Već dva i pol mjeseca u Albaniji tisuće studenata, uz podršku profesora, učenika srednjih škola i grupa radnika, vode borbu za obrazovanje i sveučilište koje neće kontrolirati kapital. Premda se činilo da se radi o spontanoj eksploziji nezadovoljstva studentske ljutnje zbog novih nameta, razlozi za prosvjed puno su veći. O prosvjedima, stanju albanskog visokog obrazovanja, spornom Zakonu, egzistencijalnim problemima studenata i drugim pitanjima za Radnički portal razgovarali smo s Borom Mema, članicom Pokreta za sveučilište (Për Universitetin), jednog od organizatora prosvjeda u Tirani.

Studentski prosvjedi u Albaniji započeli su 4. prosinca 2018., nakon što je ministrica obrazovanja Lindita Nikolla uvela dodatne pristojbe za studente koji padnu na ispitu. Zašto je ovaj čin potaknuo tisuće studenata da izađu na ulice? Koliki su troškovi života u usporedbi s troškovima obrazovanja?

Studentski prosvjedi održavaju se nekoliko posljednjih godina, posebno od 2014.-2015. kad je Vlada pogurala neoliberalnu reformu u visokom obrazovanju koja bi privatnim sveučilištima osigurala javna sredstva. Ono što se dogodilo u prosincu nije vezano samo uz dodatne pristojbe za ponavljanje ispita (ne samo za padanje) – to je bio samo poticaj da se počne prosvjedovati protiv svega ostalog. Uzimajući u obzir da je minimalna plaća u Albaniji manja od 200 eura, a nezaposlenost jako visoka, školarine od 250 do 400 eura za preddiplomski i čak 1700 eura za diplomski studij su ogromni iznosi. Da ne spominjem da studenti u Albaniji nemaju naknade za prijevoz, knjižare, kazališta, broj studentskih domova nije dovoljan, a njihovo je stanje bijedno. Zadnji put kad se uložilo u domsku infrastrukturu još uvijek smo bili u socijalizmu (prije 1990.). Stanarine sve više rastu, a iako studenti moraju raditi od prve godine studija, svejedno ne mogu zaraditi dovoljno do kraja mjeseca. Obično rade u prekarnim radnim uvjetima i izrabljivani su, stoga ne mogu adekvatno pratiti nastavu. U ovakvim okolnostima većina studenata ne može položiti sve ispite na vrijeme, pa je ono što je Vlada učinila kažnjavajući ove studente, bila stvar preko koje oni više nisu mogli prijeći.

Dva dana nakon početka demonstracija Vlada je odbacila povećanje pristojbi, no većina studenata nastavila je prosvjedovati – očito postoji više razloga za demonstracije osim školarina. Što zahtijevaju studenti?

Studenti su postali svjesni vlastite moći i zahtijevali su više. Žele ukinuće Zakona o visokom obrazovanju i zahtijevaju proširenje njihova prava glasa na sudjelovanje u izboru upravnih tijela sveučilišta. Zahtijevaju sudjelovanje u procesu donošenja odluka, ne žele biti samo klijenti koji prolaze. Žele bolje uvjete u domovima, na sveučilištima, veća ulaganja, smanjenje školarina, kao i prava poput većine njihovih kolega u Europi. Žele zaustaviti korumpirane predavače koji vrše pritisak na studente prodajući im svoje knjige; ne žele plaćati kako bi položili ispite. U osnovi, zahtijevaju pristojno sveučilište.

Mnogi vjeruju da je probleme produbio Zakon o visokom obrazovanju iz 2015. Možeš li komentirati zašto je Zakon problematičan?

Mnogi su problemi naslijeđeni jer se tokom zadnjih 30 godina stanje na sveučilištima i obrazovni sustav općenito samo pogoršavaju. No, neoliberalna reforma u visokom obrazovanju potencira ove probleme i dodaje nove dajući javna sredstva privatnim sveučilištima, što znači manje novca za javna sveučilišta, veće školarine za studente. Reforma također ohrabruje produbljivanje klijentelističkih veza između dekana, rektora i akademskog osoblja, obespravljujući studente i spašavajući sveučilišnu birokraciju od javne kontrole. S druge strane, Zakon uspostavlja neke nove birokratske strukture pod kontrolom Vlade, kako bi se uništila sveučilišna autonomija.

Koji fakulteti sudjeluju u demonstracijama? Jesu li se pridružili i studenti izvan glavnog grada? Komuniciraju li studenti s različitih fakulteta međusobno? Jesu li povezani, surađuju li i kako?

Svi javni fakulteti sa svih javnih sveučilišta bili su u štrajku. Prosvjedi su najčešće organizirani na vlastitom sveučilištu i u vlastitom gradu, no glavnom gradu su se s vremena na vrijeme pridruživale različite grupe. Također, učenici srednjih škola u Tirani organizirali su blokadu nastave i pridružili se prosvjedu, unatoč prijetnjama od ravnatelja škola, lojalnih vladajućoj političkoj stranci. Društveni mediji bili su ključan alat u mobiliziranju, što je pridonijelo tome da mainstream mediji neprestano prate prosvjede.

Tko su prosvjednici? Studenti s javnih ili privatnih sveučilišta? Sudjeluju li sveučilišni profesori? Ako da, koji su njihovi razlozi za sudjelovanje i na koji način podržavaju studente? Što s radnicima – jesu li studenti zvali radnike da se pridruže i tako učine prosvjede snažnijima?

Većinu prosvjednika čine studenti s javnih sveučilišta, no bilo je i studenata s privatnih sveučilišta koji su se pridružili. Prosvjedi su bili tako izvanredan događaj da su svi željeli biti dio toga, građani su izražavali solidarnost kad bi studenti išli u dućan kupiti vodu, baterije za megafone, markere za transparente. Ljudi su pljeskali i mahali iz autobusa ili automobila kad bi studenti marširali ili zauzimali ulice marširajući.

I profesori su prosvjedovali jer ih također pogađa spomenuti Zakon i uvjeti na sveučilištu. Sudjelovali su na prosvjedima, iskazivali podršku u medijima, pisali članke. Profesori Fakulteta društvenih znanosti štrajkali su tri dana u znak podrške studentima, no bili su prisiljeni okončati štrajk jer nisu članovi sindikata i mogu lako dobiti otkaz po zakonu koji ne dopušta divlji štrajk više od tri dana. To ih je potaknulo da započnu zakonsku proceduru osnivanja novog sindikata. Različite grupe rudara i radnika naftnih rafinerija poslale su podršku studentskom pokretu. Radnici studentskih centara, sadašnji ili bivši studenti, također su aktivno sudjelovali u prosvjedima.

Kakve su bile reakcije političkih stranaka i vlade na demonstracije? Je li bilo pokušaja slamanja studentskog otpora?

Političke stranke odgovorne su za situaciju s kojom se sveučilište suočava posljednjih desetljeća. Veoma sporan Zakon o visokom obrazovanju predložila je bivša vlada (sadašnja opozicija), a sadašnja Vlada ga je prihvatila u parlamentu. Opozicija nije slučaj podnijela Ustavnom sudu, kako je obećano. U početku je premijer Edi Rama zvao studente gomilom propalica na koje ne bi potrošio ni centa. Idućih dana praktički je preklinjao na društvenim medijima i u svakoj emisiji za sastanak s nama, no niti jedan student nije prihvatio sjesti s njim, smatrajući ga nedostojnim razgovora. Vlada je mnogo puta pokušala izvršiti pritisak koristeći stranačke ogranke mladih koji su se pretvarali da žele da predavanja započnu ili pokušavali uplašiti studente da će izgubiti akademsku godinu ako se prosvjedi oduže. Što se tiče opozicije, ona je agresivno pokušavala ukrasti prosvjede.

Profesori Fakulteta društvenih znanosti štrajkali su tri dana, različite grupe rudara i radnika naftnih rafinerija poslale su podršku studentskom pokretu.

Počeli su napadati naše aktiviste i organizaciju prozivajući ih da ih je platio Soroš da zaustave opoziciju, da ih je platila vlada da zaustave val prosvjeda ili da želimo preobratiti prosvjednike u marksiste i mnoge druge apsurdne stvari. Svi opozicijski mediji su nas optuživali, a mnogi njihovi stranački huligani su prijetili i čak udarali ili fizički napadali naše aktiviste. Više od 12 incidenata dogodilo se na prosvjedima. Što se tiče medija na strani Vlade, oni su nas počeli optuživati da surađujemo s opozicijom kako bi bojkotirali predavanja. Dakle, svi oni koji imaju moć – oni koji imaju isti ekonomski interes i veze s ekonomskom oligarhijom i istu političku agendu – pooštravali su napad. No, stvarno je važno to da su studenti masovno skandirali protiv svih političkih stranaka i političkog establišmenta. Oko toga stranke nisu mogle ništa učiniti.

Oko 70 posto studenata u Hrvatskoj zarobljeno je u začarani krug studiranja i rada na studentskom poslu kako bi platili školarinu i druge troškove obrazovanja poput hrane, smještaja itd. Kakva je situacija u Albaniji – koliko je čest studentski rad, koji su najčešći studentski poslovi, koliko su studenti plaćeni? Postoji li zakon koji regulira studentski rad?

U Albaniji ne postoji takav zakon. Koliko mi je poznato, nema statistike o postotku zaposlenih studenata, no iz našeg svakidašnjeg iskustva došli smo do zaključka da je većina studenata uhvaćena u takav krug. Studenti obično rade u call centrima ili kao konobari i prodavači, i, budući da su studenti, plaćeni su i manje nego što bi trebali biti plaćeni, a pritom treba uzeti u obzir činjenicu da su plaće u Albaniji veoma niske. Tokom prosvjeda bilo je mnogo javnih iskaza studenata koji su se žalili da si pred kraj mjeseca mogu priuštiti samo jedan obrok dnevno. Ono što je još gore jest nepostojanje nade zbog očekivanja da će nakon završetka studija nastaviti raditi na istim prekarnim poslovima.

Kad govorimo o socioekonomskim problemima studenata, koji su ostali problemi? Na primjer, kakvo je stanje i kolika je cijena studentskih domova, dobivaju li studenti subvenciju za obroke i je li dovoljna, što je sa stipendijama?

Od studenata se očekuje da plaćaju 55 eura mjesečno kako bi spavali u jako maloj sobi, u kojoj zajedno stanuje troje ili četvero studenata. Nema subvencije za obroke, a stipendije mogu dobiti samo najsiromašniji. Nema državne subvencije za prijevoz ni za bilo kakvu vrstu rekreativne i kulturne aktivnosti. Za život u velikom gradu, posebno u Tirani, potrebno je otprilike 300 eura mjesečno, dok je minimalna plaća 208 eura, a prosječna plaća ne doseže 400 eura.

Prošla su dva mjeseca od početka demonstracija. Kakva je trenutna situacija i što je do sada postignuto? Je li rješenje studentskih problema blizu?

Studentski prosvjedi prisilili su Vladu da smanji iznos školarina za preddiplomski studij za 50 posto. Međutim, studenti su shvatili da imaju ogromnu moć i počeli se organizirati demokratski u studentske sindikate. Slomili su neoliberalnu hegemoniju koja smatra da su sveučilišni studiji privatne usluge koje bi trebalo kupovati, a zadobili su pažnju ljudi i suglasnost da je obrazovanje temeljno socijalno pravo.

Mnogo toga još treba postići. Zakon o visokom obrazovanju još je na snazi. Školarine za diplomske studije i dalje su veoma visoke, dok je studentsko pravo glasa i dalje zanemareno. No, danas postajemo svjesni našeg političkog potencijala.

Komercijalizacija javnih sveučilišta, neoliberalni zakon(i), pristup javnom novcu za privatna sveučilišta, privatizacija tvornica itd. – čine suštinu kapitalizma. Povezuju li studenti problem sa sistemom i jesu li prosvjedi antikapitalistički?

Postoje grupe studenata koji jasno shvaćaju učinke kapitalizma, osobito njegove najgrabežljivije, neoliberalne forme, očite u visokom obrazovanju. Komodifikacija postaje kritički alat za razumijevanje nove situacije. Premda je malo teško izravno označiti kapitalizam jer ga vladajuća ideologija postavlja kao Jedini ekonomski sistem, mnogi studenti počinju shvaćati njegove simptome i razočaravati se njegovom logikom i sloganima. Borba za hegemoniju otvorena je i dugotrajna.

Intervju je vođen na engleskom jeziku, u nastavku možete pročitati original:

Massive student resistance to neoliberalism in Albania

About student struggle for the hegemony over the university

For two and half months thousands of students in Albania, with support of professors, high school students and groups of workers, are struggling for education and university which won’t be controlled by capital. Although it seemed to be spontaneous explosion of student anger because of new charges, the reasons for protest are much stronger. About student protest, the condition of Albanian higher education, contested Law for higher education, existential problems of students and other issues we talked with Bora Mema for Radnički portal (Workers’ portal). Bora is member of the For the University Student Movement (Për Universitetin), one of the protest organizers in Tirana.

Student resistance in Albania

Student protest in Albania started on 4 December 2018, after the education minister Lindita Nikolla introduced extra fees for students that fail exams. Why this act triggered thousands of students to come out on the streets? What are the costs of living compared to the costs of education?

Student protests have been taking place during these last years, especially since 2014-2015 when the government pushed forward a neoliberal reform in higher education which would also provide public funds for private universities. What happened in December was not only about the extra fees to repeat an exam (not only failing) – that was just a push to start protesting against everything else. Considering that the minimum wage in Albania is less than 200 euros, and the unemployment is really high, having tuition fees from 250-400 euros for Bachelor and even 1700 euros for Master is a huge amount. Not to mention that students in Albania do not have beneficiaries when it comes to transport, bookstores, theatres, the number of dormitories is not sufficient and their conditions are miserable. Last time there were investments in dormitory infrastructure, it was still socialism (pre-1990). The apartment rents are becoming higher and higher, and although students have to work from the first year of their studies, still they can’t meet the end of the month. They usually work in precarious conditions, exploited and they can’t follow classes properly. Under these circumstances, there is a majority of students who can’t finish the whole exams on time, so what the government did by fining these students was where they couldn’t handle it anymore.

Two days after the beginning of demonstrations the increase of the fees has been dismissed by the government, but the majority of students continued protesting, so obviously there are more reasons to demonstrate apart from tuition fees. What are students’ demands?

Students realized their power and they wanted more. They wanted the abrogation of the higher education law, and demanded an expansion of their voting rights in electing the university governing bodies. They demand to become part of the decision-making process, not just customers who pass by. They want better conditions in dormitories, universities, more investments, a decrease in tuitions, and also to have beneficiaries as the majority of their colleagues in Europe. They want to stop corrupted lecturers putting pressure on students by selling their books; they do not want to pay to pass the exams. Basically they are demanding a decent university.

Many believe that the problems were exacerbated by a 2015 higher-education law. Could you comment on why the law is problematic?

A lot of problems were inherited because during these last 30 years the universities and the education system, in general, are becoming even worse. But the neoliberal reform in higher education emphasizes these problems and adds extra ones by providing public funds to private universities, which means less money for public universities, higher fees for students. It also encourages the deepening of clientelist relations between deans, rectors and the academic staff by disempowering students and saving the university bureaucracy from public scrutiny. On the other hand, the law establishes some new government-controlled bureaucratic structures to dissipate university self-government.

Which faculties participate in demonstrations? Did students from other cities apart capital join? Do students from different faculties communicate between themselves? Are they connected, do they cooperate and how?

All the public faculties from all the public universities all over the country were on a strike. They were usually protesting in their own university and city, but different groups joined once in a while. Also, high school students in Tirana were organized to boycott their classes and joined the protest, despite being threatened from school directors, whose allegiance goes to the ruling political party. Social media has been a crucial tool to mobilize people and it made the traditional media to follow this non-stop.

Who are people in protest? Students from public or private universities? Do university lecturers participate? If yes, what are their reasons to participate and in what way they support students? What about workers – were there calls from students to workers to join and thus make protest stronger?

The major part is formed by public university students, but there were also some private university students who joined in. This was such an extraordinary event that everyone wanted to be part of, every citizen would express their solidarity if students would go to get water in shops, buy battery for the megaphones, markers for the banners. Common people were clapping and waving from the buses or cars when student would march by or occupy streets while marching.

Lecturers were also in the protest because they too are affected by this law and the conditions within universities. They were present in the protest, supporting in the media, writing articles. The Faculty of Social Sciences’ lecturers went on a strike for three days supporting the students, but they were forced to end it since they are not registered in a union and they can be easily dismissed by law, which doesn’t allow wildcat to strike for more than 3 days. This has pushed them to start the legal procedures of establishing a new trade union. Different groups of miner or oil-refinery workers sent solidarity messages to the student movement. Call center workers, who are students or former ones, were also actively participating in protests.

What were the reactions of the political parties and of the government on demonstrations? Were there attempts to break student resistance?

The political parties are responsible for what the university is facing these decades. The highly-contested law of higher education was proposed by the former government (today’s opposition) and it was passed in the Parliament by today’s government. The opposition didn’t take the case to the Constitutional Court as promised. At first, the Prime Minister Edi Rama called the students a bunch of failures he would not even think about spending a single dime. In the following days, he was practically begging in the social media and every talk show to have a meeting with us, but not even one single student accepted to sit with him considering him unworthy to talk to. There were a lot of attempts by the government to put pressure by using its youth party structures pretending they wanted the lesson to start or trying to instill fear into the students that they might lose the academic year if the protest was going to be prolonged. As for the opposition, it was aggressively trying to steal the protest.

The Faculty of Social Sciences’ lecturers went on a strike for three days and different groups of miner or oil-refinery workers sent solidarity messages to the student movement.

They started to attack our activists and organization as people paid by Soros to stop the opposition, people paid by the government to stop the wave of the protest, or that we want to convert people in the protest into Marxists and so many absurd things. All of the opposition media were accusing us, and a lot of their party hooligans were threatening and even punched or physically attacked our activists. There were more than 12 incidents in the protest. As for the media supporting the government, they started to accuse us of collaborating with the opposition to boycott the lesson. So, all those in power – who have the same economic interest and links with the economic oligarchy and the same political agenda – were intensifying their assault. But the really important was that the students massively were cheering against all the political parties and the political establishment. This was something these parties could do nothing about.

About 70 percent of students in Croatia are caught in the vicious circle of trying to study and working on a student job to pay the fee and other costs of education, so as food, accommodation etc. What is the situation in Albania – how common is student work, what are the most common student jobs, how much are they paid for? Is there a law that regulates student work?

There is no such law in Albania. As far as I know, there is no statistic about the percentage of students working, but from our everyday experience, we have come to the conclusion that the majority of students are caught in the same circle. They are usually working in call centers, or as waiters, sellers and since they are students they are paid even less then it is supposed to, considering the fact that wages are quite low in Albania. During the protests there were a lot of public testimonies from students who complained that at the end of the month there are cases they can afford to eat just once per day. What is even worse is the lack of hope due to the expectation that after finishing their studies they will keep doing the same precarious jobs.

When we talk about socioeconomic issues concerning students, what are the other problems? What is, for example, state and cost of dormitories, is there grant for students’ meals and is it sufficient, what about scholarships?

Students are expected to pay a monthly 55 Euros tariff in order to sleep in a very small room, which is inhabited by three of four students. There’s no grant for meals, while scholarships go just to the extremely poor ones. There’s no state subsidy for transportation, or any kind of recreative and cultural activity. In order to live in a big city, especially in Tirana, you need approximately 300 Euros each month, while the legal minimum wage is 208 Euros and the average wage doesn’t reach 400 Euros.

It has been two months since the beginning of demonstrations. What is the current situation and what has been achieved so far? Is the solution to students’ problems near?

The student protest forced the government to reduce Bachelor tuition fees by 50%. On the other hand, students have come to realize the tremendous power they have, and are starting to organize themselves democratically in student unions. They have broken the neoliberal hegemony that considers university studies a private service one should buy, and won people’s attention and approval for education as a basic social right.

There are a lot to be achieved yet. The higher education law is still in force. Master tuition fees are still very high, while student voting rights continue to be negligible. But nowadays we are becoming self-conscious about our political potentials.

Commercialization of public universities, neoliberal law(s), access to public funds for private universities, privatization of factories etc. – they form the essence of capitalism. Do students connect their problems with system and are these protests anti-capitalist?

There are groups of students who clearly understand the effects of capitalism, especially its most predatory neoliberal form, in higher education. Commodification is becoming a critical tool in understanding the new situation. While it is a little bit difficult to directly name capitalism due to the ruling ideology sanctification of it as the One economic system, a lot of students are coming to understand its symptoms and to be disenchanted by its logic and slogans. The battle for hegemony is still open and long.

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