The new school year has started with increased expenses for families who have chosen private education. Some private schools, at the beginning of the new school year, increased tuition fees by 15 to 20%. The increase in fees was applied to all three cycles of studies, primary, 9-year and secondary. The reason for the increase was the announced increase in teacher salaries and transportation fees due to the increase in oil prices.
But the consequences of the increase in prices have not only been felt on the family budget. In some private schools, the increase in fees has also led to the departure of a significant number of students to public schools. Teachers claim that based on surveys conducted with parents, the main reason for the departures is precisely the increase in the cost of education. In private schools, the total fee consists of 3 items: tuition, food and transportation.
For example, in one of the private schools, the total monthly fee that a parent paid for a child in the lower cycle was 15 thousand lek for studies, 5 thousand lek for transportation and 6 thousand lek for food. In total, 26 thousand lek per month. After the increase, the monthly tuition fee reached 19 thousand lek, transportation 6 thousand lek and food fee 7 thousand lek. In total, the fee reached 31 thousand lek per month. The increase is 5 thousand lek or 19% per month. For a family with 2 children, with the increase in fees, the cost of education becomes unaffordable.
This has led to some private schools dropping out at a rate of 3 to 7 students per class. In private schools, the number of students varies from 15 to 20 students per class. In a class of 20 students, 7 dropouts account for almost 35% of dropouts.
Even in a private elementary school, parents claim that the annual fee increase of 500 euros, or 15% more expensive, influenced the decision to send their child to a public school.
Another element is the expansion of the “after-school” service in state education, which allows parents to keep their children in school longer, even after school hours. This is still a pilot project, being implemented in a few classrooms.
This service also includes study time and has become one of the advantages that private schools have had, leading many parents to choose them due to the longer schedules.
However, the public program still does not include the provision of lunch, a service that would have a significant cost to the budget.
The Ministry of Education calculates that if the program were implemented for the entire 9-year system in the country (from first grade to 9th grade), the annual cost would reach around 203 million euros per year./Monitor
