Pre-school quality at the heart of education reforms in Albania

Tirana 12 October 2018 - While Albania has made remarkable progress in education and since more children are in schools and learning than ever before, still more needs to be done to ensure that all children, especially those from vulnerable families can enjoy the right to early learning.

Extensive research on early human development shows that an early start on education affect development throughout the life course and offering children marginalized by poverty, ethnic origin, disability, location or gender the boost they need to fully achieve human capital.

Pre-school education is seen by the Albanian government as a key investment given the importance of pre-school as the foundation of the child's future.  

In Albania, UNICEF has supported the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth in developing curricula, standards and training teachers on teaching methodologies.   

“It is important to improve pre-school access for young children; however, quality learning opportunities, well-trained teachers, safe and play based pre-school environments are required to provide children with the skills they need to lead fulfilling lives and contribute to the society”, - said UNICEF Deputy Representative, Jawad Aslam.

UNICEF welcomes governments’ commitment for expanding education services from pre-schools to secondary education. Government investment comes at a critical time to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education for all children by 2030.

UNICEF will continue to cooperate with the national partners in improving inclusive pre-school practices through supporting professional development and communities of practice, design the assessment mechanisms for monitoring quality and inclusiveness of the interventions and support for the implementation of the universal pre-primary schooling year (for children aged 5-6).