Regina Pope
Why did gym class turn into a "worthless hour" and who is abusing children's health?
Do you remember the time when you were doing physical education in school? Perhaps your memories are filled with images of a field of dirt and stones, where you ran after an old ball that scratched your feet worse than pebbles. Perhaps you remember the courtyards or some square, where every fall resulted in bruised knees and torn clothes.
In December 2021, the Albanian government presented another vision: a major, almost Olympic-sized project. It promised to invest a full 5 million euros in the development of sports in schools, to build modern and functional gyms in every corner of the country, to turn municipalities into engines of sports life, and to end the era of private clubs fueled by tax evasion.
Today, in 2026, more than four years after those pompous declarations, the reality shows a completely different picture. When you look at official documents, such as the National Education Strategy 2021-2026 , you are surprised to discover that there is no clear or measurable objective for sports in schools. The sensational promises have remained on paper, while in the field, the subject of physical education is being treated as a “break hour”, as a joke without salt, or worse yet, as a space where students are invited to do whatever they want, as long as they don’t make noise.
Reality on the ground: "coffee hour" and the 10s
According to Law No. 79/2017 “On Sports”, starting from the academic year 2014-2015, the subject of physical education at all levels of grades 1 to 12 must be taught 3 times a week. The law also provides for the integration of theoretical classes where students must acquire basic knowledge on health, anatomy, nutrition and the importance of physical activity.
But how is this law implemented in the Albania of 2026? A simple observation in the country's schools shows that the gap between what is written in the law and what happens on the ground is frightening.
At the 9-year school "Gjergj Kastrioti" in Lezha, Eri*, a student of this school, tells how this lesson was organized:
"We boys played soccer in gym class, while the girls just sat and chatted in the yard. For them, there was more accountability only when the teachers asked them to paint sports-themed posters instead of moving."
This situation is even more serious in vocational schools. At the “Kolin Gjoka” school in Lezha, students say that they often spend their physical education class in the cafeteria. When asked how the grade is determined at the end of the semester, their answer is as comical as it is tragic:
"The grade is determined according to the other grades we have in the register for theoretical subjects. If you have all 9s and 10s, the teacher will give you a 10 in gym class, without even having to see you on the field. This happens when the teacher doesn't know you at all, or when there is no friendship between us."
But if you think this only happens in the suburbs, you are wrong. Even in the heart of Tirana, in schools considered elite, such as the “Ismail Qemali” high school, the situation does not change much. Arlindi*, a graduate from this high school, speaks with disappointment:
"It was the most useless class we've ever had. We probably had educational or theoretical classes once a semester, but I don't even remember them. The grade was based solely on class attendance. The girls had a slightly harder time with the professor, while our professor would sit in the cafeteria as soon as the class started until it ended. When it comes to grading, everyone gets a 10."
At the "Besnik Sykja" school in Tirana, students recall that the situation was so absurd that they had to raise money themselves to buy balls, as the school did not provide them with even the most minimal work tools.
Isolation in rural areas
When we move to the deeper areas, the situation takes on dramatic proportions. In the village of Lleshan in Elbasan, at the “Abdullah Hida” school, Meri* says:
“We used to have this as a fun class, but when it rained or was cold, we would just go inside the classroom because there was no gym to take shelter in.”
The same thing is confirmed by a former student from the village of Sovjan in Korça, at the “Nevruz Vila” school. She says that physical education was extremely rare. Often, this class was replaced with additional math classes or other subjects that were considered “more important”. Meanwhile, in the same district, at the “Raqi Qirinxhi” high school in the city of Korça, physical education classes were held strictly, clearly showing the deep discrimination and lack of equality between children growing up in the village and those in the city.
In Kukës, at the “Bajram Curri” school, Drini*, a sixth grade student, describes his daily life:
"We play in the schoolyard because there is no sports facility or gym. During class we play board games, cards, or sometimes football and basketball if we have a ball. I don't remember ever having theoretical classes or having anything explained to us about health."
Teachers: "sculptors without chisels and hammers"
To understand why this system has failed, we need to listen to those on the front lines: physical education teachers. Jorgo Papa, an experienced teacher who has practiced his profession for four years in several schools in the villages of Vlora, describes in detail the drama of this profession.
Due to the small number of students and the inability to meet the norm of teaching hours in a single school, Jorgo has had to cover two or three different schools within the same school year, traveling every day on difficult rural roads.
"You can't blame a student or a teacher for not teaching when even the minimum conditions don't exist, even for a simple run. The physical preparation of children today is extremely poor, and the lack of gyms and equipment is to blame for this."
One of the biggest concerns raised by the Pope is the replacement of certified physical education teachers with teachers of other subjects (such as history, geography or mathematics) simply to fill their weekly quotas.
“We must be aware: a teacher who is not a specialist in this field does not know how to organize the lesson. He will simply throw a ball to the children and say, ‘Go and play outside.’ This is not physical education, this is just yard supervision.”
Jorgo Papa shows how this disregard often comes from school directorates or local education offices themselves:
"If I try to organize a sports activity, I face dozens of bureaucratic obstacles. While there are no obstacles for subjects like biology or chemistry, they can take hours and days for projects. When this disregard is done by the directorate itself, you have no place to complain."
Regarding grading, he openly admits that the registers are filled with fictitious grades:
"I guarantee it with professional responsibility: if today in our schools the evaluation were done with full meritocracy, the student with the highest grade in physical education would be a seven. Not because they have no potential, but because sports require technique and discipline that are never taught to them. The state demands results, but does not even give us a volleyball or a net."
It seems that teachers have become like sculptors who are asked to make art with a piece of rock in their hands, but without being given either a chisel or a hammer.
The budget hole of reconstructions
Where does the taxpayers' money intended for sports go? According to official data from the Ministry of Education and Sports, a total of 26 sports facilities were reconstructed across the country during the period 2021-2024. A total of 1.3 billion lek was spent on these investments, along with the costs of rebuilding the respective schools.
However, a closer look at these figures reveals a major financial scandal: this budget has deviated by over 500 million lek from the initial planned cost. What is even more worrying, 7 of these reconstructed schools result in documents without any initial planned cost.
Renowned economic expert, Eduart Gjokutaj, explains that this data speaks of serious mismanagement and major budget deviation, which translates into an increase in spending of about 85% more than the initial plan.
Gjokutaj explains that this phenomenon is an old wound of public finance management in Albania:
“This type of deviation indicates inefficient management of public money. Either we are dealing with a strong underestimation of costs in the design phase, or with frequent and unjustified changes to the project during implementation. This includes delays, the impact of uncontrolled inflation, and mismanaged contracts that are not monitored by anyone. The fact that 26 gyms are built, but the cost is skyrocketing cannot be considered a success. The excess money spent due to inflated costs could have been used to build gyms in dozens of other schools that today do not have any sports facilities.”
Even where investments have been made, the problems have not been solved. At the "Hajredin Beqari" high school, teacher Jorgo Papa testifies that although the gym was built, it was delivered completely empty:
"We have a new building, but we don't have the equipment. After we became part of the 'School Sports Teams' project, we secured some balls to use during the lesson. I gave some to the 9-year-old, they didn't have any either." But is it normal for a school to depend on external projects to have a soccer ball?
"School Sports Teams": success or failure
The “Sports Teams in Schools” project, which is being heavily promoted by the government and the Albanian National Olympic Committee (KOKSH), has raised many questions among experts in the field. To participate in this project and benefit from the material base, schools must meet very strict criteria: to have at least two teams formed (one with boys and one with girls).
If a school in a village has a small number of students and cannot meet this number, its application is automatically rejected. Also, in order to conduct training, the school must have a gym and a physical education teacher who applies. In this way, schools that need support the most are not qualified in the first steps. The project methodology is exclusionary and penalizes precisely those children who have fewer opportunities.
University: maximum grades, but minimum levels from high school
Besnik Veliu, head of the Department of Physical Education and Sports at the University of Tirana, is quite critical of the quality of students coming from the pre-university system:
“When we test young students coming from high schools in popular sports like volleyball or basketball, we regretfully note that they do not show even the minimum level of preparation. This shows that no serious work is being done in 9-year schools and high schools. Students openly tell us that they have not had any physical education classes during their school years.”
Regarding the sports teams project, Veliu does not spare harsh tones:
"This is a mismanaged project that has not been discussed with real stakeholders and specialists. Four years have passed and we have not seen a single high school student from this project become part of the new national teams or professional clubs. Millions of euros have been spent that have had no real effect on Albanian sport."
In addition to implementation problems, this project also carries a clear violation of the law. According to Article 6 of Law No. 79/2017 “On Sports”, the Albanian Federation of School Sports and the Federation of University Sports are the only bodies that have the legal exclusivity to organize competitive activities in schools. No other organization can exercise these attributes. However, by the Decision of the Council of Ministers (VKM) No. 893, dated 27.12.2022, this role has been transferred to the Albanian National Olympic Committee (KOKSH), which is not a federation and does not have this legal title.
KOKSH, when officially questioned via email, defended itself by arguing that their activity takes place outside the teaching process and has received the agreement of the relevant federations:
"The promotion of the Olympic movement in schools is part of the mission and objectives of the NCO, as provided for in its statute, and is supported by Albanian legislation in the field of sports."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education and Sports stated that the Council of Ministers, in exercising its constitutional and legal powers, may approve programs and allocate funds for projects considered of public interest.
According to them, this does not constitute an act of recognition of a sports federation or transfer of powers provided for in the law.
“The manner of organizing a public program is determined by the administrative acts that regulate its implementation and by the concrete objectives of the project. Law no. 79/2017, as amended, does not impose an obligation for any state program for the development of sports to be organized exclusively by or only through sports federations.”
However, the fact remains: in the first year of the project, only 255 schools were included, mainly those in large cities that already had gyms built. Children in rural areas and schools without infrastructure were again left out.
Health "bill": ⅓ of children overweight
The lack of physical activity in schools is not simply a sports or administrative problem; it is a silent public health crisis. Pediatrician Loreta Gjoni explains that the consequences of this neglect are being felt more and more every day in pediatric clinics:
“Physical activity is one of the main pillars of a child's health, just as important as healthy nutrition and quality sleep. During school age, it directly affects the development of bones and muscles, improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system, helps maintain a healthy body weight and strengthens the immune system. The benefits are not only physical. Children who exercise regularly usually have better concentration in lessons, more developed memory, higher self-confidence and better abilities to manage stress and emotions.”
According to the latest WHO reports, the situation in Albania is alarming: about 1 in 3 school-age children are overweight or obese. This is the direct cost we pay for neglecting physical education classes over the years.
Doctor Loreta shows that these problems are becoming increasingly frequent:
“In the short term, lack of physical exercise makes children tired more quickly, have less physical endurance and gain weight in an unhealthy way. In the long term, this passive lifestyle increases the risk of developing chronic obesity, arterial hypertension, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a young age. For many children from low-income families, school is the only place where they have the opportunity to exercise regularly. When schools fail to provide this opportunity, it is damaging their future.”
Privatization of gyms
Another great paradox occurs in the schools of the capital. Although the infrastructure there is better and gyms exist, students often cannot use them freely. Through the new status of "Community Center School", the gyms of public schools are rented out after the end of classes to private entities that develop various sports courses for a fee.
When asked about this phenomenon, the Tirana Municipality institution defended itself by saying that this is a completely regulated and transparent process:
"The sports courses that take place in the afternoons in school gyms are not organized by individuals privately, but by sports federations, sports associations and sports clubs, entities registered under applicable legislation, which have gone through a fully competitive and transparent process."
But if you ask parents, the reality is completely different. A parent whose child attends an afternoon soccer course at the gym of the "Hasan Prishtina" school in Tirana testifies:
"We pay the course fee to the trainer every month, but we have never been given a tax invoice or coupon. The money is given in cash. Where does this money go and who is responsible for it?"
According to the monitoring of the organization "Civic Stability" conducted in 2024, 54% of educational institutions in Albania are not profiled as Community Center Schools. This shows a deep lack of equality between students from different regions of the country, where the majority of children do not benefit from any additional Services after school hours.
Meanwhile, the figures that the Ministry of Education and Sports (MES) dedicates to sports from its internal budget (excluding foreign funding) are ridiculous. During the years 2021-2024, the total budget allocated to sports was less than 4 million new lekë (3,840,623.17 lekë to be exact). This figure represents less than 0.3% of the ministry's overall budget for 2021, with a negligible increase in subsequent years and a decrease of 0.2% in 2024.
When health comes last
At a time when obesity is becoming a silent epidemic and physical and mental health problems are increasingly affecting the younger generation, treating physical education as an "empty" hour or as an opportunity to do business is a crime against the future of the country.
The beautiful billboards of million-dollar projects and the government's sensational promises cannot hide the bitter truth seen in every schoolyard: children hanging out in cafeterias because they have nowhere to study, gyms being rented out without any tax receipts, and teachers turned into passive observers without any tools in their hands.
If we truly want a healthy society, investing in school sports must stop being a decoration for the next campaign and become a national priority. It is time for the state to start investing in children's health before we all pay the costs of this neglect together in hospitals./ acqj.al
*Names of nxënëyoursë schools inë këtë article isë changed toërtë private respectëwithoutë and Përtë guaranteeing their anonymity.
