Albanian students protest over education, jobs, clash with police

Oct 13 (Reuters) – Student protesters hurled bricks and concrete blocks at Albania’s Education Ministry in Tirana on Tuesday and police fired tear gas and water cannons in response, as a nationwide demonstration over education and social issues turned violent.

Police officers detained several protesters.

Student organisers said the protest was over conditions at universities, higher education costs, financial support and employment prospects after graduation.

Some protesters added they wanted to express their frustration with inequality and the government.

“What Albania needs is a revolution, a change, a complete overthrow of the system because it can’t go on like this,” protester Luljeta Kola said, adding there was deep social injustice and a gulf between rich and poor in the country.

The demonstration comes amid a broader wave of student activism in Europe. In France, high school students have staged weeks of protests and school blockades demanding more teachers and better facilities, arguing that deteriorating school buildings and overcrowded classrooms are undermining education.

Albania’s Deputy Prime Minister Albana Koçiu wrote on Facebook: “Violence has not been, is not, and will never be a solution. Throwing stones, attacking institutions and the state police, as well as the senseless destruction of public property, are not how youth should express themselves.”

(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Writing by Antonis Pothitos; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)