Government
Rama offers students a 25,000-lek scholarship and a new Pact as students march for a 16th day
The prime minister announced a 15,000-lek increase in scholarships for students from needy families and a digital window for dialogue, while protesters kept marching through Tirana demanding his resignation.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 28, 2026, 20:08 · Updated 18:43 · 2 min read
In brief
- The scholarship for students from economically struggling families rises by 15,000 lek to 25,000 lek and is extended to the master's level.
- Rama said the government is ready to revise the 2018 Pact for the University and will open a digital platform for dialogue.
- Students marched from the Ministry of Education to the Prime Minister's Office and university faculties, chanting “Rama resign.”
Prime Minister Edi Rama addressed a message to students on Wednesday, announcing higher scholarships and readiness for a new agreement with the universities, as the student protest entered its 16th day.
Scholarships and the Pact
According to Rama, the scholarship for students from economically struggling families rises by 15,000 lek to 25,000 lek, “about half the minimum wage,” and is being extended to the master's level. He listed existing support: 4,648 students receive scholarships as children of families in need, 10,152 are fully exempt from tuition and 27,050 have half of it covered. The prime minister said the government is ready to revise the Pact for the University, “our agreement with the university and the students of 2018,” and to sign a new one. He added that he would consult the Rectors' Forum about the lecturers' teaching boycott.
The digital window
“In the coming days we will open a digital window for dialogue,” Rama said, presenting the platform as an option also for those who “are afraid of the online abusers.” Recalling his years as a lecturer at the Academy of Arts, he declared: “I do not recognize the language of force, imposition and violence.” In the morning, he had shared on social media images of the stone table inscribed “Dialogue” in front of the Prime Minister's Office.
The 16th march
The students, who have rejected the invitation, gathered in front of the Ministry of Education and marched to the Prime Minister's Office, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Law and the Police Directorate, chanting slogans such as “No Albania without youth” and “Rama resign.” Professor Lush Susaj, among the lecturers on the march, urged students not to back down under pressure.
