Denada Jushi
With the start of September, children begin preparing for the new school year, and with just as much enthusiasm, little ones head to daycare centers and kindergartens for the first time!
But when this beginning should have been a celebration, for many families in the capital it has turned into a concern!
Since the start of the month, Socialist MP Erion Braçe has raised concerns with local institutions that public nurseries and kindergartens in Tirana are becoming increasingly inadequate.
He specifically brings up unit 5, which represents that there are only 4 nurseries and 6 kindergartens for more than 100 thousand inhabitants in this area.
"Today, the anxiety of a few weeks with parents calling me and saying they can't register their children. Honestly, it's the opportunity," he says.
The lack of nurseries and kindergartens brings a series of chain consequences, from economic costs for parents, for private kindergartens, to nannies' payments or parents' work schedules.
And as clearly stated in MP Braçe's concern, Tirana does not suffer from a lack of land or buildings, but from a lack of concrete plans to turn them into functional institutions for children.
Tirana Municipality, applications many times higher than capacities
Signal, after receiving concerns from parents in the capital, turned to the Municipality of Tirana to understand more about what is happening with this situation!
Tirana Municipality data for the last year shows a record number of applications.
The institution itself indicates that there were 3924 applications for kindergarten, 2546 applications for the first time in kindergarten, and 2768 requests for the transition from kindergarten to kindergarten.
So, a total of 9238 requests, in a metropolitan city with more than 1 million inhabitants, only 45 nurseries, 54 kindergartens and 126 rural groups operate.
Figures show that every year hundreds of children cannot find a place in the public system. The refusal causes parents to turn to private schools.
The municipality justifies itself with selection criteria: priority is given to orphans, children with disabilities, those from families with economic assistance or with both parents working. But even after this long filtering scheme, a significant portion of children remain outside.
Experts, a crisis warned about, but forgotten!
For education expert Ndriçim Mehmeti, this crisis is not a surprise, but a consequence of a lack of planning.
He says that the current number of nurseries and kindergartens is not enough. The influx of families from the districts to Tirana has increased significantly. This requires urgent studies and long-term investments, which are lacking.
"We have chosen to make investments with political interest, not where there is real need," says Mehmeti.
According to him, the most affected areas are Astiri, the Municipality of Paris, the Fresku Area and 5 Maji. "Parents there either pay multiple times in private, or travel kilometers every day to take their children to a more distant institution. There are families who keep them at home. It is unacceptable."
The areas where they are most problematic are also the most populated areas of the capital.
Paradoxically, the Albanian constitution states that free education should be guaranteed, but the reality on the ground is different.
Reality on the ground: kindergartens that close at noon
Social affairs journalist Ortensa Budlla sees the problem from the ground. According to her, in some public kindergartens and nurseries, parents are forced to pick up their children at noon. The reason: a lack of beds and overcrowding of groups.
"We are faced with an overloaded system. The application figures do not match the real capacities. The Directorate of Nurseries and Kindergartens has requested the opening of at least eight new institutions, but there has been no reaction," says Budlla.
She also emphasizes the great financial contrast between public and private: "In public, the payment is minimal, around 5 thousand new lek per month. In private, it goes over 20 thousand. The difference is unaffordable for many families."
From the observation we have made on the ground, private kindergartens in the main areas of Tirana, such as Myslym Shyri, Ish-Blloku, the area near the stadium, the figures reach up to 40 thousand lek, the same as a minimum wage in the country.
Parents' words: financial burden and stress
A young mother says that after two rejections at local public daycare centers, she was forced to send her daughter to a private institution. “The monthly fee is four times higher. It’s a big burden on us, but we had no choice. We both work and we don’t have grandparents nearby,” she says.
While a father from Astir speaks of the daily fatigue: "Every morning we walk three kilometers to take our son to a kindergarten. Meanwhile, there are empty spaces nearby. I don't understand why institutions aren't built where we live."
The lack of preschool institutions has obvious consequences. Children are often forced to spend hours in overcrowded and closed environments. “This affects psycho-emotional development, reduces opportunities for socialization and leads to behavioral problems such as aggression,” warns Mehmeti.
Another paradox is the treatment of children with disabilities. On paper, they have priority. But in practice, institutions often reject them. “There is a lack of teaching assistants and psychologists. Parents are openly told that they cannot accept them,” the expert adds.
Missing solutions
While the headline for at least the last four years has been that Tirana is the European capital, when it comes to the essential elements of life, the reality still remains far away.
International models offer examples. In some countries, such as Germany or the Netherlands, daycare centers are located near large businesses, allowing parents to be close to their children. This model would require a partnership between the state and the private sector, a practice that has not been used in Albania.
On the other hand, the request for at least eight new institutions in Tirana is still unanswered. Without them, the situation will repeat itself every year.
The municipality has promised to open two new kindergartens, one in Unit 8 and one in Farka, but they seem insufficient in the face of the real needs of a city that is growing at an unstoppable pace.
Tirana has the space, the demand, and the opportunity to build new preschool institutions. What is missing is the vision and determination.
Braça's denunciation was not simply political, but a reflection of a reality that affects thousands of families every day. Daycare centers and kindergartens are not luxuries, but a necessity for child development and social equality.
If this crisis is not urgently addressed, Tirana risks deepening the divide between those who can afford to pay and those who remain outside the system. And this is a bill that all of society will pay.
