry directors by workers in secret elections. In February 1990 amnesty for political and ordinary prisoners was decreed for the second time. In November, Alia also announced a revision of the Constitution that had been in effect since 1976, and in December the activities of independent political parties were allowed.

The same month, the election of free elections in Albania was announced after 46 years of communist hegemony. The election was originally scheduled to take place in February 1991, but was postponed to March 31 due to the instability created by the thousands of Albanians’ tumultuous escape to Italy. Nearly 2 million Albanians could choose from over 1,000 candidates from 11 political parties monitored by hundreds of international election observers and over 250 foreign journalists.

In the capital Tirana, Ramiz Alia suffered a staggering defeat when 18 of the 19 municipal council seats went to then-unknown engineer Franko Karogi of the Democratic Party (PD). Despite this, the communists nevertheless achieved 156 of the 250 seats in parliament against 67 for the Social Democratic PD. The rest of the seats went to small parties and turnout reached 95%. From his exile in Paris, the ex-Leka I claimed to be a massive electoral fraud and opposition leader Gramoz Pashko claimed the result showed the election’s lack of legitimacy.